Italian developer Stilo wants the Kaibab National Forest to give it access to Forest Service roads for Stilo's environmentally damaging development in Tusayan.

This project would add three million square feet of commercial space and thousands of homes to Tusayan at the doorstep to the Grand Canyon National Park. It would dry up seeps and springs that feed the Park and the nearby Havasupai Indian Community, robbing these special places of the water they need to remain viable.

The ‘scoping process’ which provides a way for the public to weigh in started on April 24th  The Forest Service has established this link to take written comments through June 2^nd.

https://cara.ecosystem-management.org/Public//CommentInput?Project=46776

Or you can click here.

The following public scoping meetings are scheduled to provide information about the proposed action:

·       May 18, 5 to 8 p.m., Williams Elementary-Middle School, 601 N. 7^th St., Williams

·       May 19, 5 to 8 p.m., Grand Canyon Squire Inn, 100 Highway 64, Tusayan

·       May 20, 5 to 8 p.m., Doubletree Hotel, 1175 W. Route 66, Flagstaff

 You can also email the Forest Service at    comments-southwestern-kaibab@fs.fed.us using the subject line: Tusayan Roadway Easements.

Or you can write a letter

ATTN: Deirdre McLaughlin
Kaibab National Forest Williams Ranger District
742 S. Clover Rd.
Williams, AZ 86046

The fax number is  (928) 635-5680

The project is opposed by the Grand Canyon National Park because of serious water concerns and because such a large project could essentially trash the Grand Canyon.

The Grand Canyon School District is opposed to the road access because it would put thousands of speeding cars right next to the Tusayan Town Park where small children play. The land is also a future school site. The project is also opposed by the Sierra Club and the center for Biological Diversity. 

The only entity supporting this environmentally damaging process is the Town of Tusayan Town Council. Four of its five members are employed by developer Stilo or its business partner Elling Halvorson. Recently Halvorson has been engaged in efforts to get out of paying $700,000 he has owed in Arizona sales taxes. The only council member who has stood up to Stilo is Bill Fitzgerald. In response Stilo's lawyers tried to get Fitzgerald removed from office and fired from his job. They failed. 

The Los Angeles Times reported last year that the Superintendent of the Grand Canyon National Park described the Stilo plan as a major threat to the Grand Canyon.