GRAND CANYON - Ultimate Tourist Experience or Threat?

Also for the Greed Files.  Exploitation of our natural wonder for profit.

"How a plan for the ultimate tourist experience could threaten the Grand Canyon" PBS NewsHour 4/7/2015

Excerpt

SUMMARY:  The Grand Canyon, known as one of the world’s natural wonders, may be threatened by commercial development and mining, according to a new report.  Jeffrey Brown talks to Robert Irvin of American Rivers about the most endangered rivers of 2015 and what put the Colorado River on the top of the list.

GWEN IFILL (NewsHour):  The Grand Canyon has long been recognized as one of the seven natural wonders of the world.  But, increasingly, there are fights over what kind of development should be allowed near it, and even within it, to allow visitors to see more.

The latest battle is over the Colorado River that runs through it.

Jeffrey Brown has the story.

JEFFREY BROWN (NewsHour):  Much of the fight revolves around what could happen to the 277-mile stretch of the Lower Colorado River at the bottom of the canyon, a crucial part of the ecosystem, and the majestic vistas five million people come to see each year.

One issue:  A developer wants to create a tramway to bring as many as 10,000 tourists a day to the bottom.  It would be on Navajo land, and the company has been working with some tribal leaders to create a hotel near the plateau and a restaurant at the bottom.

Separately, a mining company hopes to reopen a uranium mine near the canyon’s rim.  And a nearby town wants to create 2,000 more homes near the park’s South Rim entrance.  All of this led the environmental advocacy group American Rivers, to put the Colorado at the top of its new 10 most endangered rivers list.