A COMPARATIVE-STUDY OF THE PLANNING AND MANAGEMENT OF MONUMENT VALLEYTRIBAL PARK AND CANYON-DE-CHELLY NATIONAL MONUMENT

Monument Valley Tribal Park and Canyon de Chelly National Monument are two world class sites that are both situated within the Navajo Reserv ation. The former is a Navajo Tribal Park and the latter is a unit in the United States National Park System. A review of legislative and ad ministrative histories reveals that most Navajos did not understand th e significance of land withdrawal at the time of park establishment an d that after unsure beginnings each site is currently managed with gre ater responsiveness to local residents. In recent years there have bee n significant increases in visitation at each site. As a direct result of tribal planning and management policy changes, Monument Valley has substantially increased visitor services and park employment opportun ities while Canyon de Chelly has been subject to federal budget cutbac ks. Problems associated with oral promises to local residents are also discussed.