Stop “Italian development company’s plan to disembody mother earths Grand Canyon.
Italian development company Stilo Gruppo purchased land near the south rim of the Grand Canyon in 1990 and now hopes to move ahead with the long-planned development.
As Common Dreams reported in 2015, conservation campaigners earlier fought Stilo's attempt to obtain a permit to build a road cutting through Kaibab National Forest, the first stage of their development.
"The Forest Service is putting Grand Canyon National Park in the crosshairs by considering Tusayan's dangerous, damaging plan for a mega-resort," said Kevin Dahl of the National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA) at the time. "This proposal is not in the public interest and is one of the greatest threats Grand Canyon National Park has seen in its history."
As the NPCA wrote after the U.S. Forest Service eventually rejected Stilo's proposal, voters in the local county helped keep the company's plans from moving forward for decades.
"That all changed when the tiny gateway town of Tusayan (fewer than 600 residents) incorporated and annexed this land," said the NPCA. "In 2014, Tusayan approved zoning for Stilo to allow 2,176 residential units and three million square feet of retail space (equal to the size of 10 big box stores)."
The NPCA and other opponents warn that the Stilo development would destroy springs that provide drinking water that the Havasupai have lived on for hundreds of years.
"The only water currently available in Tusayan is groundwater, which is pumped from the aquifer that feeds ecologically and culturally important springs within Grand Canyon National Park," the NPCA explained after the earlier project was blocked in 2016. "More groundwater pumping would likely lower aquifer levels, damaging or drying up the springs. The aquifer is also the sole source of water for Havasu Creek. This creek is the lifeblood of members of the Havasupai Tribe, who rely on it for drinking and irrigation waterThe pipeline "would require a valid, and as yet undisclosed, water right, would also require rights-of-way through Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management lands to complete its route from water source to the town of Tusayan," Gitlin said. "Pumping water uphill along the 270-mile line would require a tremendous amount of energy. In 2017, Grand Canyon National Park released a proposal for a new water pipeline to bring drinking water to the South Rim. Stilo and the town of Tusayan may be encouraging the park to obtain water from this pipeline, which will likely be owned by a foreign corporation."The pipeline "would require a valid, and as yet undisclosed, water right, would also require rights-of-way through Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management lands to complete its route from water source to the town of Tusayan," Gitlin said. "Pumping water uphill along the 270-mile line would require a tremendous amount of energy. In 2017, Grand Canyon National Park released a proposal for a new water pipeline to bring drinking water to the South Rim. Stilo and the town of Tusayan may be encouraging the park to obtain water from this pipeline, which will likely be owned by a foreign corporation."
The town is expected to apply for the rights to repurpose the pipeline within the next several months, enabling the larger development to move forward, Gitlin told Common Dreams."I beg you to care about this. “The Grand Canyon has been a home to Indigenous Americans for over 800 years and a protected national park for 100 years. ( tweetby;jack)"
(Not my context, just someone whom seen the post)
Sign PetitionSign PetitionAs Common Dreams reported in 2015, conservation campaigners earlier fought Stilo's attempt to obtain a permit to build a road cutting through Kaibab National Forest, the first stage of their development.
"The Forest Service is putting Grand Canyon National Park in the crosshairs by considering Tusayan's dangerous, damaging plan for a mega-resort," said Kevin Dahl of the National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA) at the time. "This proposal is not in the public interest and is one of the greatest threats Grand Canyon National Park has seen in its history."
As the NPCA wrote after the U.S. Forest Service eventually rejected Stilo's proposal, voters in the local county helped keep the company's plans from moving forward for decades.
"That all changed when the tiny gateway town of Tusayan (fewer than 600 residents) incorporated and annexed this land," said the NPCA. "In 2014, Tusayan approved zoning for Stilo to allow 2,176 residential units and three million square feet of retail space (equal to the size of 10 big box stores)."
The NPCA and other opponents warn that the Stilo development would destroy springs that provide drinking water that the Havasupai have lived on for hundreds of years.
"The only water currently available in Tusayan is groundwater, which is pumped from the aquifer that feeds ecologically and culturally important springs within Grand Canyon National Park," the NPCA explained after the earlier project was blocked in 2016. "More groundwater pumping would likely lower aquifer levels, damaging or drying up the springs. The aquifer is also the sole source of water for Havasu Creek. This creek is the lifeblood of members of the Havasupai Tribe, who rely on it for drinking and irrigation waterThe pipeline "would require a valid, and as yet undisclosed, water right, would also require rights-of-way through Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management lands to complete its route from water source to the town of Tusayan," Gitlin said. "Pumping water uphill along the 270-mile line would require a tremendous amount of energy. In 2017, Grand Canyon National Park released a proposal for a new water pipeline to bring drinking water to the South Rim. Stilo and the town of Tusayan may be encouraging the park to obtain water from this pipeline, which will likely be owned by a foreign corporation."The pipeline "would require a valid, and as yet undisclosed, water right, would also require rights-of-way through Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management lands to complete its route from water source to the town of Tusayan," Gitlin said. "Pumping water uphill along the 270-mile line would require a tremendous amount of energy. In 2017, Grand Canyon National Park released a proposal for a new water pipeline to bring drinking water to the South Rim. Stilo and the town of Tusayan may be encouraging the park to obtain water from this pipeline, which will likely be owned by a foreign corporation."
The town is expected to apply for the rights to repurpose the pipeline within the next several months, enabling the larger development to move forward, Gitlin told Common Dreams."I beg you to care about this. “The Grand Canyon has been a home to Indigenous Americans for over 800 years and a protected national park for 100 years. ( tweetby;jack)"
(Not my context, just someone whom seen the post)
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