Huh? I was listening to a local radio show today, when I heard the show’s host claim that rangers at the Grand Canyon National Park can not tell visitors the age of the Grand Canyon because it might offend creationists. And in the Canyon bookstore is a book for sale that claims that the Grand Canyon was formed by Noah’s Flood! So, when folks ask, just how old is this canyon, the Rangers won’t say, according to an article referenced by the radio show.

What’s going on here? According to one report Grand Canyon National Park officials are not permitted to give an “official estimate” of the age of the Canyon due to pressure from Bush administration officials. When you read the article however, you must be careful to realize that the authors of the article represent an environmental action group, and they might slant the language a bit. For example, in the article you will read this:

“In order to avoid offending religious fundamentalists, our National Park Service is under orders to suspend its belief in geology,” stated PEER Executive Director Jeff Ruch. “It is disconcerting that the official position of a national park as to the geologic age of the Grand Canyon is ‘no comment.” It is hard to believe that Rangers at the park would suspend their “belief” in geology. But, to even entertain the idea is amazing.

Apparently park officials have tried to ban the sale of the book, Grand Canyon: A Different View by Tom Vail, in park bookstores. However, the local park officials were over ruled by the National Park Headquarters. Here we have an example of government officials ignoring science research and instead establishing policy based on personal or religious views, rather than on the content expertise of the particular situation. You might want to follow the previous link, not to Vail’s book, but a review of it by a scientist. And there you will find that not only does the book have bad science, but it is filled by bad theology. But that’s another story.

The Grand Canyon did not evolve over the past 6,000 years, which it was according to Vail and his band of authors. The Grand Canyon took millions of years to create, and it exposes rocks that are more than two billion years old.