Allocation.  (See Recreational River Use Allocation.)

Alternative Motorboat Technology.  (See Quiet Technology Project.) 

Attraction Sites.  Points of interest within the Grand Canyon that draw the visiting public.  Notable attraction sites include the mouth of the Little Colorado River, Deer Creek Falls, and Havasu Canyon.  Because of their popularity, these sites receive a higher level of visitor use.

Colorado River Corridor.  That narrow portion of the Grand Canyon containing the Colorado River and its immediate environs.  As defined by the National Park Service, this area comprises 12,190 acres of the park’s 1.18 million total area.

Colorado River Management Plan (CRMP).  A subset of Grand Canyon National Park’s General Management Plan, the Colorado River Management Plan is a National Park Service planning document, produced via a public involvement process as required by the National Environmental Policy Act, that contains the rules and regulations governing access to and activities within the Colorado River corridor within Grand Canyon National Park.

Commercial Operating Requirements (CORs).  A set of National Park Service regulations governing operations by the Grand Canyon’s professional river outfitters and their conduct of public whitewater river excursions within Grand Canyon National Park.  The COR’s are reviewed annually and updated as needed by the National Park Service. 

Commercial River Use.  That portion of the recreational river use allocation at Grand Canyon National Park, quantified in user-days, made available to the general public by the Grand Canyon’s professional river outfitters in the form of public whitewater river excursions.  The licensed river outfitters are legally obligated to make this use available to the general public on a non-discriminatory basis.  Currently, the recreational river use allocation for the Grand Canyon totals 169,950 user-days, of which 115,500 are allocated to the commercial sector.  The commercial portion of recreational river use is also called outfitted, professionally outfitted, or professionally guided use.  Each year, approximately 19,000 people travel on approximately 640 professionally outfitted river trips through Grand Canyon National Park.

Concession Contracts.  Binding contracts the National Park Service enters into with private sector businesses ("concessioners") to provide services within units of the National Park System.  As governed by the National Park Service Concessions Management Improvement Act of 1998, concessions are limited to those that are “necessary and appropriate for public use and enjoyment” of the public resource and must be "consistent to the highest practicable degree" with the preservation and conservation of the resources and values” of the park.  It is pursuant to this authority, and the concession contracts issued thereunder, that the members of the Grand Canyon River Outfitters Association provide to the public with professionally outfitted whitewater river trips within Grand Canyon National Park.

Concessioner.  An individual or business entity that holds a National Park Service concession contract for the provision of approved visitor services within a unit of the National Park System.

Four-Stroke Motors.  An inherently cleaner and quieter internal combustion engine design, in contrast to two-stroke motor designs.  The name "four-stroke" is derived from the number of piston strokes required to complete the engine's combustion cycle of intake, compression, power, and exhaust.  In a two-stroke engine, the intake and exhaust portions of the cycle happen in one piston stroke via ports that sit opposite each other in the cylinder wall.  In order for both intake and exhaust to happen in one stroke, both ports have to be open at the same time resulting in a significant portion of the air/fuel mixture (from intake port) being expelled directly into the environment unburned as it mixes with the exhaust gases as they are expelled via the exhaust port.  A four-stroke engine performs intake and exhaust in different strokes and uses valves that open and close separately to prevent the mixture of unburned fuel with exhaust gases.  Four-stroke motors release ninety percent less hydrocarbon emissions into the environment compared to two-stroke designs.  For more information on four-stoke motors and their importance in the Grand Canyon, please click here.

General Management Plan (GMP).  Standard National Park Service operating procedures call for each unit within the system to develop, using the required National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) public involvement process, a general plan to govern the agency’s management of that park unit.  GMP's provide general management direction and are often supported by additional subset plans such as the Colorado River Management Plan (CRMP) at Grand Canyon National Park.

Grand Canyon River Outfitters Association.  A non-profit trade group whose members include the sixteen professional river outfitters who provide public whitewater rafting trips in Grand Canyon National Park.  All members are licensed concessioners of the National Park Service. Formed in 1996, GCROA works with the public and the media to provide information and to answer questions about Grand Canyon river running and related issues.  Our mission is to protect and conserve the environment and resources of the Grand Canyon with a particular emphasis on the Colorado River corridor, to provide a diverse range of the highest quality Grand Canyon river experiences for the professionally outfitted public, and to support the people and places of the Grand Canyon river community.

Grand Canyon River Trip Simulator.  An integrated statistical and artificial intelligence-based computer simulation program that models complex, dynamic human/environment interactions on the Colorado River Corridor within Grand Canyon National Park. This computerized river use model is the result of collaboration between the National Park Service, the School of Natural and Renewable Resources at the University of Arizona and the Department of Mathematics and Statistics at Northern Arizona University. Created with unprecedented cooperation from the various stakeholders affected by the recreational policies of the Colorado River, the River Trip Simulator provides an objective information tool that can be used to improve public policy decision-making regarding management of visitor use on the Colorado River within the Grand Canyon, and the quality of the surrounding debates.  For more information, please click here.

Group Size.  The NPS places limits on group sizes for recreational river trips running in Grand Canyon. Currently, commercial rafting trips are limited to a maximum group size of thirty-six passengers plus crew.  The current group size maximum for private rafting trips is sixteen participants.

Guide.  Professional Grand Canyon river guides are licensed via a process that includes a formal test on their knowledge of State of Arizona, U.S. Coat Guard, and National Park Service regulations.  Further, guides must possess a working knowledge of all environmental protection equipment and sanitation procedures for river trips, must have operated a boat on a minimum of six trips in Grand Canyon, and must possess current Wilderness Advanced First Aid (or higher level) and CPR certification.  In addition, potential guides must submit a nomination or sponsorship letter from one of the sixteen professional river outfitters that generally recommends the guide’s safe and effective boat operation, navigation and repair skills, their knowledge of emergency and evacuation procedures, and their ability to effectively provide interpretation of the Grand Canyon’s natural and human history points to passengers.  Each license is good for a period of three years and is specific to a type of watercraft:  motor, oar, or kayak.  Carrying a guide license card authorizes the guide to operate a boat carrying commercial passengers through the Grand Canyon under the direction of a Trip Leader.  A potential guide who does not have their license yet may operate a “baggage” or support boat for training purposes, but may not carry any passengers.

Launch-Based Management System.  A method of administering recreational river use using river trip launches as the fundamental limitation.  This contrasts with or can be combined with the current system used in the Grand Canyon, which is based on the “user-day” concept. 

Lees Ferry Launch Limits.  Currently the NPS regulates Colorado River use by placing a limit on the number of passengers or participants allowed to launch from Lees Ferry on any given day.  In general, a maximum of 150 commercial passengers may launch daily, a number that drops to 134 on days with two scheduled non-commercial river trip launches.  There are additional limits on the number of commercial motor-powered boats that can depart from Lee’s Ferry daily and on the number of commercial launches per day during the secondary season.

Limits of Acceptable Change (LAC).  A regulatory system currently in use at Grand Canyon National Park and used widely by federal land managers elsewhere within the National Park Service, at the U.S. Forest Service, and within the Bureau of Land Management, that depends on established triggers for additional management activity to take place should visitor use result in unacceptable impacts.  The LAC concept relies on science-based impact thresholds to maintain recreation use levels below established visitor use or environmental carrying capacities.  If the proscribed use thresholds are surpassed, additional management is required to protect the resource or the visitor experience.  The LAC system was first used to develop recreation management strategies in the Bob Marshall Wilderness Complex in Montana in 1987.

National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) Process.  The National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, or NEPA as it’s commonly referred to, requires all federal agencies, before taking any "major federal action" that may significantly affect "the quality of the human environment," to prepare "a detailed statement" evaluating the environmental impact of, and reasonable alternatives to, the proposed action.  NEPA reflects "a broad national commitment to protecting and promoting environmental quality" by ensuring that the agency has adequately considered and disclosed the environmental impacts of its actions. Thus, before approving a proposed action that could have an impact on the resources of the park, the NPS may be required to undertake an environmental assessment or environmental impact statement to identify ways to mitigate that impact.  See our NPS Legal Mandates page on this website for more information about the various laws that shape management of Grand Canyon.

No-Motor Season.  Motor-powered boats are prohibited from launching between September 16 and December 15, inclusive.  During the remainder of the year, both oar and motor-powered boats may launch.

Non-Commercial Operating Requirements.  A set of National Park Service regulations governing the application for, preparation, launch, and on-river activities of private or non-commercial trip permittees and river trip participants within Grand Canyon National Park.

Non-Commercial (Private) River Use.  That portion of the recreational river use allocation, quantified in user-days, made available to those members of the public who wish to organize and guide their own whitewater river excursions through Grand Canyon National Park.  Currently, the recreational river use allocation for the Grand Canyon totals 169,950 user-days, of which 54,450 are allocated to the non-commercial sector.  Approximately 3,000 people travel on approximately 260 private trips each year.  The non-commercial portion of recreational river use is also called private, self-outfitted, self-organized, or self-guided use.

Non-Recreational River Use.  River trips in Grand Canyon fall into one of two main categories:  recreational river use and non-recreational river use.  Non-recreational river use encompasses river trips run for Grand Canyon National Park, other government agencies, and private sector scientific research as well as for Grand Canyon National Park administrative purposes.  Non-recreational river use does not have a fixed user-day allocation and is strictly administered by Grand Canyon National Park for approved uses.

Orientation Talk.  A presentation given by the outfitters’ staff and/or professional guides to welcome the commercial river trip passengers and inform and educate them regarding on-river, hiking, and camping safety measures, environmental protection requirements, and other basics of a “day on the river.”  The Commercial Operating Requirements state that all companies shall conduct orientation talks prior to departure from Lees Ferry and that the talks shall cover the main elements of Grand Canyon National Park’s environmental and safety requirements.

Outfitter, or River Outfitter.  Companies or individuals who provide all the necessary elements for members of the general public to enjoy an outdoor activity that they would not be able to do on their own without gathering all of the required elements:  knowledge of the area and terrain, skill, experience, equipment, and safety/emergency techniques.  Because outfitted use in Grand Canyon is managed on the basis of contracts issued to individuals or business entities, this term is synonymous with professional outfitter, professional guide, concessioner, or commercial operator.

Passenger Exchange or Interchange.  A passenger exchange happens when one passenger leaves a trip partway through the canyon and is exchanged, or replaced, with an incoming passenger who completes the second portion of the trip.  Exchange trips enable three to five day partial canyon trips on motorized watercraft and five to nine day partial canyon oar-powered trips.

Primary Season.  The primary season is when most of the recreational river use takes place.  It is basically from May through September.  See also Secondary Season.

Private River Use.  (See Non-Commercial River Use.)

Quiet Technology Project.  In the summer of 1999, the Grand Canyon River Outfitters Association launched an exploration into electric vehicle technology as it may be applied to Grand Canyon river boats.  Our goal is to develop a silent, zero emissions alternative motorboat propulsion system suitable for Colorado River whitewater river operations within Grand Canyon National Park. To date, three prototypes have been constructed that are currently undergoing extensive testing. Ultimately, the Grand Canyon’s professional river outfitters hope to capitalize on the expected benefits of emerging fuel cell technology for this project.  Please click here for more information.

Real People/Real Dates.   A non-commercial or private river trip permit distribution concept, suggested by the Grand Canyon River Outfitters Association (GCROA), designed to provide reasonable access to the Colorado River within the Grand Canyon for private trip participants on par with what professionally outfitted patrons currently enjoy. This system is based on a straightforward reservations model that capitalizes on travel industry practices commonly used throughout the world. When a reservation is made under this system, the river trip’s participants must be identified and a specific launch date must be selected.  Please click here for more information.

Recreational River Use Allocation.  A set amount of river use “allocated” for the enjoyment of members of the public who want to raft on the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon National Park.  Since the NPS limits the number of people who can go on these trips each year, demand far exceeds supply.  Recreational “use” of the river is measured and managed by a system of user-days:  one user-day being one day in a person’s life in the canyon.  Recreational use is further split into two categories:  private or non-outfitted use and commercial or outfitted use.  Approximately 22,000 people participate on a whitewater Grand Canyon river trip each year, and many more wait to have their adventure another year.

Secondary Season.  This portion of the year comprises a rafting season that has much less activity than the primary season does.  Recreational river use allocation for the secondary season is much less and Lees Ferry launch limits are much more strict.  The secondary season basically runs from October through April of the following year. 

Trip Contacts.  In general terms, this is when the participants of one river trip see the boats and/or passengers of another trip.  Trip contacts are a gage for the NPS to manage levels of crowding and provide sufficient opportunities for solitude. There are many details that go in to counting and analyzing trip contacts; the major categories are on-river encounters, attraction site encounters and camp encounters.

Trip Leader.  A person qualified, in capability, character, and personality, and licensed by Grand Canyon National Park Service to lead a commercial, or professionally outfitted, rafting trip.  In order to obtain a Trip Leader card, the person must have operated ten trips in Grand Canyon as a guide (in addition to the six required to be licensed as a guide), must have knowledge and be capable of giving passengers a suitable orientation talk, and must have a higher level of emergency medical certification than is required for guides:  Wilderness First Responder (WFR) or higher level and CPR certification.

Trip Length (duration).  The Commercial Operating Requirements set the maximum trip lengths between eighteen to twenty-one days (thirty days for trips launching from December through February).  Commercial full canyon trip lengths in Grand Canyon range from six to thirteen days on a motorized raft and from twelve to twenty-one days on non-motorized watercraft.  Opportunities for passengers to experience a shorter portion of the overall trip length can be found on trips that offer a passenger exchange or interchange.

User-Days.  The method of measuring the limited amount of recreational river use allocation.    One user-day is equal to one day in a person’s life in the canyon.  For example, one person on a fifteen-day oar trip uses fifteen of the total recreational user-day allocation.  Recreational user-days total 169,950 and are split as follows:  54,450 user-days (32%) are allocated to the private sector and 115,500 (68%) are allocated to the commercial sector.

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