Coverage of tribal natural resources is supported in part by Catena FoundationEarlier this month, the Colorado nonprofit EcoFlight landed in Arizona with its annual aerial educational program, Flight Across America. A cohort of college and graduate students soared through the skies for a days-long environmental tour of endangered landscapes across the West.
Manufacturers ceased production of the Cessna 210 four decades ago, but three of these very planes were the students' main mode of transportation to see some of Arizona's most iconic geographic landmarks.
This six-seater aircraft also offered intimate settings to talk about what's at risk.
Colorado River. Lake Powell. Glen Canyon Dam. Baaj Nwaavjo I'tah Kukveni — Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon National Monument. Red Butte. Verde River. Great Bend of the Gila. Ironwood Forest National Monument. San Pedro River. Santa Rita Mountains. Santa Cruz River Urban National Wildlife Refuge. Oak Flat.
And so many more natural features.
The cohort's high-flying, four-day adventure across the Grand Canyon State kicked-off in Flagstaff. From there, they went to Page, followed by Cottonwood, then Buckeye and finally Tucson.
On the third leg of this statewide expedition, they focused on copper mining in southern Arizona, including Grupo México's massive open-pit Mission Mine sitting within the San Xavier District of the Tohono O'odham Nation near Sahuarita. Another topic was Copper World, a new mine being proposed on the outskirts of Tucson by Toronto's HudBay Minerals.
'I am in awe of just what the world looks like'
One participant was Kimmale "Kimie" Anderson, 23, from the Hopi village of Kykotsmovi atop Third Mesa in northern Arizona. She is a senior majoring in environmental science at Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colorado.
"And I am in awe of just what the world looks like from a bird's eye view," said Anderson, an aspiring teacher who had only recently begun taking commercial flights. "And actually, I feel safer in a smaller plane — us being in the air together and experiencing the landscape in this unique way."
Anderson wasn't alone.
Arizona State University data science junior Sophia Honahni, who is Diné-Hopi and originally from Tuba City, shared she hasn't flown much either: "No, no, no, never this small. I took a flight from Flag to Phoenix once."
The 26-year-old former Navajo Nation EPA environmental specialist attended Haskell Indian Nations University while being dual-enrolled at the University of Kansas — before returning to Arizona.
"Honestly, I felt pretty comfortable," added Honahni. "There were previous interns that I knew that went through this program, and they spoke very highly of the staff and their experiences, so I was really excited."
Honahni, Anderson and six more students also met tribes, like Hopi and Havasupai, along the way. Some tribal leaders even buckled up, including a couple of council members from the Yavapai-Apache Nation during the Cottonwood stop. While in Tucson, Tohono O'odham Vice Chairwoman Carla Johnson joined them.
"These leaders coming and being with us in these planes and giving their perspective is very powerful," said Anderson. "And I think that they don't really speak for all of their people, and I appreciate the fact that they always express that."
"Even just these past four days, there's been tribal members that I haven't heard of — but they had a lot to share," added Honahni, "coming from both a Western science and a traditional ecological knowledge perspective."
'One of his main loves'
Eager high schoolers were the first to learn about the land from above through Flight Across America — until EcoFlight shifted its attention to career-bound college students who could make the most meaningful change in areas of conservation.
This educational opportunity can, in part, be credited to one of the nation's most popular folk singers: John Denver. You might've heard some of his greatest hits, especially from his '70s heyday, like "Thank God I'm a Country Boy," "Sunshine on My Shoulder" and "Annie's Song."
But his most famous single, by far, is "Take Me Home, Country Roads."
His 1971 recording was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1998. Then, that very anthem would be added to the National Recording Registry in 2023. Now, it's among roughly 600 audio works within the Library of Congress that define the American soundscape.
Born in Roswell, New Mexico in 1943, Denver was the son of an Air Force lieutenant colonel who set speed records in Cold War-era bombers. He followed in his father's footsteps by becoming an amateur aviator.
This passion for piloting and astronomy only grew when he moved to spend much of his life in this snowy Colorado city, whose name appears in the lyrics and very title of the track "Starwood in Aspen."
Aspen is where Bruce Gordon founded EcoFlight. The U.S. Army veteran was also one of the pilots who recently ferried the Flight Across America students all around Arizona, including a takeoff from the Tucson International Airport.
"My good friend, John Denver, you're old enough to know who he is?" Gordon chuckled. "But I laughed like that, because, even a number of the students we just had — maybe a third of them raised their hands. It's just a different world out there."
Gordon was drafted to Vietnam in 1967 and, upon returning to the States, got his pilot's license paid for by the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs. He finished flight school training by the 1980s and has been flying ever since.
From the cockpit, Gordon and Denver logged lots of flight hours while bonding over nature and the outdoors — also coining the concept of conservation aviation. Flight Across America was their brainchild for Earth Day 2000.
This would've been a continental trip ending in the nation's capital.
"Take some students and have a celebrity pilot, like John, flying a leg, and in each one of these places, we would do like a dog-and-pony show," said Gordon. "People would be attracted and talk about these issues and get them real exposure. This idea sort of came to a huge fizzle when he passed away."
On Oct. 12, 1997, the eight-time platinum album recording artist crashed an experimental, homebuilt plane into California's Monterey Bay. At age 53, Denver's untimely passing rocked Colorado. His funeral service at Faith Presbyterian Church in Aurora drew a few thousand family, friends and fans.
Even in death, his legacy lives on.
Denver's deep environmental views were reflected through many of his causes. He performed at the 1990 Earth Day Rally in D.C., coming up with his single "Earth Day Every Day." Proceeds from his "Wildlife Concert," an acoustic live album and TV special from 1995, were donated to the Wilderness Conservation Society.
One of his most memorable environmental tunes, "Rocky Mountain High," inspired Snowmass, a skiing and snowboarding resort near his Aspen home, to rename its tallest run after that very song following Denver's death.
Gordon pressed on with Denver's dream for Flight Across America and dedicated the 2004 maiden voyage in his memory. About 180 students have taken to the skies of the West since then.
It's something Gordon thinks would've inspired Denver, too.
"Listening to these kids on this trip – pretty eye-opening," added Gordon. "It is every year. Yeah, he would have really been excited about this — getting up in the air, getting the people involved — because that was one of his main loves for sure."
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