Visitors can now walk right off the edge of the Grand Canyon.

The brand new $30 million Grand Canyon Skywalk, located on the Hualapai Indian Reservation in Arizona, opened to the public March 28. It gives visitors a whole new view of the canyon for just $25 more than the regular park entry fee.

The problem? The glass and metal structure – extending 70 feet from the canyon rim and suspended 4,000 feet above the canyon floor – is quite an eyesore. National parks are the wrong place for tourist traps, and the tribe should not have to resort to these tactics for funding.

The Skywalk presents an issue for environmentalists who seek preservation of one of America's most sacred natural monuments – and they have a right to be upset.

According to a March Seattle Times article, members of the Hualapai tribe have also voiced concerns about the Skywalk disturbing nearby burial sites. The Hualapai eventually agreed to the attraction to help bring visitors to their section of the canyon, according to the Times.

An additionally troublesome issue is the motivation for the project. The article reported that one-third of the tribe's 2,200 members are living in poverty, one of the main reasons behind the tribe's agreement to the Skywalk.

Tribes like the Hualapai shouldn't have to go to these lengths to get their people out of poverty, and sacred sites like the Grand Canyon are certainly not the ticket to accomplishing this.

America's national parks shouldn't have to be destroyed to educate and feed people in need of help. The solution is for communities around reservations in trouble to step up when their neighbors are in need.

If they don't, next year we might see the construction of the Grand Canyon's own "Thunder Mountain".