Shelly’s deadline on Grand Canyon development comes and goes with no action

Navajo Nation president Ben Shelly’s December 31 for The Confluence Partners LLC to get community support for the proposed gondola tram/luxury resort on the northeast rim of the Grand Canyon passed quietly in the night.

There is no word from Window Rock, the Navajo Nation capital, on whether Shelly will forge a deal with this group, which yesterday unleashed a vitriolic newsletter that personally attacked people who have publicly opposed their development, such as publishing photos of opponents’ homes, and smearing the words of others who have made public statements against the project.

Shelly, in a memorandum to developers, asks them to conduct a “public outreach campaign.”

The newsletter, if an example of such public outreach, is dedicated to personal attacks against opponents.

In a memorandum early last year, Shelly told developers they must give proof of community support by Dec. 31, 2012, in order for him to enter the tribe into a business relationship with them.

The “Escalade” project, as developers call it, has become a deep wedge in the Bodaway/Gap community, causing painful discord within the community.

Last summer, the Bodaway/Gap Chapter asked Shelly to cancel a memorandum of agreement he signed with Scottsdale-based Confluence Partners LLC for an economic feasibility study. Then, after protracted battles, and an effort by the chapter leaders to overturn two opposing resolutions, the chapter wrestled a new resolution indicating that the chapter membership was deeply divided over the development.

The 59-52 vote supporting the development was forwarded to Shelly as “proof” that the community supported the project.

Meantime, opponents collected more than 1,500 petition signatures opposing the development, and submitted them to tribal leaders in Window Rock earlier this month. The website change.org also has collected more than 2,200 online signatures to be delivered to Shelly and to Congress opposing the development, for a total of 3,700 signatures.

Developers claim that they have collected about 2,700 signatures supporting their effort by paying full-time petition circulators to gather signatures. The opponents were unpaid volunteers who gathered their signatures on their own time, on weekends and outside of work hours. Had they worked full-time, like the paid circulators for the developers, it is likely that 3,000 signatures opposing the development would have been gathered.

Residents, homesite lease owners and grazing-permit holders at and near the Confluence oppose the development because it would interfere with sacred sites, hinder traditional religious practices, and mar the natural beauty of the land. The Hopi Tribe also has committed to filing a lawsuit to stop the project if the Navajo Nation moves forward with it. Coalmine Mesa, Coppermine and Cameron chapters also have passed resolutions opposing the development. The Navajo Medicinemen’s Association and the non-profit Grand Canyon Trust also are against the development.

Please contact your delegates and let them know how you feel about the proposed development at The Confluence:

Download Shelly’s letter to developers (3.8 MB PDF, requires Adobe Reader.)