summer 07 / 20:2 - Grand Canyon River Guides

Perspectives on the GTS
Everyone takes something different away from
the Guides Training Seminar (gts) Land
Session—fascinating information, funny stories,
new friends, and special moments. We offer you just a
smattering of these perspectives from some of this year’s
attendees that represent the wonderfully diverse crowd
that joined us in Marble Canyon. We are especially
proud to say that the crowd topped out at around 175
people, with an incredibly high percentage of working
guides. In fact, those numbers were the highest in the
last eight years! Great speakers, attentive audience, fabulous
food, totally rockin’ band, and gorgeous spring
weather…what more could you ask for!
This year’s gts was the best yet. Most dynamic speakers
that had the most pertinent info. Well attended by both
old guides and new guides and a great party to boot.
And you can quote me on that.
Glenn Rink
* * *
Congratulations on another successful gts land session. I
have participated in over a dozen sessions in the past
several years, and find this an excellent opportunity to
interact with the guiding community on a personal and
professional level. I enjoy the blend of management,
science, history, and general interest topics. The nps
folks appreciate the gcrg’s support and input on the
development and implementation of the new Colorado
River Management Plan as well as the contributions to
the Adaptive Management Program.
Linda Jalbert
(Planner/Wilderness Coordinator gcnp)
* * *
This was my second gts and it was every bit as informative
as the first. Hard to believe that the Canyon attracts
such a wide variety of experts, from hydrology to geology
to h-i-s-t-o-r-y
I was not a huge fan of history when I was in school,
but if the history teachers had been Brad Dimock and
Tom Myers I would have made it my major! We all
know a bit of the James White story, but Brad and Tom
took that story, dissected it, turned it inside out, exposed
the flaws and brought it to life. Then they made it funny
and entertaining to boot. If there had been an admission
fee for this presentation I would have gladly paid double.
Geoff Carpenter says each lizard species has a distinctive
push-up/display pattern. Who knew Not only that,
but he’s got me primed to hunt for lizard tracks and
chuckwalla poop on my next river trip. Can there be a
loftier goal in Grand Canyon than to photograph lizard
tracks and reptilian feces
Finally, the plant ladies. Two years in a row at the gts
I was brought back in time to high school pep rallies with
the band and cheerleaders and pom-poms. That’s what
the plant ladies are like when they talk about their
Canyon plants, and they make me want to stand up and
cheer when it is all over! Their enthusiasm is contagious.
Mari Carlos
* * *
Ya’at’eeh,
This was my first attendance at the gts land session
at the Hatch warehouse. I was impressed with the range
of topics that were covered throughout the first day. I
enjoyed the booths that had books and information
about their respective organizations available to the
attendees. I met people that I otherwise would’ve just
waved at in passing while on the river, and was able to
get to know them. It was a great time to socialize and
network while getting valuable information. I enjoyed
all the presentations but I was thoroughly impressed and
happy to hear Shana Watahomogie and Charley Bullets
speak about their culture and how they hold the river
and canyon culturally significant. I believe it’s important
to hear about the local tribal cultures first hand and offer
them the opportunity to speak to an audience that is
sincerely interested and respectful of the river and
canyon so they can pass it on to their colleagues and
passengers. This is something that should be included
and emphasized in every gts land session. Next year, I
would advise including the Navajo, Hualapai, the San
Juan Paiute, and other tribes.
Additionally, I appreciated the opportunity to advertise
and give out information about the Native American
Guide Training Program as I presented it to the
audience and discussed it with numerous folks who came
up to me afterwards. After that day, the number of
participants interested doubled due to the help of
numerous folks who spread the word through word of
mouth, by flyers, and the internet. Thank you!
Nikki Cooley
page 16
grand canyon river guides