The Heavy Lifting: Exhibit Honors the Civilian Conservation Corps

In 1933, at the height of the Great Depression, the federal government under President Franklin Delano Roosevelt launched the Civilian Conservation Corps. This popular public works project put thousands of otherwise idle young men to work building and restoring infrastructure and trails in many of the nation's national parks. Grand Canyon National Park played host to as many as eight hundred of these industrious laborers. Among their many accomplishments were the construction of the Clear Creek Trail, the transcanyon telephone line, trailside shelters, and the stone-and-mortar protective wall that runs along the South Rim in the Historic Village District (providing peace of mind to not a few nervous mothers over the decades). At Kolb Studio in Grand Canyon Village, a free exhibit entitled “It Saved My Life, the CCC at Grand Canyon, 1933-1942" will run through October 19^th in celebration of the 75^th anniversary of the CCC's legacy at Grand Canyon. For more information follow this link http://www.nps.gov/grca/parknews/upload/2008-05-23%20CCC.pdf.

Song Sung Blue? Blame the Cow Birds

Few would argue that the Grand Canyon is a visual wonder. For many the view wouldn’t be the same without the ongoing soundtrack provided by the more than one hundred nesting species of birds found throughout the park. The multi-varied calls of the songbirds in particular are inextricable to the Grand Canyon experience (to the dwindling number of visitors not wearing earphones that is). One of the biggest threats to the songbird population is the brown-headed cowbird. These parasitic birds lay their eggs in the nests of non-cowbirds, and leave it to the host bird to hatch and raise their offspring, often at the expense of the host birds own young. The National Park Service will be conducting a survey of songbird nests throughout the park this summer in an effort to determine the severity of the problem. You can help. If you are aware of a songbird nest in the park, please contact wildlife biologist Rosa Palarino. She will do her best to include every known nest in the study. Ms. Palarino can be reached at rosa_palarino@nps.gov.