Rancher seeks federal probe in Grand Canyon Skywalk road dispute

The rancher who charged tour buses to pass through his property on their way to the Grand Canyon Skywalk over Memorial Day weekend is asking for a congressional inquiry into why the Bureau of Land Management allowed a Native American tribe to build an emergency bypass around his ranch, causing what he contends is major environmental damage. Nigel Turner sent the letter Thursday to U.S. Rep. Ann Kirpatrick, D-Ariz., asking that she investigate the matter, insisting that dozens of old Joshua trees have been leveled, a great deal of erosion has upset the stability of the landscape, and several sacred Indian burial grounds have been unearthed during road construction. Also, an environmental impact assessment was never conducted in early June, when the work began, he said. Kirpatrick could not be reached for comment Thursday. The BLM rarely resorts to emergency measures but waived the environmental study in this case to protect the interest of the public and the thousands of tourists who were charged an unexpected fee, said Ruben Sanchez, a BLM field officer in Kingman, Ariz...more