The Generous vs. The Restrictives: A Contested Boundary

Even at the beginning of this archive exploration, it is clear to me how contested the Grand Canyon National Park boundary would be in almost every part. Here's a summary as I begin compiling the detailed record:

Proceeding counter-clockwise (see map at end), and starting with

1. the developed rim area from Bright Angel (the Village, as planned out by the Forest Service in Matoon's report and dominated by the Santa Fe) to Grandview. The struggle is almost down to the square foot for railroad right-of-way, the road, hotels. At times, it seems as if the Restrictives don't want Park visitors to have room to breathe.

2. The south rim in general was in a tug-of-war between grazing, particularly over water & cattle movement, and Park administration.

3. The east side seems of little interest, maybe because of the Navajo pressures.

4. How much to include of Marble Gorge? As with each piece, the struggle was between the Generous and the Restrictives. The latter had a narrow vision of the big hole from Nankoweap to below the Powell Plateau, often for exploitative reasons. The Generous did not have a vision of the greater Grand Canyon, but they had some sense of beginnings, extent, and geographic relationships.

5. The Kaibab Plateau. In spite of the timber, the area may have been too little known to generate much fight yet, though the Monument was on the Restrictives' side. The talk so far is about the trees on the south rim. But we shall see.

6. Kanab Creek. The Generous really lost out, and it is not clear why.

7. To the west. Again, the area was perhaps too little known. Although both Hualapai and Havasupai were in residence, they figured little in the contest.

8. The southwest. Grazing interests entered in, and the Havasupai get mentioned, but the friendly 1914 proposal by the local Forest Service for an adequate reservation had been shelved, even after approval by the Agriculture Secretary.

In general, the discussion often went back and forth over how to change the Monument boundary, though it has its own difficulties. Here is that complete Forest Service 1907 map again showing the 1908 GCNM as proclaimed and administered by the Forest Service until 1919: