Enjoy the view for now: Grand Canyon 'growth' plans a threat

Visitors enjoy the view along the Rim Trail. Most visitors stop at the rim, never venturing to the bottom of the canyon. The new development aims to change that. - MCT

Grand Canyon park officials say existing development and the scarcity of water have already stressed the park’s ability to handle visitors. New projects would only make matters worse.

At the rim of the Grand Canyon in Arizona, bus-loads of Chinese tourists jostle on a recent day with 20-something backpackers and an Amish family with rambunctious boys in suspenders and straw hats, all eager for a prime viewing spot. They gaze out on a dizzying sight of receding canyons and sheer rock walls, with the Colorado River cutting through the canyon floor a mile down.