- The Power of Parks
U.S. Government Says 'No' to Grand Canyon Project
Tusayan project gets major setback while conservationists target uranium mining and ask for national monument.
The U.S. Forest Service took the unusual step last week of rejecting a development proposal on environmental grounds, blocking a proposal to build a large housing and commercial project near the rim of the Grand Canyon.
“I have determined that the Tusayan proposal is deeply controversial, is opposed by local and national communities, would stress local and park infrastructure, and have untold impacts to the surrounding tribal and National Park lands,” Heather Provencio, the supervisor of Kaibab National Forest, wrote in a letter explaining the position.
Touting a housing shortgage, an Italian developer, Stilo Group, had proposed building about 2,200 housing units and three million square feet of commercial properties in tiny Tusayan, Arizona, which is just south of Grand Canyon National
