Living on the Edge
An area of the Grand Canyon considered sacred to Native Americans is slated for commercialization.
“When Teddy Roosevelt declared the Grand Canyon a national monument, in 1908, he famously said: ‘Leave it as it is. You cannot improve on it. The ages have been at work on it, and man can only mar it.’ In that sense, the Escalade is a thumb in TR’s eye. Covering hundreds of acres on Navajo Reservation land, it is arguably the most intrusive development ever proposed for the Grand Canyon—a $500 million to $1.1 billion recreation and transport facility featuring a 1.4-mile tramway equipped with eight-passenger gondolas that would carry as many as 10,000 people a day down to the river confluence, with new roads, hotels, gift shops, restaurants and other attractions. The developer—Confluence Partners LLC, a Scottsdale, Arizona-based investment group whose members’ ventures include real estate, resorts and theme parks—says construction of the Escalade could begin as early as this year.”
—From “Who Can Save the Grand Canyon?” David Roberts' Smithsonian magazine story about a controversial plan to develop 420 acres of the Grand Canyon's East Rim.
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