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Navajo Lawmakers Set To Take Up Legislation For Grand Canyon Aerial Tram

Navajo Nation lawmakers are scheduled to take up legislation to build an aerial tram into the Grand Canyon next week.

A Navajo Nation Council spokesman says the Grand Canyon Escalade is the only item on next Tuesday’s special session so far.

The legislation introduced last year has struggled to gain widespread support.

Developers say the project would revitalize the region's economy. Opponents say it would desecrate the area.

The tram would carry visitors from the Grand Canyon's eastern edge 3,200 feet down to the Colorado River in 10 minutes. The Navajo Nation would have to invest $65 million to start the project.

KJZZ senior field correspondent Kathy Ritchie has 20 years of experience reporting and writing stories for national and local media outlets — nearly a decade of it has been spent in public media.