Colorado River Management Planning to Resume

January 17, 2002

Dear Grand Canyon River News Subscriber:

The Grand Canyon River Outfitters Association is very pleased to announce that a voluntary, negotiated settlement has been reached between the parties in litigation concerning future National Park Service (NPS) planning for the management of the Colorado River within Grand Canyon National Park.

Under the terms of the settlement agreement, the NPS will, within 120 days, restart work on the Colorado River Management Plan (CRMP) revision process first initiated in 1997, but suspended by the agency in February of 2000. There will be ample opportunity for public participation in this process.

"The Grand Canyon's professional river outfitters feel very good about this agreement," said Mark Grisham, Executive Director of the Grand Canyon River Outfitters Association. "We're looking forward to tackling longstanding issues and finding solutions."

The CRMP is the official NPS planning document that governs access to and activities within the Colorado River corridor in Grand Canyon National Park. Under the terms of the settlement, a new Colorado River Management Plan will be implemented no later than December 31, 2004.

"It's time to move forward," said Grisham. "This agreement is an example of what can be accomplished through constructive discussion. We hope the pattern of respectful dialog and mutual consideration can continue throughout the planning process."

The Grand Canyon river experience is one of the most renowned and sought after visitation opportunities available within the entire National Park system. Demand for the experience far outstrips the available supply, which is limited by the NPS to protect the resource and the quality of the trip. Each year, roughly 22,000 visitors enjoy a world class whitewater river adventure in this spectacular and unique area.

"While there are many difficult and potentially contentious issues to address, this agreement represents a solid beginning for a process that will require the continued good faith and constructive participation of all the concerned parties, and the public at large," said Grisham.

The central questions that the NPS and the public must answer in the course of the upcoming river management planning process include:

• How can the resource best be protected and what is the appropriate level of visitor use for the Colorado River corridor within Grand Canyon National Park, given paramount resource protection requirements and very high visitor experience quality goals?

• How should the recreational river use made available be apportioned among competing user groups, including those who seek the services of a licensed river outfitter and those who wish to self-outfit, or conduct their own private Grand Canyon river trip?

• How should private river running permits be distributed? The current "waiting list" system has resulted in excessive and highly unpopular wait times for trip leaders seeking to obtain a permit for their private party. Should forced waits continue as the primary means used by the NPS to ration such permits, or is there a better way? The waiting list system and its attendant controversy are unique to the Grand Canyon. All other permitted rivers that support multi-day trips in the western United States use a lottery system to distribute private river running permits.

• What is the appropriate spectrum and mix for the various river trip types or styles to be made available? To what extent should motorized river trips continue to be offered? Motorized trips have been publicly available in the canyon for over the past five decades. Three out of four of today's professionally outfitted river trip participants choose the motorized trip option.

• How should river trips be scheduled and otherwise directly managed to protect the resource and to produce the best possible on-river experience for the visiting public?

To view the text of the settlement agreement in its entirety, please go here.

To view a fact sheet about the Grand Canyon River Outfitters Association, its members, and professionally outfitted Grand Canyon river running, please go here.

Broad citizen involvement is critical for the success of this NPS public planning process that will decide how the Colorado River within Grand Canyon National Park is managed for the next ten to fifteen years.

The Grand Canyon's professional river outfitters invite and encourage you to lend your voice to this important process. You can count on this Grand Canyon River News Service to bring you additional information about your opportunities to participate in the coming months.

Thank you.

This Grand Canyon river news update was brought to you by the 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. 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.