Mohave Today

The Town of Tusayan is lobbying the Trump administration for the approval to build roads and electrical lines across a plot of federal land, which would allow a developer to build homes and hotels near the Grand Canyon.

Records show the town has paid $470,000 to the firm Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck LLP  for its lobbyists' work advocating for utilities, infrastructure and housing. Much of the work has involved the U.S. Forest Service, Interior Department, Department of Agriculture and both houses of Congress.

Conservationists say the lobbying could sway the process as the Forest Service considers development plans that would impact the Kaibab National Forest and the Grand Canyon's South Rim. Jayson O'Neill, deputy director of Western Values Project, worries there may be a conflict of interest and undue influence as Interior Secretary David Bernhardt was affiliated with Brownstein until 2017.

“While Bernhardt’s former lobby firm is pushing for approvals and cashing in, we know that if this controversial development moves forward, it will negatively impact both the Grand Canyon and Colorado River,” O’Neill told the Arizona Republic.

The Town of Tusayan and Stilo Development Group USA disagree and say the development would bring much-needed homes near the Grand Canyon. The town and developer's proposal is awaiting a decision by the U.S. Forest Service. Tusayan's vice mayor Brady Harris said the firm has received a flat fee for its services yearly. 

The town of about 600 residents relies heavily on its hotels and visitors to the Canyon's South Rim. The proposal is to reroute the main paved road to a 160-acre property called Kotzin Ranch, make a second unpaved emergency road and pave a 2.8-mile road through the national forest to a 190-acre property called Tex-X Ranch. The town has a direct stake in developing the two properties which were donated by Stilo in an agreement where the land was rezoned.

A previous proposal to develop the land was turned down in 2016. At that time critics opposed the size of the development and questioned where the water supply would come from, noting that groundwater pumping could damage springs in the Grand Canyon. The current proposal is different and allows for water to be carried in by truck. If the roads are built, the zoning allows for 2,500 hotel rooms, an RV park and 550,000 feet of commercial construction. The zoning also allows nearly 1,600 homes, both single-family and multi-family, on the Ten-X and Kotzin Ranch properties.

The Forest Service has not yet publicly commented on the town's proposal. 

In a letter, Rep. Tom O'Halleran said, “The current proposal continues to threaten the water supply of the South Rim and the Grand Canyon’s delicate ecosystem. Many of my constituents are concerned by the National Park  Service’s silence on this important issue.”

If the Forest Service accepts the proposal, it will then move forward to be reviewed under the National Environmental Policy Act.

Two of the town's efforts have been helped by Brownstein, the Forest Service proposal and a separate effort by the town to get a federal grant to run 60 miles of fiber to bring high-speed internet to a local school. The town and the school district received final approval from the Federal Communications Commission and is set to move forward with the internet project.