A community forum for the discussion of progressive ideas

Vol. 3, Num. 8

August 2002

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Management plan for Colorado River worth protesting

From Living Rivers

The National Park Service will be hosting public meetings in Flagstaff this month to solicit input to revise its 1989 management plan for the Colorado River within the boundaries of Grand Canyon National Park.

Living Rivers, a Utah-based conservation organization, will be in attendance to demand that the Park Service stop neglecting its legal and public trust obligations to protect and restore the river's native habitat, which has been disappearing at an alarming rate due to the operation of Glen Canyon Dam.

The primary goal of the Park's present plan is to "Preserve the natural resources and environmental processes of the Colorado River corridor and the associated riparian and river environments." According to Living Rivers, the plan has failed. Four of the Canyon's eight native fish are now extirpated, and two more are headed in that direction. Millions of dollars have been invested in attempting to recover just one species, the Humpback Chub, only to have its numbers plummet another 80 percent to just 2,000 adult fish. Add to this the loss of mammals such as otter and muskrat and the disappearance of the river's native insect population, and it's clear that a much more focused and intensive effort needs to be undertaken by the Park Service to protect the ecology of Grand Canyon's river corridor.

According to a press release from Living Rivers, this decline has occurred because Glen Canyon Dam has: 1) cut off 95 percent of the sediment and nutrient base for Grand Canyon's river ecosystem; 2) significantly reduced the river's water temperature to a near constant 47° F; and 3) eliminated the natural fluctuations in flows.

"The Park Services has allowed the Colorado River through Grand Canyon to become a regulated canal devoid of its native habitat and is now working to convince the public that we should do nothing about it," says Owen Lammers, Executive Director of Living Rivers.

The National Park Organic Act requires the Park Service to ensure the protection of the natural integrity of Grand Canyon's resources for future generations. While past river management plans referenced this responsibility and then refused to act on it, the Park Service is now working to ignore it altogether. In its outreach efforts to solicit public involvement in the updated river management plan, it makes no reference to the river's declining habitat, the need for recovery programs, or requests for public input on how it should address these matters.

"By misleading the public in this way, the Park Service is attempting to rewrite the law and place a tombstone on the ecology of one of the world's most famous national parks," adds Lammers.

In addition to ensuring that the Park Service addresses the need to restore the river's ecological integrity, Living Rivers will also be demanding that the river management plan:

• Comply with the recommendations of the Park's 1977 Wilderness proposal and manage the river corridor as outlined in the 1964 Wilderness Act. Ensure that all management decisions reflect "minimum requirement" in terms of Park Service and visitor impact as prescribed in the Wilderness Act.

• Phase out the use of motorized river transport so that all travel occurs at river pace. Motorized transport is unnecessary and inconsistent with the mandate that the river corridor be managed as wilderness.

• Provide for full partnership with Native American tribes affected by the Plan, including mechanisms to protect and restore sacred sites and opportunities for tribes to operate any concession services still deemed necessary once the Plan is complete.

• Provide for an equitable system for individuals to access the river corridor that does not bias against those who cannot afford to buy their way onto a commercial river trip. Encourage the establishment of a waiting list for all people. Once at the top of the list, the permitee can determine how they wish to travel down river, either self-guided or with the assistance of a commercial company.

The public meeting will take place Thursday, Aug. 8, from 4 — 8 p.m. in the Coconino Community College Commons 2800 S. Lone Tree Road.

Additional meetings are planned for other cities around the Southwest. The Park Service intends to have its management plan and accompanying Environmental Impact Statement completed by Dec. 31, 2004.  

For more information, contact Living Rivers at (435) 259-1063. Or visit www.livingrivers.org.