Assistant Secretary for Fish Wildlife and Parks to Visit Grand Canyon National Park

Grand Canyon, AZ - Craig Manson, Assistant Secretary for Fish Wildlife and Parks in the U.S. Department of the Interior, will visit Grand Canyon National Park on Thursday, August 5, to look at a variety of issues affecting the Park including transportation and maintenance backlog. Assistant Secretary Manson will also look at several projects that have been accomplished by the park using funds from the Recreation Fee Demonstration Program and other funding sources.

"We're excited about this visit," said Joe Alston, Park Superintendent. "It provides us an opportunity to show the Assistant Secretary the in-roads we've been making on our maintenance backlog projects and to discuss issues affecting Grand Canyon National Park including transportation, the Colorado River Management Plan, overflights, and fire management among others."

According to Alston, a central part of the visit will be a briefing for Mr. Manson on transportation issues at the park, including a lower-cost transportation alternative being developed by the park that will address traffic congestion, visitor safety and improvements to the visitor experience.

"We're proud of our accomplishments in the park," Alston said. "We have several exciting projects underway and many more that are proposed for the future. Secretary Manson has expressed an interest in many of these projects and this is a wonderful opportunity for him to see them first hand."

Mr. Manson oversees the National Park Service and the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. He is responsible for 388 National Parks and 538 National Wildlife Refuges covering a total of 178 million acres in the continental United States, Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, Guam, the Virgin Islands, and American Samoa. He is responsible for approximately 30,000 employees, 140,000 volunteers, and a budget of approximately $3 billion. He has responsibility for administration and enforcement of the Endangered Species Act and represents the Secretary of the Interior on various boards, commissions, and task forces.

Mr. Manson will be available to meet with members of the media from 3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. at the El Tovar Hotel mezzanine. The El Tovar is located in the historic district on the South Rim of Grand Canyon National Park. Please RSVP to Maureen Oltrogge, Public Affairs Officer at (928) 638-7779.