Susan Billingsley - Grand Canyon River Guides

Prez BlurbGreetings once again all you fabulousmembers of gcrg! As I sit here at my desk (arare but necessary happening) I am remindedhow blessed I am—how blessed we all are—to work in,work for or even just know of a place where life issimple and beauty surrounds us at every turn. I amgetting ready to go on my fourth of six trips this season.On my previous three trips I have been pleasantlysurprised at the lack of congestion I have seen alongthe river corridor. The only place that seems to bemore crowded is the stretch around Deer Creek wherecommunication between trips has always been—andwill always be—important. It will be years before wereally see how the new crmp is working so for nowkeep paying attention and let gcrg and the GrandCanyon National Park know how things are going foryou!I would like to extend a warm thank you to JeriLedbetter for her extended research and diligence onthe issue of the upper Elves Chasm closure. The closurewas part of the new crmp as a biological opinion fromthe u.s. Fish and Wildlife Service concerning crucialhabitat for the Kanab Ambersnail. Jeri has done ampleresearch including discussions with scientists and thepark service to discern where the crucial habitat areaactually is and whether the closure is necessary. Thenps is reviewing the closure after evaluation of the siteduring a recent river trip. They have not stated whatwill happen but it is a start! Thanks for taking theinitiative Jeri and not blindly accepting what otherstell you! On that note, gcrg welcomes input on anyissue concerning Grand Canyon thatyou find importantand will extend our assistance in any way we can,so speak up!Gcrg has had an amazing year. Many of you maynot realize everything we have done so here are somehighlights:• We did our darndest to get a Beach HabitatBuilding Flow in early 2007 to make use of historicsediment inputs. Although we weren’t successful,our arguments resonated in Washington, dc, and weforged stronger working relationships with otherenvironmental groups involved in the AdaptiveManagement Program.• At the request of the Bureau of Reclamation, gcrgrepresentatives are currently developing a SedimentConservation alternative for the eis surrounding thedevelopment of a Long Term Experimental Plan forGlen Canyon Dam. We’ll count on our members tojump in when the public comment period starts!Look for more on that in future bqr’s and on ourwebsite.• Gcrg signed on as an “Interested Party” for theProgrammatic Agreement governing the protectionof the non-renewable and fragile cultural resourcesin Grand Canyon.• Gcrg offered comments for the development of aVisitor Use Monitoring Plan that will evaluate theimpacts of the crmp on the visitor experience. We’llcontinue to offer our assistance to Grand CanyonNational Park.• We continued our commitment to strengtheningthe guide community and offering top-notch educationto river guides by putting on a great FallRendezvous at the South Rim and an outstandingGuides Training Seminar.• We’re hoping to find a better mechanism fordisseminating incident reports, while providingmore specificity on river related incidents.• Our new guide profiles in the bqr have helpedhighlight our amazing guide community.• Gcrg’s Adopt-a-Boatman project has been an enormoussuccess and a huge boon to our oral historyproject.• Gcrg worked in conjunction with the GrandCanyon Private Boaters Association to revamp andreissue the Courtesy Flyer. We’ve distributed about2,000 flyers this season to all sectors of the guidecommunity and are very proud of this jointendeavor that bodes well for cooperation andcommunication on the river.• Gcrg sponsored first aid classes through DesertMedicine Institute that were tailored specifically forthe Grand Canyon environment.• Gcrg’s Adopt-a-Beach project is ongoing. Our“adopters” continue to monitor Grand Canyoncamping beaches with the latest analysis disseminatedto key river managers and scientists.This is the dawn of my last month as president ofgcrg. Please welcome in Sam Jansen, who will takethe helm in September. It has been a great year and Ihave realized now more than ever how important gcrgis to the protection of the river corridor and the riverexperience in Grand Canyon. We are the voice of theguides and the guides are the true stewards of thecanyon for we are down there more than anyone else,even the decision-makers. We have the power to makea difference, so get involved and we can do it together!With that I thank you, and I hope to see you on theriver. May your journeys be peaceful and brilliant!Marieke Taneyboatman’s quarterly review page 3