Infos zum Grand Canyon NP

Mal was zur Geschichte des Grand Canyon NPs, der heute vor 98 Jahren gegründet wurde.

Wilson establishes Grand Canyon as a national park, Feb. 26, 1919

Zitat

Three years after the creation of the National Park Service, on this day in 1919, President Woodrow Wilson signed into law a bill establishing the Grand Canyon as the nation’s 15th national park. Nearly 2 billion years of the Earth’s history are exposed as the Colorado River and its tributaries cut through the sediment.
A history report in 2000 by Michael Anderson for the Grand Canyon Association notes that President Theodore Roosevelt liberally interpreted the Antiquities Act of 1906 in creating the 1,279-square-mile Grand Canyon National Monument in 1908. The monument was carved from Grand Canyon National Forest, initially designated by President Benjamin Harrison as a preserve in 1893. The U.S. Forest Service managed the monument from 1908 until it became a national park, relying on the Santa Fe Railroad to invest in roads, trails and facilities to serve a budding tourism industry.
Roosevelt visited the Grand Canyon area in 1903 to hunt cougars and enjoy the spectacular scenery. On that occasion, he said: “The Grand Canyon fills me with awe. It is beyond comparison — beyond description; absolutely unparalleled throughout the wide world ... Let this great wonder of nature remain as it now is. Do nothing to mar its grandeur, sublimity and loveliness. You cannot improve on it. But what you can do is to keep it for your children, your children’s children, and all who come after you, as the one great sights which every American should see.”
Sen. Henry Ashurst (D-Ariz.), whose father, a prospector who had once sought to extract minerals from the canyon’s depths, introduced the successful national park legislation on April 4, 1917. Senate approval came on May 16, 1918. However, America’s entry into World War I and negotiations over the park’s boundaries delayed action by the House Committee on Public Lands until Oct. 18, 1918. With that hurdle cleared, the bill moved quickly to Wilson’s desk.
The canyon’s elevation to national park status thwarted proposals to dam the Colorado River within its boundaries. Instead, engineers built the Glen Canyon Dam upriver, flooding that canyon and creating Lake Powell, which is more than 400 feet deep and 150 miles long and covers nearly 2,000 miles of shoreline. The south rim of the park is open all year. The north rim, which is closed for the winter, will reopen on May 15.
Today, Grand Canyon National Park attracts more than 5 million visitors each year — compared with 44,173 visitors who visited the park when it first opened in 1919. More than 205 million visitors have been there since. The National Park Service reported that a total of 5,969,811 people visited the park last year.

Link

Careful: It's icy at the Grand Canyon (and crowded)

Zitat

We're in the midst of spring break season, which means more tourists at the Grand Canyon.
We're also on the tail end of winter, which means there's ice and people sliding around up there.
Folks at Grand Canyon National Park shared some harrowing photos that show the potential dangers of the canyon this time of year in vivid detail. Though the black socks might be as big as big a concern as the ice is.

Link mit Bildern

Rain, Snowmelt Making Grand Canyon Park's Water Cloudy

Zitat

Grand Canyon National Park officials say the park's drinking water is a little cloudy - just like it is this time every year due to tiny particles of dissolved rock and minerals from snowmelt and spring rains.
Park officials say the water gets that way due to increased water flows through rock formations.
They say the suspended inorganic material remains in the treated potable water because it's too small to be removed by the centrifugal separation process used at Roaring Springs.
Officials say the annual event that typically lasts into late June or early July has been exhaustively studied over the past 22 decades.
They say the water doesn't pose a public health risk but that they increase chlorine treatment of the water because the turbidity can interfere with the disinfection process.

Link

Grand Canyon National Park Starts Hauling Water to North Rim as Pipeline Repairs Continue

Zitat

Grand Canyon National Park’s North Rim will open as scheduled May 15 with limited visitor services despite major storm-caused breaks in the only pipeline that supplies its water.

The park hired a private local contractor to haul at least 40,000 gallons of water a day to storage tanks on the North Rim. Hauling began midday April 28, and will continue until the pipeline is fixed and the park has enough drinking water stored for visitors and to meet structural fire requirements.

Pipeline repairs are ahead of the original 45-day anticipated schedule despite extremely challenging work conditions. Park management still anticipates restoration of most lodging, camping, and other services at the North Rim by May 26, with some water-conservation measures for North Rim visitors and employees.

Grand Canyon Lodge North Rim, a Forever Resorts property, will offer limited food and beverage services starting May 15. Overnight accommodations begin May 26.

Campsites will open May 15 with potable water and portable toilets, but no public laundry and shower facilities. The North Rim grocery store, gas station and post office will be open. Grand Canyon Trail Rides offered at the North Rim will begin operations May 15. The North Rim Visitor Center and Grand Canyon Association bookstore will be open as scheduled from 8 am to 6 pm daily, with a variety of ranger programs offered. The backcountry information center will be open 8 am to noon and 1 pm to 5 pm daily.

South Rim and Phantom Ranch operations are not affected by the pipeline damage.

Multiple breaks in the North Rim pipeline were caused by unusually heavy winter storms that led to rockslides. It is the worst damage the pipeline has suffered in more than 20 years. Partially exposed as it traverses rough canyon terrain, the pipeline is subject to frequent damage from rockslides as well as age-related failures.

Park maintenance crews discovered March 14 that a rockslide had taken out more than 300 feet of horizontal pipeline on steep terrain, and damaged eight retaining walls and about 800 feet of the North Kaibab Trail. The initial break was repaired, but when park crews tested the pipeline April 25, they discovered another 60 feet of vertical pipeline was missing higher up on even steeper terrain. The new break and two smaller breaks above and below it could be fixed as early as May 6. Minor leaks may also need repairing, but a visual inspection of the pipeline indicates there are no more breaks.

Equipment and replacement sections of pipeline must be helicoptered in. The pipeline must be positioned, welded, and assembled on the sides of dangerous and steep cliffs. Helicopter support, fall-protection equipment, and other required safety materials are being used to keep the crew safe.

“The priority of the park’s response to the incident is minimizing risk and addressing the well-being of employees, partners and visitors, while doing all we can to mitigate this situation,” park Superintendent Chris Lehnertz said.

The North Rim pipeline transports water from within the canyon at Roaring Springs to the North Rim and is operated from approximately May to November. The only public potable water available on the North Rim is stored in its water-holding tanks.

The North Kaibab Trail has been repaired and is open, although hikers may experience brief delays as trail crews continue working. The National Park Service emphasizes the importance of staying on designated trails at all times and hikers should not attempt to go over or around a closure. Trail users should pay attention to directions from park rangers, volunteers, and signs placed along the trail.

Alles anzeigen

Link

Grand Canyon Helicopters launches new heli and whitewater rafting tour

Zitat

Grand Canyon Helicopters has announced the launch of a new tour: Heli & Whitewater Rafting Adventure.
Offered in partnership with Hualapai River Runners, the tour starts in Las Vegas and offers a four hour whitewater tour with rapids, lunch and a helicopter flight before landing at Grand Canyon West Airport.
Costs include limousine transportation, flights and whitewater rafting. The tour lasts 12 hours. Multilingual narration is available in Chinese (Mandarin and Cantonese), Dutch, English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese and Spanish. The Heli & Whitewater Rafting Tour will be available through Oct. 31, 2017.

Link und mehr Infos

National Park Service ends ban on disposable water bottles

Zitat

The federal government announced Wednesday it will eliminate a policy that allowed national parks like the Grand Canyon to ban the sale of bottled water in an effort to curb litter.
The National Park Service said in a statement it made the decision to "expand hydration options for recreationalists, hikers, and other visitors to national parks."
The rules were first put in place in 2011 after it became clear discarded water bottles were becoming a big litter problem in national parks. The policy did not stop the sale of bottled sweetened drinks.
Officials say 23 of the 417 National Park Service sites have implemented the policy since it was enacted. Those include some the nation's most popular destinations such as the Grand Canyon, Zion National Park, Bryce Canyon National Park and Mount Rushmore.
The bottled water and beverage industry have previously lobbied aggressively to keep bottled water at U.S. national parks.
International Bottled Water Association spokeswoman Jill Culora praised the Park Service's decision in a statement, calling the policy "seriously flawed" and noted it still allowed other less healthy beverages that are packaged in heavier types of containers.
The parks system has done studies that show plastic bottles are among the biggest source of pollution in places like the Grand Canyon. In a 2012 report, the Grand Canyon found large decreases in bottles found on trails, for example. The study also cited birds and other animals getting plastic chunks of bottle lodged in their throats.
Grand Canyon National Park did not immediately respond to requests for comment. It is unclear if it will allow retailers to start selling disposable water bottles again.
"It's a really bad message for the parks to be sending and inconsistent with their mission which is ... to protect the resources, and so having plastic water bottles littering the landscape is certainly not consistent with that," said Sandy Bahr of the Arizona chapter of the Sierra Club. "The National Park Service should be showing leadership and setting examples and not taking steps backward — and that's what this is."
The National Park Service believes visitors can best choose the right beverages for themselves and their families when visiting the agency's parks across the United States, spokesman Jeremy Barnum said.
"Specifically (parks like) Grand Canyon where there's great options for bringing your own bottle — which is a pretty common phenomenon for a lot of folks, but not everyone shows up to a national park with their own water bottle — and so we're just expanding those options for those folks," Barnum said.
Officials from the Park Service heard from members of Congress regarding the ban, and the House Appropriations Committee asked them to review the policy, Barnum said.
The rollback of the policy would become effective immediately, officials said. Parks will still promote recycling of plastic water bottles, and many have worked with partners to provide free water in bottle-filling stations, they said

Alles anzeigen

Link

Water pipeline breaks again at Grand Canyon National Park

Zitat

Several locations within Grand Canyon National Park will be without water or on stored water until at least Monday while crews repair another pipeline break.
Phantom Ranch will be on stored water with standard water restrictions while Cottonwood Campground and Roaring Spring will be without water.
Hikers will need to be able to carry or treat all of their drinking water.
Park officials say the pipeline break is about five miles north of Phantom Ranch in a narrow section of the Bright Angel Trail along Bright Angel Creek.
The flow of water from Roaring Springs will be turned off Friday so repairs can begin.
The Transcanyon Water Pipeline opened in 1965 and was designed to last for 40 years, but there have been more than 80 pipeline breaks since 2010.

Link

Phantom Ranch at Grand Canyon switching to online lottery for reservations

Zitat

he process of reserving a coveted bed at Phantom Ranch in Grand Canyon is about to get a little smoother.
Grand Canyon National Park Lodges, which manages accommodations at the South Rim, is switching from telephone reservations to an online lottery for the only lodging at the bottom of the Canyon.
No longer will would-be guests have to keep dialing and redialing on the first day of each month in hopes of getting through.
But you'll still have to plan well ahead. Fifteen months ahead, to be exact.
The new system is in effect for stays beginning in January 2019 so those interested in that month should enter the online lottery starting on Nov. 1 of this year. Under the phone-in system, reservations could be made 13 months ahead.

Here's how the new process works, according to the Grand Canyon National Park Lodges website:
Enter the online lottery between the first and 25th day of the month 15 months ahead of your desired stay. Lottery submissions will be processed, winners will be notified and reservations will be guaranteed the following month.
If you're chosen, you'll have to pay in advance. If you cancel your plans within 45 days of the start of your stay, you forfeit your payment.
The current requirement that guests reconfirm their reservations two days before their stay will remain in place.
Those who don’t get selected in the lottery will get another chance as any unclaimed reservations will be released for general sale (on a first-come, first-served basis) starting 13 months in advance of the stay.
Phantom Ranch is the only lodging below the rim of the Grand Canyon so beds there are coveted. Lodging consists of men's and women's dorms each with five bunk beds and a small bathroom, plus several rustic stone cabins of varying sizes with bunk beds and cold-water sinks. Cabin guests shower in a nearby bath house.
Dorm beds cost $51; cabins cost $149 for two people plus $13 for each additional person.
In addition to having to deal with the phone-reservation system, those wishing to secure a bed at Phantom Ranch also were frustrated by people who did get through tying up dates they often did not use. Some people would reserve multiple dates while making plans and then cancel the extra days once their trips were finalized.
The online lottery also will apply to overnight mule rides to Phantom Ranch.

Alles anzeigen

Link (mit einigen tollen Bildern)

Court upholds Obama-era ban on uranium mining near Grand Canyon

Zitat

The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday upheld a 20-year ban on new uranium mining on public land near the Grand Canyon, while also striking down a challenge to an existing uranium mine south of Grand Canyon National Park.
In its opinion, the court ruled that the ban, imposed in 2012 under former President Barack Obama, lines up with the Constitution and federal environmental laws. However, it ruled that a mine six miles south of the national park had a right to operate.
"We upheld the decision of the Secretary of the Interior to withdraw, for twenty years, more than one million acres of public lands around Grand Canyon National Park from new mining claims," the opinion states. "That withdrawal did not extinguish 'valid existing rights.'"
The ban was put in place by the U.S. Department of the Interior under former Secretary Ken Salazar. It came as mining operations were renewing their interest in uranium deposits near the Canyon.
A spokeswoman for the Department of the Interior declined to comment Tuesday and said the Department of Justice handles questions on litigation.
A DOJ spokesman declined to comment and did not respond to further questions.

Link

South Rim Roads Improvement Project to begin in Early January

Zitat

Construction will begin as early as January 2, 2018 at the Hermit Road interchange to resurface and improve the Hermit Road and Village Loop intersection. This is the first part of a 2018 Federal Highways Administration project to improve several intersections and about 15 miles of roads in the park. The road improvements will help preserve and extend the life of existing roads. Work will be completed by Fann Contracting, Inc of Prescott, AZ.

During this first phase of construction, Village Loop Road between the west end of Bright Angel Lodge parking lot and the south end of the Maswik Lodge complex will be closed and detours will be in place. Traffic from the El Tovar Hotel to the west end of the Bright Angel Lodge parking lot will become two-way traffic. To accommodate this, there will be no street-side parking for visitors or residents near the El Tovar, Kachina, Thunderbird, and Bright Angel lodges, Colter Hall, or the Train Depot. Buses and oversize vehicles will be able to turn around using the Bright Angel Lodge parking lot.

Hermit Road will remain open via a detour from Maswik Lodge. To access Hermit Road and viewpoints, Hermits Rest, and the Hermit Trail, traffic will be rerouted from Maswik Lodge Road to Rowe Well Road. Detour signs will be in place. The Village Route shuttle will continue to operate and the timetable and stops may be adjusted. Informational signs will be posted at the bus stops.

Next phases of the construction project will occur throughout 2018, with overall completion anticipated by September, 2018. The NPS will send out regular updated announcements about predicted closures, detours, and possible impacts to traffic, visitors, and residents.

There will be an opportunity for interested community members and the public to hear updates about the project, next steps, and to meet with the contractor and NPS staff during an open house on January 10, 2018. The open house will be held from 4 pm to 6 pm at Shrine of the Ages. All members of the community and public are welcome to stop by anytime during the open house.

Alles anzeigen

Link zur NPS

Watch: Grand Canyon cloud inversion

A full cloud inversion followed by a snowstorm over Grand Canyon National Park in this gorgeous new time-lapse.
Link

Grand Canyon is a national treasure, not a place for uranium mining

Zitat

The Grand Canyon is a great natural treasure, one of the most recognizable and revered landscapes on earth. And yet, despite its universally beloved status, it is threatened by the Trump administration. A recently released government report reveals that President Donald Trump and his Cabinet are considering lifting the ban on uranium mining on the federally owned public lands that surround Grand Canyon National Park.

We are former superintendents of Grand Canyon National Park. We managed the park with pride for current and future generations of the American public -- the park's true owners. We are dismayed that the current administration is considering putting one of the most iconic places in our nation, indeed in the world, at risk of contamination from uranium mining.

Mehr hier - bei CNN

11. Januar 1908 - Grand Canyon wird zum National Monument erklärt

Zitat

Bis zu 1.800 Meter tief hat sich der Colorado River in die majestätischen Felsen gegraben. In Jahrmillionen ist in Arizona eine Schluchtenlandschaft entstanden, die tiefe Einblicke in die Erdgeschichte gewährt.
John Wesley Powell hat im Bürgerkrieg einen Arm verloren. Dennoch durchfährt der Forscher 1869 als Erster im Boot das Labyrinth aus Schleifen, Schluchten und Stromschnellen. Mit neun Männern kartographiert Powell das Naturwunder und gibt ihm seinen Namen: Grand Canyon.

"Der Mensch kann hier nur Schaden anrichten"
Kaum erschlossen, schießen am Grand Canyon Siedlungen und Hotels aus dem Boden, die Exploration von Bodenschätzen beginnt. Ein Industrieller plant sogar eine Bahnlinie im Flussbett des Colorado. Als erster Präsident setzt sich Benjamin Harrison (1889-1893) dafür ein, den Grand Canyon zum Nationalpark zu erklären – erfolglos.

1902 zieht der draufgängerische, naturverbundene Theodore Roosevelt ins Weiße Haus ein. Er kennt die Wildnis des Westens aus eigenem Erleben und fordert: Diese amerikanische Ur-Landschaft muss in ihrer Ursprünglichkeit für nachfolgende Generationen erhalten werden.
"Lasst den Grand Canyon, wie er ist, man kann ihn nicht verbessern", verlangt der Präsident, "die Zeiten haben ihn geschaffen. Der Mensch kann hier nur Schaden anrichten." Doch wie sein Vorgänger kann auch Roosevelt den US-Kongress nicht von der Schutzwürdigkeit des Grand Canyon überzeugen.

Erhebung zum Nationalpark
Deshalb erlässt Roosevelt 1906 mit präsidialer Machtbefugnis den "Antiquities Act". Am 11. Januar 1908 erklärt er den Grand Canyon kraft der Verfügung im Alleingang zum "National Monument". Elf Jahre später kann Roosevelts Nachfolger Woodrow Wilson dem Felsenmonument den Schutzstatus eines Nationalparks verleihen.

58 solcher Nationalreservate und 129 National Monuments besitzen die USA derzeit. Wohl nicht mehr lange, seit Präsident Donald Trump begonnen hat, zahlreiche nationale Schutzzonen zur wirtschaftlichen Ausbeutung freizugeben: "Um den Bürgern euren Grund und Boden, euer Land wiederzugeben."

Alles anzeigen

Link

So läuft es nach dem Government Shutdown zurzeit am Grand Canyon

Zitat

Visitors arriving at the South Rim of the Grand Canyon this morning found maps, trail guides and unmanned entrance stations, meaning free admission due to the federal government shutdown.
All lanes were open Monday morning as the government shutdown extended into its third day, though there was no one to collect the $30-per-vehicle fee, according to Grand Canyon National Park spokesperson Emily Davis.

What is closed at the Canyon
The visitor center
South Rim museums
back-country permit office
the North Rim

Hotels, restaurants and retail outlets in the park also were open, as they are businesses run by concessionaires, Davis said. The shuttle service also was operating, though the situation was fluid and could change as the day progressed, Davis warned.

We don’t know what’s going to happen as we go forward, but for now the canyon is open,” Davis said.
All public restrooms also remained open.
National Park-run facilities were closed, including the visitor center and the few museums along the South Rim. The office issuing back-country permits also was closed.
Plows also have cleared roads following a storm that dumped three inches of snow on the South Rim, Davis said.
The North Rim remains closed for the winter season. It reopens May 15.

Alles anzeigen

Link

South Rim roads improvement project begins next phase Feb. 4

Zitat

Another phase of the 2018 South Rim roads improvement project will begin the week of Feb. 4, which will include full closures of several Grand Canyon Village intersections.
All services and facilities will be open and accessible. Visitors and residents should expect delays and new traffic flow patterns, and should follow detour signs, flaggers, and temporary stop lights. All motorists should slow down in construction zones.
Closures during this phase of construction include the South Entrance Road and Village Loop Drive intersection and the South Entrance Road and Zuni Way intersection. Traffic to and from Grand Canyon Village, including the rim lodges, will follow a detour on Center Road.
Traffic on South Entrance Road between Grand Canyon Visitor Center and Center Road will be restricted to southbound traffic only. All traffic to the visitor center will follow the detour along Center and Market Plaza roads. Motorists traveling from the South Entrance Station to Grand Canyon Visitor Center and Desert View Drive will follow a detour on Center and Market Plaza roads.
Shuttle buses will continue to operate, although stops and times will be altered in some locations. The Village Route stops at Shrine of Ages and Village East will not be in operation. Bus stops will have maps, information, and walking directions, as needed.

Link

Mit einigen Bildern:
Grand Canyon Skywalk: Prices, directions and everything to know before you go