This series includes subject files of Grand Canyon National Park (GRCA), which was created to manage the site of the Grand Canyon. In his 1908 proclamation establishing the Grand Canyon preserve, President Theodore Roosevelt noted that it was of "unusual scientific interest, being the greatest eroded canyon within the United States." The files contain correspondence, photographs, reports, memoranda, park publications and studies. The materials relate to administrative activities such as park-wide planning, land use and acquisition and fiscal planning; projects such as the construction and maintenance of buildings, roads and trails; responses to policy directives from the Washington, DC support office (WASO) and the Southwest Regional Office (SWRO); and Grand Canyon National Park relationships with other Federal, state and local agencies, concessionaires and the public. Some files document planning and studies related to the management of natural and cultural resources in the park including wildlife studies, wildfire control, archaeological surveys and excavations, historical site information and the development of museum exhibits. Also included are records relating to public visitation including interpretive plans, the creation of interpretive publications, recreation activities and visitor statistics.
Of particular interest are records related to the Mission 66 program, which was initiated in 1956 and intended to address growing public visitation to the parks. Mission 66 focused on improving visitor centers, public facilities including campgrounds, roads and trails within the park and encouraged private businesses to develop accommodations in the communities around the parks.
Other records of interest include the files of park naturalist, Edwin McKee; wildlife survey reports compiled by the Kaibab National Forest; correspondence between the Park and river runners such as Dock Marston and Georgie Clark regarding conditions in the Grand Canyon and issues involving the Colorado River; and records relating to concessionaires such as the Kolb Brothers Studio, the Fred Harvey Company and Verkamps.
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