Grand Canyon Conservancy

“Executive committee shall be comprised of the chair of the board, the vice chair of the board (if appointed), the immediate past chair of the board (if a current director), and the chairs of all standing committees, each subject to board approval. The ceo shall be an ex-officio non-voting member. The chair of the board shall be the chair of the executive committee. The executive committee shall not have the power to (a) borrow or lend money; (b) sell, encumber or lease any real estate for more than one (1) year; (c) execute guarantees or act as surety; (d) authorize or commit gcc for any unbudgeted expenditure, obligation, or series of related expenditures or obligations in excess of $100,000; (e) commence or settle litigation; (f) authorize distributions; (g) fill vacancies on the board or on any committee; (h) adopt, amend, or repeal the articles of incorporation or these bylaws; or (i) fix or approve compensation to any director or any committee. The executive committee shall report all actions taken on behalf of the board at the next meeting of the board, which shall be deemed ratified by the board unless 60% of the board present at the meeting votes to reverse any such action by the executive committee.”

“The organization's bylaws have been amended to allow the board of directors to elect a board secretary, treasurer, and other officers in addition to the ceo, who shall all be members of the board. The board secretary and board treasurer will now be a part of the executive committee.”

“Membership in gcc shall be open to those persons interested in supporting the purposes of gcc as set forth in the articles of incorporation and the bylaws, and who contribute financially to the support of gcc in at least the minimum amount and who satisfy any other criteria established by the board of directors. Members shall have no voting rights. Members are welcome to attend meetings of the board of directors with advance consent of the chair of the board.”

“The organization provides the 990 draft to the full board to review. The name and the address of the contributors in schedule b are not shared with the board, only the contributed amounts are shared. After review, the board votes to accept the 990. Then, the 990 is filed with the irs.”

“Board members will attest to the fact there are no conflicts of interest, or disclose such conflicts in writing on an annual basis and agree to notify the board should their status change. All board members are required to annually certify in writing their compliance with the ethics and conflict of interest policy. This is tracked by the corporate secretary in the online board portal, board effect.”

“The gcc executive committee obtains and relies on appropriate comparability data prior to making its compensation determination. The compensation package is approved, in advance, by the board. No individuals, who have actual or potential conflicts of interest with respect to compensation, participate in the deliberations. The board adequately and contemporaneously documents the basis for its determination. Gcc uses third-party data to determine comparable salary and compensation ranges for all employees. Directors are informed of staff compensation as it relates to market data. The process described here was last completed in 2024.”

“The organization makes its governing documents, conflict of interest policy and financial statements available upon request.”

“The organization undertook the historic preservation program during 2024.”

“Grand canyon national park ongoing priorities 1. Preventive search and rescue (psar) the psar program launched an innovative hike smart film to enhance hiking safety awareness among visitors. In 2024, the team completed 4,550 patrol hours and assisted 858 hikers, nearly double the number assisted in 2023! Psar volunteers contacted over 140,000 visitors on the trail, resulting in 30,442 preventive actions. 2. Dark skies the 34th annual grand canyon star party occurred in june on both the south and north rims. On the south rim, there were over 50 telescopes set up each of the eight nights. A total nighttime attendance of about 9,016 was recorded. On the north rim, 15 volunteer astronomers gave eight special guest talks. In a special ceremony, dark sky international presented an award acknowledging that the park had made more than 90% of its exterior lights dark-sky friendly. As the number of exterior lighting fixtures (5,094) is unprecedented in scale for a national park, this represents an impressive milestone. 3. Residency program eight residents reached over 6,000 visitors through various programs, including stargazing, creative writing workshops, short film festivals, screenings, dance performances, astronomy talks, and more. Gcc published its first poetry book, in old sky, by new mexico poet laureate and astronomer in residence alum, lauren camp. One of the highlights is an epic poem crafted from hundreds of responses by visitors during camp's residency, creating a unique narrative of collective experience. 4. Butterfly projects the park's vegetation program installed three new monarch butterfly habitats in 2024, bringing the total number of habitats to five. This vital work helps protect these incredible migratory species and supports the broader ecological health of the region. In july, 24 volunteers joined park staff and the gcc field institute to conduct the annual butterfly count, contributing to vital research on these essential pollinators. Under the guidance of experts, participants identified 39 species and observed 281 individual butterflies. These findings monitor changes in butterfly populations and catalog species richness and abundance of butterflies in the grand canyon region. 5. Colorado river management in november, staff from all nps workgroups and hualapai cultural resources participated in the colorado river management plan river mission. The mission's focus was maintenance at campsites, trails, and popular attraction sites along the river corridor. Experts from the division of science and resource management and the nps trails program led the fieldwork, and locations included south canyon, unkar delta, granite camp, and deer creek. 6. Grand canyon conservancy field institute (gccfi) gccfi offered 234 trips in 2024, engaging over 2,000 participants in various activities above and below the rim, from rafting along the colorado river to sunset photography classes and historic village tours along the rim. 7. North rim bison transfer in september, grand canyon wildlife managers and staff successfully relocated 100 bison from the north rim. All bison were transferred to the inter-tribal buffalo council, transporting the animals to the cheyenne river sioux tribe in south dakota. Nps staff used a remote camera system that allowed park managers to monitor the pen and remotely close the gate when bison entered the corral. Gcc funded renting the remote camera system, contributing to a record-high capture and transfer rate this year. 8. Education efforts to reach students at tribal and title i schools in gateway communities within 2-4 hours of the park were successful. In 2024, approximately a third of the students who visited grand canyon were from coconino county. There were more students from navajo and yavapai counties than years prior, and the education program served students from apache and mojave counties for the first time. Forty-two ranger-led field trips were hosted at the south rim, connecting over 1,20”

“Climate resiliency (people health, forest health, and river health) 1. Lidar and hydrology studies * grand canyon negotiated a gcc-funded agreement with usgs to collect high-resolution airborne lidar data over all remaining un-surveyed areas of the park. The data will be collected in the summer of 2025 and should be available for analysis and applicable to a wide range of park resources in late 2025. 2. Dye tracing * park hydrologists completed the first round of a dye trace study of the kaibab plateau aquifer. This was the most extensive dye trace study ever conducted in north america and is already providing critical insights into water flow pathways and vulnerabilities for spring environments beneath the plateau and the spring-dependent park drinking water supply. A second round of gcc-supported dye trace is underway in 2025. 3. Paleontology * gcc supported paleontology research, which resulted in the discovery of entirely new fossil species and provided scientists with cutting-edge insights into life, paleoenvironments, and climate in the park's geologic history.”

“Historic preservation 1. Kolb studio roof replacement built in 1905 by brothers and photographers emery and ellsworth kolb, kolb studio became one of the canyon's first tourist attractions. But age takes its toll, and to remain open to the public, the studio's roof required critical safety and structural work. The roof was replaced in november with certified hand-split, hand-sawn, and fire-treated cedar roofing shingles to ensure that kolb studio retains as much of its original character as possible.”

“Payroll processing fees: program service expenses 42,708. Management and general expenses 7,559. Fundraising expenses 11,844. Total expenses 62,111. Consultants: program service expenses 3,255. Management and general expenses 312,222. Fundraising expenses 19,018. Total expenses 334,495. Contract labor: program service expenses 76,736. Management and general expenses 0. Fundraising expenses 0. Total expenses 76,736. Outfitters fees: program service expenses 73,499. Management and general expenses 0. Fundraising expenses 0. Total expenses 73,499. Out-sourced services: program service expenses 927,383. Management and general expenses 114,830. Fundraising expenses 40,275. Total expenses 1,082,488.”

“Change in beneficial interest 289,434.”

“The organization did not change its oversight or selection process during the tax year.”