Grand Canyon raft rules revamped
By Tom Kenworthy, USA TODAY
Rafting through the Grand Canyon - one of the West's premier whitewater experiences - is being overhauled in a way that should result in less congestion during peak summer months.
The National Park Service unveiled a plan Thursday for the 277-mile stretch of the Colorado River through the canyon in Arizona that will take effect in 2007 and govern river traffic for a decade.
The changes come after years of study and battles between the commercial operators who haul tourists and the rafters and kayakers who guide their own craft through some of the nation's most memorable whitewater.
"What we are trying to do is reduce crowding and congestion in the summertime," said Jeffrey Cross, who oversaw development of the plan as director of the Grand Canyon National Park's science center.
The plan also scraps a years-long waiting list for private boaters. About 7,000 are on the list, which was frozen in 2003 when there were more than 8,000 waiting. Instead, a lottery system will be used.
Under the plan, the number of people who get to use the river each year will increase about 10% above the current average of 22,461. But it will also reduce the number of daily launches and people on the river at any one time. That's accomplished by mandating somewhat faster trips and by increasing use during the spring and fall, which are less popular times of the year.
Commercial operators, who transport tourists in large motor craft and smaller oar boats, will still have the bulk of the river traffic. Almost twice as many private boaters - 7,051 - will be allowed on the river each year. The complicated allocation system was agreed to by both sides, park superintendent Joseph Alston said.
"We think it's going to be workable," said Mark Grisham, executive director of the Grand Canyon River Outfitters Association, which represents 16 commercial rafting companies.
Richard Martin, a co-founder of the 1,000-member Grand Canyon Private Boaters Association, said the group is pleased. The Park Service plan allows the Hualapai Tribe to carry up to 600 tourists a day on the tribe's pontoon boats along a stretch of the Colorado that includes a 108-mile border with the Hualapai reservation.
The tribe had requested a maximum of 960 passengers. "The plan doesn't allow for the tribe's growth," said tribal chairman Charles Vaughn. He said the 2,300-member tribe would file an appeal.
By Tom Kenworthy, USA TODAY
Rafting through the Grand Canyon - one of the West's premier whitewater experiences - is being overhauled in a way that should result in less congestion during peak summer months.
The National Park Service unveiled a plan Thursday for the 277-mile stretch of the Colorado River through the canyon in Arizona that will take effect in 2007 and govern river traffic for a decade.
The changes come after years of study and battles between the commercial operators who haul tourists and the rafters and kayakers who guide their own craft through some of the nation's most memorable whitewater.
"What we are trying to do is reduce crowding and congestion in the summertime," said Jeffrey Cross, who oversaw development of the plan as director of the Grand Canyon National Park's science center.
The plan also scraps a years-long waiting list for private boaters. About 7,000 are on the list, which was frozen in 2003 when there were more than 8,000 waiting. Instead, a lottery system will be used.
Under the plan, the number of people who get to use the river each year will increase about 10% above the current average of 22,461. But it will also reduce the number of daily launches and people on the river at any one time. That's accomplished by mandating somewhat faster trips and by increasing use during the spring and fall, which are less popular times of the year.
Commercial operators, who transport tourists in large motor craft and smaller oar boats, will still have the bulk of the river traffic. Almost twice as many private boaters - 7,051 - will be allowed on the river each year. The complicated allocation system was agreed to by both sides, park superintendent Joseph Alston said.
"We think it's going to be workable," said Mark Grisham, executive director of the Grand Canyon River Outfitters Association, which represents 16 commercial rafting companies.
Richard Martin, a co-founder of the 1,000-member Grand Canyon Private Boaters Association, said the group is pleased. The Park Service plan allows the Hualapai Tribe to carry up to 600 tourists a day on the tribe's pontoon boats along a stretch of the Colorado that includes a 108-mile border with the Hualapai reservation.
The tribe had requested a maximum of 960 passengers. "The plan doesn't allow for the tribe's growth," said tribal chairman Charles Vaughn. He said the 2,300-member tribe would file an appeal.
