Keeping an eye on the Grand Canyon’s river

CATHARINE COOPER

Desert scents, released by the night’s rain, permeate the narrow

walls of Ventana Canyon and fill my nostrils with the heady fragrance

of wet creosote and paloverde.

My friend, Laurie Lee, and I climb rock-laden slopes in soft early

light, chattering the full gamut of guys, kids, friends, parents,

work and travel.

A special topic takes precedent this morning -- the meetings of

the preceding day and the formation of the Grand Canyon River Runners

Assn., of which I have been selected as a founding board member.

The association has been formed as a response to the pending

release of the Colorado River Management Plan. This is a visitor-use

management plan that specifies actions to “preserve park resources

while enhancing recreational opportunities in the river corridor.”

The plan is designed to establish goals and objectives for the

next decade and beyond. Specifically, the plan is set to determine

appropriate levels of visitor-use consistent with preservation

practices, allocation of that use between concessionaires and private

boaters, continued use of motorized rafts, alternatives to the

noncommercial permit system, a decision on the range of services,

i.e., type of trip and trip length available to the public and

continued use of helicopters to transport river passengers.

The first River Use Plan was developed for the Grand Canyon in

1972 and was the subject of two lawsuits in 2000 and 2001. The

current effort to update the plan began in 2002 with public scoping

sessions held across the country.

More than 55,000 individual comments have been recorded, and the

National Park Service has done detailed analytical research, run

computer simulations to test alternatives and incorporated the

scoping input into a number of planning alternatives.

The reason for the creation of a runners association and my

involvement is that the bulk of those 55,000 comments came from an

extremely well-organized group of private boaters and their

supporters who want to shift user allocation away from the licensed

outfitters to their own use. They have waged a highly successful

campaign, enlisting the aid of the Sierra Club and the Wilderness

Society.

I find myself in an unusual position, as a member of both of those

organizations, yet on the other side of their arguments. What’s at

stake, truly, is the ability of the general public to continue to

enjoy current levels of access to a treasured resource, the river

corridor of the Grand Canyon.

One of the thornier issues is the desire to increase the

wilderness status of the Grand Canyon, an issue that has been mired

in policy and management debates since the 1970s. Wilderness

designation requires that land to be free of the handprint of humans

and their use, something not possible since the construction of Glen

Canyon Dam and the resulting modifications to the ecosystem within

the canyon.

One of the main targets of those desiring wilderness status is the

continued use of motorized rafts. While it would seem to anyone who

knows me that this is an issue I would likely support, my experience

is that motor invasiveness in the canyon is over-exaggerated. Five

years ago, members of the Grand Canyon River Outfitters Assn.

voluntarily replaced all two-stroke with environmentally friendly,

quiet and nearly emission-free, four-stroke engines.

On a deeper philosophical level, motorized raft usage provides an

expanded ability for the vast majority of the public to enjoy a river

trip. Trip lengths of less than one week can be booked, thus a family

with limited time and resources can experience and benefit from a

journey in the canyon. Today, three out of four professionally

outfitted passengers depend on motorized access. To reduce motorized

use could cut the current level of passengers able to book those

trips from 19,000 annually to perhaps as few as 8,000.

The other looming management issue is the extended waiting list

for private boater permits. The canyon runners association’s position

is that the system is broken, needs to be repaired, but not at the

expense of the broader spectrum of the general public. The fact

remains that the bulk of the population has neither the white-water

expertise nor the equipment to outfit and run a trip of their own

down the Grand Canyon.

The association’s founding board consists of seven members: Dwight

Sherwood, Linda Kahan, Mari Carlos, Pam Whitney, Ruthie Stoner,

Robert McConnell and myself. We come from far reaches of the country

and bring special skill sets to the organization.

What we share is a passionate love for rafting in the Grand Canyon

and a desire that the same experience remains available to you, your

families and all of your friends.

To learn more about the organization and find out ways in which

you can participate to secure the broadest spectrum of river travel

options in the Grand Canyon, explore our website:

https://www.gcrra.org.

* CATHARINE COOPER loves wild places -- and works to insure their

continued existence. She can be reached at [email protected].