A particular view of the Canyon de Chelly National Monument will soon become off-limits to tourists, after a decision to prohibit commercial air tours of the area, believed to be one of the longest, continuously-inhabited areas in North America.
The National Park Service (NPS) and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced on Friday, December 20 that they have completed their Air Tour Management Plan (ATMP) and Environmental Assessment (EA) of the national monument, in Northeastern Arizona. As part of the plan, the authorities decided to prohibit all commercial air tours over the park, stretching up to 0.8 kilometers (0.5 miles) of the park’s boundary. From June 17, 2025, 180 days after the agreement was signed, arial tours of the park will cease.
In order to conduct tours by helicopter or plane, operators must comply with the National Park Air Tour Management Act of 2000.
“The Act requires operators wishing to conduct commercial air tours over national parks, or over tribal lands within or abutting national parks, to apply to the FAA for authority to conduct such tours,” the FAA explains on their website. “The Act further requires FAA, in cooperation with the National Park Service, to establish air tour management plans for parks or tribal lands for which applications are submitted.”
Following a 30-day public comment period, the NPS announced that the new plan, aimed at protecting the “natural and cultural resources, sacred Tribal places, wilderness areas, and visitor experiences”.
“Prohibiting commercial air tours protects these lands’ cultural and spiritual significance to the Navajo Nation,” Park Superintendent Lyn Carranza said in a statement. “Canyon de Chelly National Monument’s Air Tour Management Plan honors the unique nation-to-nation relationship regarding decisions affecting the park and helps to preserve one of the most important archeological landscapes in the southwest.”
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The area, still lived in by members of the Navajo Nation, has been pretty much continuously inhabited.
“The Ancient Puebloans found the canyons an ideal place to plant crops and raise families. The first settlers built pit houses that were then replaced with more sophisticated homes as more families migrated to the area,” the NPS explains on their website. “More homes were built in alcoves to take advantage of the sunlight and natural protection. People thrived until the mid-1300’s when the Puebloans left the canyons to seek better farmlands.”
The Hopi tribe, who descended from the Ancient Puebloans, migrated to the area and farmed corn and peaches there, before moving westwards. After this, the Navajo (or Diné) settled in the area and continued to farm the land. In all, the canyons have been continuously occupied for around 5,000 years, with the area having a huge cultural significance for the Navajo.
While air tours of the monument will soon be prohibited, tours of the area will continue, with tours available with park rangers and Navajo guides.
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