NEWS RELEASES
Editor's Note: This news item was retrieved and first published through Backpacker's website.
Stilo Development Group has proposed to build 1.8 million square feet of lodging, shops, restaurants, educational facilities, as well as residences and perhaps a hotel near the town of Tusayan, just a few miles from Grand Canyon National Park’s south entrance. Stilo Development Group says it would create affordable housing and relieve pressure on the park’s aging infrastructure. Those that are against it say it threatens the park’s wildlife, water sources, air quality, roads, and even its dark skies. Backpacker writer, Elizabeth Miller, relays in her article, "Andy Jacobs, a spokesperson for Stilo, said the development aims to improve options for people who spend a night in Tusayan by offering them something more unique than a Motel 6 for their stay, as well as an educational or cultural center to better understand the region’s unique geological and cultural assets." The Havasupai Tribe, which lives at the canyon bottom, fears the proposal could drain the tribe’s primary water source and Havasu Falls, an aquamarine waterfall accessed on a permit-only overnight hike that sells out within minutes of when the annual sale starts, and affect culturally significant sites. To read more on the proposal, click here.