Grand Canyon Plan for Colorado River
Park Service will examine river access, impact of motorized use.
GRAND CANYON N.P., ARIZ.-The public will once again have a say in how the 277 miles of the Colorado River that flows through Grand Canyon is managed, thanks to the settlement of a lawsuit filed by NPCA and other groups.
A public planning process that would shape future management of part of the river and 1.1 million acres of proposed wilderness within the park had been halted by a former park superintendent in February 2000. Under the settlement, the Park Service agreed to resume it.
NPCA, the Grand Canyon Private Boaters Association, American Canoe Association, American Whitewater, and four individuals filed the suit in July 2000, responding to the former park superintendent's decision to halt the plan. Among other assertions, the suit alleged that the agency failed to protect the wilderness qualities of the river and did not offer equal access to noncommercial boaters.
"The settlement is a victory because it allows the public to regain its voice concerning the future of the Grand Canyon," said Randall Rasmussen, acting director of NPCA's Southwest regional office. "It's significant because all the parties to the lawsuit agree it is important to restart the public planning process now."
In a statement, the Park Service said it considers the agreement "an equitable resolution" in the public's best interest.
The Park Service has agreed to consider the impact of motorized boat and helicopter use on the acres of proposed wilderness, as well as ways to improve access for self-guided boaters. Currently, would-be boaters can wait 16-to-23 years for a permit to float the Colorado River through Grand Canyon, but people willing to pay a commercial outfitter can usually get a spot on a trip during any season.
"The current system is totally unfair to the self-guided boater, who must wait almost a quarter-century for a chance to get on the river," Rasmussen said.
The settlement, filed January 17, requires the Park Service to restart the management plan within 120 days and complete it by 2004. Conservation groups pressured the Park Service to merge the river plan with the park's 1998 Draft Wilderness Management Plan, but the agency reserved the right to complete them separately.
"These issues are complicated and controversial," Rasmussen said, "and for decades the public has needed the Park Service to steer us through the most difficult rapids. The good news is that with this settlement, the current park superintendent has taken the oars and is prepared to launch us again."
