Historical Perspective:

After observing exponential growth in river use for several years, the National Park Service (NPS) capped public access in the early 70's. By 1980, it was evident that there were many people capable of rafting the Colorado without the involvement of a commercial company, so the commercial vs. private use ratios were modified. Public demand for non-commercial, self-outfitted access resulted in an adjustment of the private use from 5% or less to approximately 20% of total use (around 3500 users each year out of 15,000+ total users). Since private trips are predominantly for two weeks or longer, using oars, and most commercial trips are for one week or less, using motors, the private portion of the total annual user day allocation approached 30%. Demand for private access to the river continued to escalate as more and more boaters acquired both the skills and necessary equipment. Meanwhile, the commercial sector only seemed viable when companies were given preferential treatment: to convenience their clients weekend and seasonal launch clustering (most use was during the 4 summer vacation months), massive group sizes, and advertising to promote interest. Commercial owners acted like their trips would go unfilled if they had to abide by the same rules the NPS forced upon private boaters. At the above allocation levels a demand imbalance clearly existed between self-outfitted and commercially outfitted trips and resolution by reallocation or increased non-commercial use of shoulder and winter seasons seemed necessary.

For close to 25 years the private permit system was administered by the Grand Canyon NPS using a waitlist. If one wanted to organize a Colorado River raft trip, they sent a $100.00 and had their name added to this waitlist, but only during the month of February (in December of 2003 the NPS closed this list until a new operating plan would be completed). At that time the waitlist had more than 8000 names on it. Anyone not on the waitlist then was denied the right to organize a trip for close to three years. Since only 300-400 names were taken off the top of the list each year, the expectation was those near the bottom of the list might not be assigned a launch date for 15-20 years. What private boaters seemed to need was increased access or reallocation of access from commercial to private use.

In the past, 30-40% of the initially scheduled private groups didn't make it to the river. After waiting for a decade and knowing their launch date for more than a year, many of these trips still failed because the permit holder didn't have adequately experienced friends or the necessary equipment. A private Grand Canyon raft trip can be a logistical nightmare. Arranging 16 days worth of food and transportation for up to 16 participants; rounding up suitable equipment; getting friends to commit; making it all come together at Lees Ferry; and then successfully negotiating a big river are formidable problems for even the most experienced rafters. Having a permit is important, but finding individuals with suitable equipment and experience becomes the crux for many trips. The NPS should be commended for recognizing this private sector dilemma and developing a call-in system (1-800-959-9164) to re-allocate canceled and unused user days to individuals on the waitlist who were willing to go on short notice. At one time, utilization of the private sector allocation was substantially less than 100% due to the high percentage of cancellations and undersized trips (the average trip size was around 11-12 while the maximum private group size is 16). In prior years the NPS staff brought private use close to 100% of capacity through re-assignment of unused launches and make-up launches when needed.

In an attempt to insure the awarding of cancellations to those near the top of the waitlist, the NPS changed the cancellation call in system for private permits in the year 2000. Previously anyone could phone in and see if a trip was available. This meant it was possible to put your name on the waitlist and go in the same year. This new cancellation system announced available cancellation dates on Fridays. On the following Monday those with waitlist numbers between 1 and 1500 could call to claim an open launch date. If the launch date wasn't taken, this continues on Tuesday with those in the range 1-3000. Still no takers would result in Wednesday being for those with numbers 1-4500. Thursday would be for numbers 1-6000 and Friday the permit would go to the first person to call with any waitlist number. Of course the primary problem was still insufficient non-commercial launch dates available year round and too many commercial launches in the short summer season. The latter seemed to create user perceptions of crowding in the river corridor.

Colorado River Management Plan Evolution

During the alternatives review, a number of access and wilderness issues were commented on by interested private boaters. After serving 3-4 years on the Park's defunct Constituency Panel in the '90's, it was obvious to me that private boaters' concerns were never given the same weight as those of commercial guides and owners. This is unfortunate because I found the latters' interests frequently at odds with preserving either the Canyon or user experience. Issues that were discussed repeatedly during the lifetime of the Constituency Panel, with little or no resulting action, are given below.

• Firstly optimize all use to benefit the resource. Future NPS decisions need to be made for the Canyon's benefit rather than for the convenience of a few commercial owners, their passengers, or private boaters. Reduce intergroup conflicts and tension through more uniform application of river regulations to commercial and private users.
• Since crowding adversely impacts every user's experience, whenever possible, develop management practices that minimize intergroup contacts at attraction sites and campsites.
• Eliminate weekend launch clumping for all users by uniformly distributing commercial launches during the week as is currently done with the private sector.
• Force the commercial outfitters to spread their use over at least eight months of the year. Most of the commercial use is currently clustered within four summer months to convenience their primarily wealthy, well-educated clientel. This results in many launch days when 150 commercial passengers leave Lees Ferry. A significant improvement in both perceived and actual crowding would result from this change.
• Eliminate layovers at 5-10 high use campsites during the summer season, April 15 - September 15, to minimize intergroup conflicts and enhance everyone's sense of wilderness. Layovers increase intergroup conflicts in the prime season. On-river campsite negotiations are impossible when someone may be laid over in a campsite you've agreed to accept.
• Evaluate whether the perception of isolation experienced by the users might be improved by standardizing trip lengths to either a week or two weeks for both commercial and non-commercial users. Currently many complaints appear to be generated by trips of different lengths passing on the river. Commercial trips as short as five days and as long as 14 days and private trips from as little as a week to the fully allowed 18 days are creating many of the group interactions and triggering complaints of river corridor crowding.
• Determine the public demand for commercial and private boating under uniform regulations and adjust the allocations accordingly, as was last done in 1980. With private rafters waiting for their trip for over a decade on a capped list with over 8000 names and commercial customers being able to take a trip with an outfitter whenever they wish, there is obviously unequal public access. The NPS needs to immediately move 5% of commercial user days to the private sector and continue to do this annually until waiting times become less disparate.
• Since the summer season from April 15 - September 15 is essentially a commercial season, create an equivalent private season where several launches a day are allowed. This could be accomplished by making the February 15 - April 15 and September 15 - November 15 a time when privates could launch 3 trips per day. That would still be 1/3 the summer commercial peaks. On many days in the summer, 150 commercial passengers were launching versus only 14-16 non-commercial individuals. To further increase private access, the winter season from November 15 - February 15 could be declared an open season. The weather and short days alone should limit use during that period. Anyone who wants to go then should be allowed to launch their trip.
• After minimizing all crowding influences, determine the new carry capacity of the Colorado consistent with staying within the Limits of Acceptable Change (LAC) stated in the current CRMP. Adjust total access levels upward if possible.
• The NPS and commercial sector must truly commit to restoring "natural quiet" at Grand Canyon by totally eliminating helicopter use associated with river trips. It is astonishing that 55% of commercial river users in 1996 were allowed to reach or leave their river trip in a helicopter while the NPS declares itself committed to natural quiet and no flights below the rim. Nothing has changed since then and the situation may be even worse by now.
• Manage the resource to maximize both the accessibility and the quality of the experience, while maintaining current low user impacts.

The settlement agreement resulting from the private boater access lawsuit gave the NPS until the spring of 2004 to come up with a managment plan (that would have put them about 4 years behind their mandated management review), submit it for public review, and implement it by the last day of 2004 for the 2005 season. Of course this was further delayed and on November 10, 2005 the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) was finally published in the Federal Register for 30 day review.

Significant Items in the New Colorado River Management Plan

• The number of non-commercial launches offered annually was increased from approximately 250 to 500. This was accomplished by offering an eight person trip every other day in the summer and many full sized trips (16 participants) in the shoulder and winter seasons.
• The waitlist was totally eliminated in two stages. During stage I 600 trips, approximately 125 trips per year, were scheduled from 2007-2011. Stage II allowed individuals on the waitlist to band together accumulating their waiting times to advance their group position on the waitlist. After this was finished a second 600 trips were scheduled from 2007-2011. This completed the NPS commitment to the waitlist trip scheduling. Those who did not get a date (probably 5000 or more) were offered a buyout for the fees they paid or the opportunity to preferentially participate in future annual lotteries until they are successful.
• A weighted lottery was instituted for approximately 250 more trips a year through the year 2011. After that the full 500 trips per year will be offered through an annual lottery. People on the waitlist who were not successful in stages I or II were given one chance in the lottery for each year they have waited on the waitlist and may continue to apply each year with this weighting until they are successful. Those not on the waitlist will have up to five chances dependent on how long it has been since they were on the river.
• Because of the high demand and the denial of reasonable access to so many users, both commercial and non-commercial boaters are now limited to one trip per year. Unenforced during 2006, the rule has now been in effect since January of 2007.
• To get more non-commercial trips on the river, non-winter trip lengths were shortened from 18 to 16 days.
• There remains a lot of conjecture about how many non-commercial trip cancellations there will be under these new rules with the NPS seeming to believe less than historical levels and others like myself speculating the level may be the same or even higher because a Grand Canyon trip will still be extremely difficult to organize. Another significant factor may be the one trip per year rule eventually reducing the pool of trip facilitators with knowledge and gear, making trips more difficult to organize. The NPS initially planned to offer cancellations through monthly mini-lotteries but eventually realized such a ponderous system was unworkable for short notice trips (a couple of months or less). The new CRMP is a launch based system where every effort will be made by the NPS to insure all non-commercial launches are used. With that in mind the NPS modified the previous day of the week cancellation system substituting number of chances in the lottery instead or waitlist position to determine what day interested boaters can phone. Openings are announced by email to everyone subscribed to the lottery.
• Instead of piling all of the commercial use into the four summer months of May, June, July, and August it has been spread somewhat to reduce seasonal launch peaks from Lees Ferry. This and more evenly balanced weekly launches should benefit all users by eliminating some of the river conjestion, undesirable crowding at attraction sites, and campsite conflicts.
• Some campsites will be totally removed from use by boaters. Camping was intially disallowed at the mouth of Tapeats Creek and Kanab Creek.
• This is a very complex plan with a lot of additional details and many unintended consequences with which the NPS will be dealing. However the good news is after many years of fumbling around something good is finally happening. If you wish to become more fully informed, the NPS maintains a website and offers a several hundred page document detailing the changes titled the Colorado River Management Plan. Anyone can now sign up for the weighted non-commercial lottery there.

Future Trip Networking:

We have a 16' Achilles and a 14.5' self-bailing Achilles; both are excellent rafts for this trip. Both are framed to carry 16 day trip loads on a river with large hydraulics. We're experienced and competent, both of us have rowed many trips through the Grand Canyon. Bob's even rowed six solo raft trips there. Both of us have extensive hiking and camping knowledge of Grand Canyon.

We are not currently looking for a trip since we are committed to eight-person trips acquired by friends in both 2007 and 2008. However we have a lot of boating and backpacking experience in Grand Canyon and are willing to help others by answering questions about the difficulties a permit holder might face.

Grand Canyon rafting trip reports from our quarterly newsletters:
May 8, 2007 July 5, 2005 May 22, 2005 May 3, 2004 August 19, 2003 May 12, 2003 September 26, 2002 October 1, 2001 April 4, 2001	July 9, 2000 March 16, 2000 August 23, 1999 September 3, 1998 April 24, 1997 August 19, 1996 September 11, 1995 August 1, 1994 April 9, 1994

Non-Commercial Grand Canyon Rafting Links: Christina King's 2003 GC Adventure Paul & Nanny's GC Rafting Grand Canyon Private Boaters Association Discussion Group Grand Canyon NP Official Home Page Mike Dooley's River Trip Page Grand Canyon Permits A Grand Canyon Raft Trip Grand Canyon Private Boaters Association Daphne & Joel's '99 Private Trip Rafting through Grand Canyon - Philip Greenspun

Grand Canyon Rafting Books:

• John Blaustein, The Hidden Canyon, Chronicle Books, 1999.
• William H. Calvin, The River That Flows Uphill, Sierra Club Books, San Francisco, CA, 1986.
• Brad Dimock et al, The Doing of the Thing, Buzz Holstrom, Fretwater Press, Flagstaff, AZ, 1998.
• Brad Dimock, Sunk Without a Sound: ... Glen and Bessie Hyde, Fretwater Press, Flagstaff, AZ, 2001.
• Colin Fletcher, RIVER, University of Arizona Press, Tucson, AZ, 1992.
• Michael P. Ghiglieri, Canyon, Alfred A Knoft, New York, NY, 1997.
• Michael P. Ghiglieri et al, Over the Edge, Death in the Grand Canyon, Puma Press, Flagstaff, AZ, 2001.
• Betty Leavengood, Grand Canyon Women, Pruett Publishing Co., Boulder, CO, 1999.
• Charly Heavenrich, Dancing on the Edge, Beyond the Edge Publishing, Boulder, CO, 1998.
• Jeff Ingram, Hijacking a River, Vishnu Temple Press, Flagstaff, AZ, 2003.
• Tom Meyers et al, Fateful Journey, Red Lake Books, Flagstaff, AZ, 1999.
• Louise Teal, Breaking into the Current, University of Arizona Press, Tucson, AZ, 1994.
• Tom Martin, Dayhikes from the River, Vishnu Temple Press, Flagstaff, AZ, 1999.
• Robert H. Webb, Grand Canyon a Century of Change, University of Arizona Press, Tucson, AZ, 1996.
• Stephen Whitney, A Field Guide to the Grand Canyon, Quill Press, New York, NY, 1982.
• Tyler Williams, Grand Canyon River Hikes, Funhog Press, Flagstaff, AZ, 2000.
• Ann Haymond Zwinger, DOWNCANYON: A Naturalist Explores the Colorado River
  Through Grand Canyon, University of Arizona Press, Tucson, AZ, 1995.

Grand Canyon River Guidebooks:

• Buzz Belknap, Grand Canyon River Guide, Westwater Books, Evergreen, CO, 1983.
• Linda Lou Lindemann, Colorado River Briefs For A Trip Through The Grand Canyon,
  Lundquist Press, Tucson, AZ, 1990.
• Tom Martin and Duwain Whitis, Guide to the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon, Vishnu Temple Press, Flagstaff, AZ, 2004.
• Larry Stevens, The Colorado River in Grand Canyon, Redlake Books, Flagstaff, AZ 1983.

Grand Canyon Private Boater Outfittering/Food Packing/Shuttles:

• Professional River Outfitters (PRO)
• River Equipment Outfitters (REO)
• Ceiba Adventures Inc.
• Downstream Shuttle and Supply
• Moenkopi Riverworks
• Cocina del Rio
• River Runners Shuttle Service

Updated on Sunday, November 18, 2007 @ 14:30 MST © 1995-2007 by Robert R. Marley