Saving Monument Valley Group hopes to begin effort to save, restore tribal park

MONUMENT VALLEY, Feb. 28, 2008

Fifty years of vehicle traffic at Monument Valley have taken their toll.

"The present system of unrestricted vehicle access into the Monument Valley Tribal Park is destroying the land, plants and animals while posing health risks to the residents because of dust and traffic," according to Harold Simpson, president of the Monument Valley Tour Operators Association.

The problem, he said, is that no one has the money to maintain the area and as a result, one of the most beautiful places in the world has been allowed to deteriorate.

The area is filled with graffiti and over the years people have carved out their own roads in areas that were never meant to see traffic, he said.

Hundreds of petroglyphs have also been damaged or destroyed over the years.

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"There has been a lot of impact to the land," Simpson said, adding that uninformed outside tour guides often direct company vehicles onto extremely fragile landscapes and residents' private home sites.

Many factors endanger the Monument Valley landscape and Navajo lifeways, he said.

"The local people struggle economically while the region is one of the poorest in the United States," he said. "Residents live without electricity, drinking water, indoor plumbing and decent roads.

"Yet more than 250,000 people and thousands of tour buses spend millions of dollars each year to visit the area," he said.

All of this is coming to a head now that the Navajo Nation is planning a number of events in the park as part of its 50th anniversary celebration in April.

Wynona House, a spokeswoman for the tribe's Parks and Recreation Department, said her department is making plans for at least five events over the next year to commemorate the anniversary.

All dates, she said, are still tentative.

The first event will be a marathon that is scheduled for April 12 and 13.

A concert is being planned for June 27 and a balloon rally for Dec. 12-14. The tribe is also planning a celebration when its new Monument Valley resort opens - probably this fall - and work has begun on a Discover Navajo Expo, which doesn't have any date so far.

Art Ortega, whose company is building the motel complex, said construction is on schedule despite the wet winter, and the company is hoping to open the facility July 11.

The hotel has 96 rooms and will cost $7 million when finished. Another $5 million in infrastructure costs is also projected.

Each room will have its own balcony with a view of Monument Valley.

The resort opening and the other events surrounding the 50th anniversary celebration are expected to increase tourism to the area and Simpson said he and others who make a living at the park are worried about the effects of the increased traffic.

There is even talk of a company coming in and offering helicopter tours in the area again.

Simpson said a company offered helicopter tours in the 1990s but after three years of steady noise complaints from valley residents and Kayenta and Oljato chapters, the helicopter tours were stopped.

Officials at both chapters said they hadn't heard of any plans to revive the helicopter tours.

However, House said talks are pending and the company has indicated it wants to start the tours this spring.

Simpson said if something is to be done to save the area, it might have to be the people who love the area to take the lead.

His association is setting up a Friends of Monument Valley organization that would include people and groups who depend on the valley for their living, or those who simply want to restore the land to its condition before it became a popular tourist destination.

The group will use the expertise of its members to meet the challenges facing the park, Simpson said. The organization is not asking for dues or fees but wants people to donate their time and talents to help the area and to create awareness among the public about the problems.

Information: Harold Simpson, 435-727-3362, or friendsofmonumentvalley@yahoo.com.