Lake Powell Chronicle | Page companies want GC’s east entrance to reopen

PAGE – The town of Page is putting pressure on the National Park Service. You want to reopen State Route 64.

A year ago, NPS closed the east entrance to the Grand Canyon in Desert View, affecting tourism travel from South Rim to Page, adding more than an hour’s drive. Mayor Bill Diak said this resulted in cancellations for local businesses.

For example, from Grand Canyon Village to Page, it’s a 133-mile drive on Highway 64. The closure of the freeway will force potential visitors to return south to Flagstaff and then travel north on US Route 89A (217 miles).

Diak said at the city council meeting last week, “There is no legitimate reason to have this gate closed at this point. It poses no threat to the area, 34 miles of uninhabited freeway up from 3,000 [miles] from other highways that were never closed during the COVID pandemic. “

City Manager Darren Coldwell said, “It’s kind of funny too, because the mayor spoke to the Grand Canyon NPS and they said that was it [Navajo] Nation that wanted it closed. We spoke to the president [Jonathan] Nez and Nez say it’s the NPS that wants it closed. So it’s hard to say. A little bit of politics comes into play somewhere. “

Navajo Nation Enables “Soft Reopening”

Nez told The Chronicle last month that he had spoken to Diak about the road closure. The 24th Navajo National Council passed a law last March that closed all roads in the Navajo nation to visitors and tourists due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We continue to meet with public health experts daily to find out when it is safe to reopen,” said Nez, “but the streets will remain closed to visitors until the public health emergency is cleared.”

Navajo Nation leaders recently cited a declining number of new COVID-19 cases and other improving conditions. Diné leaders announced a new public health ordinance that would allow some businesses – including the tribe’s four casinos – to reopen on March 15 at 25 percent capacity (for some businesses) under certain restrictions.

Reopening of the east entrance

NPS plans to open the east gate on May 21st. Diak asked NPS why this date. He said he was told, “Then we can occupy it.”

Diak said the city of Tusayan and its companies also want SR 64 to reopen earlier. He said, “Hopefully we’ll find a better date than May 21st.”

The official NPS website states: “The east entrance to the park in Desert View will remain closed to the neighboring Navajo nation due to COVID-19 lockdowns. The east entrance gate is locked. “

Page City Council unanimously voted to show unity and support Diak’s Resolution 1264-21 to open the eastern entrance to the south rim of Grand Canyon National Park.

Letter to the NPS

Dear Superintendent [Edward] Keable,

I am Bill Diak, and I am writing this letter in my official capacity as Mayor of the City of Page. At the Grand Canyon National Park Service briefing last week, I made comments expressing my community’s concern about the further closure of Highway 64. The aim of this letter is to formalize these comments on the closure of the eastern entrance. I originally supported the shared concern almost a year ago that the constant traffic from Cameron to the park could be a spread of COVID-19. With the decline in cases and the successful vaccination rate in the Navajo nation, it is time to allow traffic on HWY 64.

The nearly 3,000 miles of State and US highways on the Navajo Nation, as well as all the roads in the Navajo Nation, remain open. The state is moving at a good rate of people getting vaccinated, Governor Ducey eased restrictions and the Navajo Nation kicked him out of the park (no pun intended), over 135,000 doses of the vaccine were given to its residents and climbed quickly . Taking into account all of these factors

Now the concern has greatly diminished.

Superintendent Keable, I can tell you that the economic situation in Northern Arizona is not good. The Navajo Power Plant, which closed in November 2019 and eliminated 2,300 high paying living wage positions with benefits, is now gone! Almost 90% of these jobs were Navajo (Diné). In addition to the loss of NGS, the “pandemic” destroyed Page’s last industry, tourism. The city of Page laid off 27 hard-working employees, that is 20% of our workforce.

Approximately 1,000 seasonal jobs in our region were not hired in 2020. Two Navajo-owned companies closed their doors forever in Page, adding another 25 employees who are now looking for work. I am aware of 10 companies in the Navajo Nation outside of the site that have closed, adding another 300 people without work. I hope these stores will reopen when the Navajo Nation decides to reopen and that these people will get employed again.

Page is the biggest economic driver north of the Grand Canyon. If the East Entrance were open now, we could expect 500 of these people to work again this year. Our economic forecast estimates that another 300 jobs will be created in the next year. The last 200 made as overseas trips are returning to the region. Our region has one of the highest unemployment rates in the country. If we have the ability to change this, we must all try to do our part.

If anyone can prove that the 34 mile long road from the east entrance to Cameron is riskier than the Navajo Nation’s other 3,000 mile open roads, I will stand by them and support the closure with all of my political voice.

Mr. Superintendent, if the entrance to the east is open now versus May 21, it could make a difference of $ 8 million to $ 10 million for the region over the next 12 months. The bookings for the 2021-2022 season have already taken place. The continued closure of the East Entrance means more cancellations and no future bookings for our hotels, restaurants, tour groups and leisure rental companies. I personally ask you to open the East Entrance immediately.

If you have any questions that you think need clarification or that I can help you with, please feel free to contact me directly.

Regards,

Bill Diak

Diak sent copies of the letter to incumbent Secretary of the Interior Scott de la Vega, Governor Doug Ducey, Senator Mark Kelly, Senator Krysten Sinema, Congressman Tom O’Halleran, and President of the Navajo Nation Jonathan Nez.

Comments are closed.