(Photo by Alan Stark - CC BY 2.0)

Navajo Generating Station near Page, Arizona.

The impending closure of the Navajo Generating Station in northern Arizona is sending surrounding communities — including the Navajo Nation — into a difficult situation.

Thousands of jobs would be lost, and the area would be sent into a deep funk. Many of the current workers would be able to find jobs elsewhere in the state, but it may mean leaving their families — and some of their culture — behind.

Coconino County Supervisor Lena Fowler, herself a member of the Navajo Nation, has been working on a plan to diversify the economy and help the community become less reliant on the Navajo Generating Station. But with the closure now scheduled for next year, her plan may not be able to have much of an impact so soon.