National Park Service News Release
Record of Decision Signed on Revision of
Colorado River Management Plan for Grand Canyon National
Park
March 23, 2006
Grand Canyon, AZ – The National Park Service (NPS)
announced in the Federal Register today the availability
of the “Record of Decision” (ROD) for the revision
of Grand Canyon National Park’s Colorado River Management
Plan (CRMP).
The ROD, signed by Intermountain Regional Director Mike
Snyder, is the latest step of a multi-year effort to complete
the revision of the CRMP - last revised in 1989. The CRMP
is a visitor use management plan which specifies actions
to conserve park resources and the visitor experience, while
enhancing recreational opportunities. The life of the plan
is intended to be at least 10 years, and it will also establish
management goals and objectives for a longer timeframe.
Grand Canyon National Park began this latest process to
revise the CRMP in 2002. The Hualapai Tribe, which shares
a common boundary with the National Park Service (NPS) along
108 miles of the Colorado River, was a cooperating agency
in the preparation of the Environmental Impact Statement,
prepared under the provisions of the National Environmental
Policy Act. Meetings were held throughout the country to
identify the kinds of issues the public thought the NPS
should consider in developing a long-term management plan.
Major issues and concerns regarding resource protection,
visitor experience and services raised during the public
process included:
· Appropriate levels of visitor use
consistent with natural and cultural resource protection,
visitor experience goals, and wilderness character
· Allocation of use between commercial and noncommercial
groups
· Noncommercial permit system
· Appropriate levels of motorized and nonmotorized
boat use
· Determination of the range of public services
· Levels of helicopter use to transport river passengers
to and from the river
· Appropriate levels and types of upstream travel
from Lake Mead
· Quality of river trips including crowding, trip
length, group size, and scheduling issues
· Administrative use
For purposes of the Environmental Impact Statement, the
Colorado River in the park was divided into two geographic
sections that recognize the different management zones on
the river, and a specific set of alternatives were developed
for each section. The first section of river is from Lees
Ferry (River Mile [RM] 0) to Diamond Creek (RM 226). The
second section is from Diamond Creek (RM 226) to Lake Mead
(RM 277). In developing the plan, NPS considered eight management
scenarios for the first section of river and five management
scenarios for the second section of river. Each scenario
was analyzed for its impacts on the environment and for
how well it complies with federal laws, regulations, policies,
previous planning decisions, the park’s vision, and
other mandates for the management of recreational use on
the Colorado River through Grand Canyon National Park. The
ROD adopts the NPS preferred alternative for each section
of the river.
For the first section of river from Lees Ferry to Diamond
Creek, the ROD calls for a mixed motor/no-motor alternative
with 5.5 months of mixed use occurring from April 1 through
September 15, and 6.5 months of non-motorized use from September
16 through March 31. The decision also calls for smaller
group sizes and fewer daily allowable launches except during
winter months, and allows for a moderate increase in estimated
yearly passenger totals. Passenger exchanges at Whitmore
will be allowed only during the mixed-use period, April
1 through September 15, with a time-of-day restriction,
and in the non-motorized season only for those trips launching
during the mixed-use period.
The ROD calls for use limits and a redistribution of Hualapai
River Runner (HRR) operations for the section of river from
Diamond Creek to Lake Mead. Peak daily use for commercial
day trips launching from Diamond Creek will be comparable
to current conditions, with smaller maximum group sizes,
while commercial overnight trips could increase from a current
average of three launches per month to up to three launches
per day. The number of pontoon boat passengers in the Quartermaster
area will be capped at 480 per day, but could increase to
600 per day based on favorable performance reviews and resource
monitoring data. No jet boat tours will be allowed, and
upriver travel will continue to be allowed up to River Mile
240.
A No Action/Split Allocation system will continue to allocate
use between the commercial and noncommercial sectors in
a ratio that is reflected in the preferred alternative and
will remain the same for the life of the plan.
A “hybrid” weighted lottery system for trip
leaders will be implemented as the noncommercial permit
system for Lees Ferry to Diamond Creek river trips. Each
year a single lottery will take place and result in the
initial awarding of the following year’s noncommercial
launch opportunities. Chances in the lottery will vary depending
on whether or not applicants had been on a river trip recently.
A three-stage expedited transition system will be instituted
for those people currently on the noncommercial waitlist
to transition to the hybrid-weighted lottery system.
The NPS will develop an implementation and monitoring plan
that outlines how it will implement the provisions specified
in the ROD. The final CRMP, including the implementation
and monitoring plan, will be published and made available
to all interested parties.
A complete copy of the ROD and associated information will
be available on the park’s Web site at www.nps.gov/grca/crmp.
Written requests can be sent to CRMP Team at P.O. Box 129,
Grand Canyon, AZ 86023.
-NPS-
