Noise Issues: Grand Canyon National Park

The Grand Canyon National Park in the state of Arizona is a spectacular geological wonder and is visited each year by thousands who come to see its beauty and experience its unique soundscape. The tourist industry is big business in Arizona and the border state of Nevada with helicopter and aircraft tours providing a view not unlike that seen in the first video below. But there is an issues of noise.  The second video is a plea for quieting the sky above the canyon. These two videos are followed by links to US National Park Service web sites related to noise management in the Park.

Grand Canyon (3:03) The Canyon is beautiful from the air and this video illustrates the view visitors who fly over it might expect to see. It was produced by Aerial Filmworks in cooperation with Grand Canyon National Park permission. Special attention was given to securing permits and obtaining a review of the filming plan before production started. Source: Vimeo

Grand Canyon Quiet (4:39) A video plea to address the preservation of the natural quiet of this unique geological wonder, which is acoustically encroached upon by the many daily sightseeing flights over it. A video by Jim McCarthy and Tom Martin.  Source: YouTube

Efforts by the US National Park service to address soundscape issues within the park are outlined in: 

Grand Canyon Noise Management. A web site by the National Park Service addressing soundscape preservation and noise management. Source: US National Park Servicve

Special Flight Rules. National Park Service web site related to substantial restoration of natural quiet at the Grand Canyon National Park. Source: US National Park Service