Ron Dungan

The Republic | azcentral.com

Navajo Nation Council delegates have rejected a plan to build a gondola ride into the eastern Grand Canyon, leaving the project's future in the hands of the full council.

The Naabik’iyati’ Committee voted 14-2 against the proposal, known as the Grand Canyon Escalade, which would sink the gondola into the Canyon near the confluence of the Colorado and Little Colorado rivers.

Only delegates Leonard Tsosie and the bill’s sponsor, Ben Bennett, voted in favor of the proposal in Thursday’s vote, according to the Save the Confluence, a group that has monitored the bill’s progress.

"The level of opposition … was really gratifying," said Roger Clark, a spokesman for the Grand Canyon Trust, a Flagstaff-based group that has opposed the plan. "The Save the Confluence people have been working really hard to convince as many members as possible to oppose the Escalade.”

READ MORE: Is gondola ride in the Grand Canyon's future?

Navajo legislation is vetted through a series of committees and, so far, three committees have voted against the Escalade proposal. A fourth committee vote tabled the proposal.

But the votes are not binding, and the full Navajo Nation Council could still pass the bill authorizing the project during its summer session, which begins Monday in Window Rock.

The project’s backers say the project would bring much-needed jobs to the region. Opponents argue that the Navajo would have to come up with $65 million for infrastructure to begin the project, and say it is not clear where that money would come from.

Others have cited violations of Navajo property rights, possible legal entanglements, and other problems. The project is one of many that conservationists say could desecrate the region and transform the Grand Canyon from a national park into an amusement park.

“It’s been pulled from the Naabi committee I think three times," Clark said. "And it was our contention that it was because they didn’t have enough votes. ... They not only didn’t have enough votes. It was only two votes. We’re optimistic that it will be voted down in the full council.”

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