Grand Canyon National Park Seeks Public Comment on Trans-Canyon Telephone Line

News Release Date: October 28, 2026
Contact:Grand Canyon Office of Communications

The National Park Service is seeking public comments on a proposal to address safety hazards associated with the removal and marking of portions of the historic Trans-Canyon Telephone Line while preserving important features of this National Register-listed resource. Comments will be accepted for 15 days, from Oct. 28 until midnight Nov. 11, 2026.

The historic Trans-Canyon Telephone Line extends through Grand Canyon's inner canyon, generally following the Bright Angel and North Kaibab Trails, with a spur toward the South Kaibab Trail. Reconstructed by Civilian Conservation Corps crews in 1935, the line is listed in the National Register of Historic Places for its significance in the park's communications, engineering and park administrative history.

NPS is proposing safety improvements to address hazards associated with portions of the historic telephone line. Suspended, handing and fallen telephone wires have created risks to helicopter and emergency operations in the inner canyon and can also pose entanglement hazards for wildlife.

Under the proposal, NPS would remove sections of historic telephone wire where necessary to eliminate safety hazards and install visibility markers on retained wire where appropriate. Historic poles, cross-arms, insulators and other associated hardware would remain in place unless they independently present a safety hazard.

Because the original copper wire is an important historic feature of the telephone line, NPS determined that removing of portions of the wire and adding safety markers would alter characteristics that contribute to the property's historical significance. Under the National Historic Preservation Act, those changes are considered an adverse effect.

In consultation with the Arizona State Historic Preservation Officer, NPS developed a draft Memorandum of Agreement to identify measures to address the project's effects on the historic Trans-Canyon Telephone Line in accordance with the National Historic Preservation Act. The agreement would allow the park to address known safety hazards while documenting and preserving the history and significance of the telephone line.

For additional details and to review and submit comments, visit the NPS Planning, Environment, and Public Comment website and click on "Open for Comment."

During the comment period, any individual or group may submit comments electronically through the PEPC project website, which is the preferred method for submitting comments.

All comments are public records and may be made publicly available at any time, including personal information such as addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, or other details included in comment submissions.

-NPS-

RSS Feed | What is RSS?