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Nov 11, 2026:
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Nonfunctioning Telephone Wire Removal from the Inner Canyon
Grand Canyon NP » Nonfunctioning Telephone Wire Removal from the Inner Canyon
The removal of portions of the historic telephone wire is being undertaken for safety reasons. Sections of the line have presented hazards to helicopter and emergency operations in the inner canyon and hanging or fallen wire has also created wildlife entanglement hazards.
The Trans-Canyon Telephone Line is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. Because the historic copper wire is a contributing component of the listed property, removal of hazardous wire and installation of aerial safety markers would alter characteristics that contribute to the property's historic significance and have therefore been determined to result in an adverse effect.
The draft Memorandum of Agreement is being developed in consultation with the Arizona State Historic Preservation Officer to resolve the adverse effect in accordance with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act. The agreement would allow the park to address documented safety hazards while providing for mitigation measures including photographic and Historic American Engineering Record documentation, management of the remaining historic telephone line, and curation of representative examples of the historic copper telephone wire in the park's museum collections.
The Trans-Canyon Telephone Line is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. Because the historic copper wire is a contributing component of the listed property, removal of hazardous wire and installation of aerial safety markers would alter characteristics that contribute to the property's historic significance and have therefore been determined to result in an adverse effect.
The draft Memorandum of Agreement is being developed in consultation with the Arizona State Historic Preservation Officer to resolve the adverse effect in accordance with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act. The agreement would allow the park to address documented safety hazards while providing for mitigation measures including photographic and Historic American Engineering Record documentation, management of the remaining historic telephone line, and curation of representative examples of the historic copper telephone wire in the park's museum collections.