The iconic mule rides at the Grand Canyon will soon be cut drastically in a new plan approved by the National Park Service.

On the Bight Angel Trail, the southern rim’s most popular trail, the number of mules transporting visitors will be cut from 40 per day to just 10.

The park service cited complaints from hikers and trail erosion as the two main causes of the cutbacks.

Longtime Grand Canyon mule skinner Ron Clayton is one of many people disappointed with the decision.

"I feel like the Grand Canyon is a gift to people, and when you start restricting usage you make it almost impossible for elderly people to get down into the canyon, or the handicapped,” he said in an interview with the Arizona Daily Sun.

Source: USA Today