Several development proposals are said to be threatening one of the most well known national parks in the world – the Grand Canyon. Although the projects, which are currently being discussed, would attract thousands more visitors to the region, they would also change the atmosphere of the Colorado Plateau.
The plans are scheduled to start possibly by 2016. The first project is comprised of housing and retail development, which would create 2,200 houses in a small town of the park area, known as Tusayan. If constructed, it is anticipated to be bigger than the popular Mall of America.
The other venture is called the Grand Canyon Escalade – essentially a tram that would bring as many as 10,000 people every day straight to the bottom of the Grand Canyon. Besides the tram, which would function like a ski-lift sort of gondola, the project would also include several new restaurants, shops, hotels, and even a new cultural center.
It all would be located on a stretch of 420 acres of what is now remote scrubland that overlooks where the Little Colorado River and the main Colorado River meet. Currently, this area is one of the most remote pieces of land in the Grand Canyon area. This project would also cost an estimated billion dollars.
Developers behind the proposal for the Grand Canyon Escalade, called the Confluence Partners, state that not all tourists want to hike down into the Grand Canyon or ride down into it on a mule. Instead, with their proposal, visitors would be able to take a ride, see the Canyon, and perhaps enjoy a meal or a presentation about the area, before returning back up.
Opponents, however, state that this project would cause the greatest risk to the Grand Canyon, according to Roger Clark of Grand Canyon Trust, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to protect the area of the Colorado Plateau.
Yet another development project in consideration is a uranium-mining venture on the north side of the Grand Canyon. In 2014, an Arizona court supported a 20-year mining ban in a million acre area close to the park. However, the National Mining Association put in an appeal on the ruling and is awaiting a judge’s answer.
In addition, another possible threat to the Grand Canyon area stems from the FAA regulations that went into place in 2012, which allow helicopter tours to bring people from Las Vegas to see the canyon, down to a distance of only 1,000 feet from the ground. According to the regulations, up to 65,000 flights are permitted a year.
Environmentalists are also concerned about the tourists numbers. Extra visitors interacting with the projects could overburden the limited water supplies in the area. In addition, the National Park Service is said to oppose these developments, but since the land is not within the park, the organization has no control over the process.
