TUSAYAN — The Kaibab National Forest is providing an opportunity to comment on a proposed project to remodel existing campsites and expand the current footprint of Ten X Campground, which is located south of Tusayan about 5 miles south of the entrance to Grand Canyon National Park.
The comment period for the Ten X Campground Expansion project begins today and will continue through May 30. A draft environmental assessment, background documents, and other detailed project information are available for public review on the Kaibab National Forest website at www.fs.usda.gov/project/?project=55626.
The project is designed to increase overnight camping opportunities for visitors to the area and improve overall experience by upgrading aging facilities and adding amenities. The expansion would increase capacity from the current 70 campsites to a total of 300. The total expansion and remodel would encompass about 345 acres.
The remodeling of existing sites and the addition of new sites would increase Ten X Campground’s ability to accommodate large RVs while eliminating the current problem of parking along the Ten X roadway, which creates congestion and safety concerns. The 230 sites to be added would be a mix of RV-friendly, individual tent, and small group sites.
In order to facilitate the construction of the camping loops, a new roadway would be established as a larger loop surrounding the current campground footprint. Two egress routes would be added in order to better facilitate any future emergency evacuation.
Other proposed campground improvements include adding ramada structures with more grills, fire rings and picnic tables, as well as a new amphitheater for campfire talks. To see all proposed campground expansion features, visit the project website at www.fs.usda.gov/project/?project=55626.
“There is increasing public demand for recreation and overnight camping opportunities in the area, and Ten X is in the ideal location given its proximity to Grand Canyon National Park,” said Dutch Maatman, assistant recreation staff officer with the Kaibab National Forest. “We also believe this campground expansion project will reduce resource damage associated with the increase in dispersed camping we have seen on the Tusayan Ranger District.”
The Ten X Campground Expansion project would be completed in phases, with the first phase likely to include the creation of three new camping loops, the development of 4 miles of two-way main loop road, and the installation of a multilingual entrance station and centralized location to access visitor services. Other phases of the project and the specific components of each would be determined over time based on a continuing assessment of needs and opportunities.
Ten X Campground on the Tusayan Ranger District of the Kaibab National Forest was originally constructed in the early 1970s, and currently offers 70 individual sites, two large group sites, one host site, several vault toilets, and a potable drinking water system. Since the development of Ten X Campground, there have been only minor expansions and updates, leaving it vulnerable to frequent overcrowding and visitor use conflicts.
The comment period for the Ten X Campground Expansion project will continue through May 30. To submit comments, email them in an email message, plain text (.txt), rich text (.rtf), or Word document (.doc) format to comments-southwestern-kaibab-williams@fs.fed.us with the subject title of “Ten X Campground Expansion”; fax comments to (928) 635-5680; hand deliver comments Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. to Victoria Tyler at the Williams Ranger Station; or, mail comments to Victoria Tyler, NEPA Planner, 742 S. Clover Road, Williams AZ, 86046. For additional information on submitting comments, visit the project website at www.fs.usda.gov/project/?project=55626.
Kaibab National Forest information is also available through the following sources:
• Kaibab National Forest Website: www.fs.usda.gov/kaibab
• Twitter: www.twitter.com/KaibabNF
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/KaibabNF