IF THEY CAN DO IT AT THE GRAND CANYON
THEY CAN DO IT ANYWHERE!
By Ben Tennison,
Editor In Chief, Western Mule Magazine

Our American heritage is in jeopardy today. Who would have believed one of the great icons of our western heritage, The Grand Canyon Mules would be in jeopardy in our lifetime.

Western Mule Magazine broke this news of plans underway to do away with The Grand Canyon Mule trips within the Grand Canyon National Park back in September 2008. Western Mule readers’ response to the article was tremendous, with phone calls, letters and emails to the park service and to government officials. This outcry of injustice by readers prompted a letter from Park Superintendent Steve Martin himself calling the article erroneous, with only a temporary diversion of mule traffic on the Grand Canyon National Park trails. Steve Martin’s response was published before Superintendent Martin knew who Western Mule Magazine’s source was. We have had no response from the Park Service since our source was publicly revealed.

I have sent along a pdf file of the entire set of articles published in Western Mule Magazine since September 2008 on the Grand Canyon and the famous Grand Canyon Mules. With a tremendous amount of research from Western Mule Magazine contributor, Terry Wagner, these articles will take you where this battle began, through an in depth history of the Grand Canyon and the mules, up to current operations of today.

Even though we here at Western Mule Magazine have known of the move to do away with the mules of the Grand Canyon for over a year now, we were of the belief everyone knew about it. It has recently come to my attention the equine industry, as a whole, knows little about what’s taking place at the Grand Canyon National Park.

Even if you don’t own a mule or want to own a mule, this affects you! Next they will go after all our National Parks and livestock use within them. It will spread next on to our National Forest trails and access, all done by the very agencies responsible for preserving these historic places and our American Heritage.

This is a bigger battle than any one entity of the equine industry can battle alone. It will take the entire equine industry to save this heritage, the icons of the Grand Canyon and any private stock use into the Grand Canyon National Park.

Please read the articles as they appeared in Western Mule Magazine, written by Ben Tennison, Editor In Chief, Western Mule Magazine and then “Mules and the Grand Canyon”, a four part series, by Terry Wagner.

Our American heritage is in jeopardy. Livestock use in our National Parks is in jeopardy. This has gone way beyond “let’s wait and see.” December 2009 will be a critical month in the National Parks decision of the mules and livestock use in the Grand Canyon…No, December will be a critical month in detouring a decision I am of the belief, the Grand Canyon National Park Service has already begun to put into place.

From here to there,
Ben Tennison
Editor in Chief,
Western Mule Magazine

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