Susan Billingsley - Grand Canyon River Guides

Much Ado About Snails—Upper Elves Closure EvaluationMost river runners are familiar with the populationof endangered Kanab Ambersnails atVaseys Paradise along the Colorado River. In1998, a small population of these snails was introducedto Upper Elves Chasm near one of the upper pools. Thetranslocated population has been thriving in themonkeyflower and maidenhair fern vegetation since thattime.The recent closure of Upper Elves to visitationprompted a joint letter of concern from gcrg and pastpresidentJeri Ledbetter to Grand Canyon National ParkSuperintendent Steve Martin. The park respondedrapidly and respectfully—Jeff Sorensen from ArizonaGame and Fish was asked to accompany River Districtrangers on a regularly scheduled patrol trip in mid-Julyto monitor the population and provide additional guidanceon the site restriction. This action put the rightpeople together for a thorough first-hand evaluation thatshould result in workable solutions for all interestedparties while adequately protecting the snail habitat.Although the closure is still in effect, the wheels areturning and progress is being made. Whatever solution isforthcoming, we count on your stewardship to make itwork. We also ask that all river runners respect theclosure while it remains in effect.We thank Jeri Ledbetter for her continued activismand careful examination of this issue. We also sincerelyappreciate the outstanding response from the diversepersonnel who worked together so seamlessly andthoughtfully in this endeavor, including those fromGrand Canyon National Park, Arizona Game & Fish,and the u.s. Fish and Wildlife Service. As we moveforward with the Colorado River Management Plan(crmp) implementation, the level of cooperation shownhere should be a model for making this plan as successfulas it can be. Adaptive management, open communication,expert evaluation, monitoring, and informationsharing are the exceptional tools we saw at work here—tools that will protect the resources of Grand Canyonwhile providing the opportunity for visitors to experiencethis magical place.1983 Footage Needed for GTS 2008The 2008 gts land session, March 29–30, 2008,will be incredibly special. It will be the 20thanniversary of gcrg and the 25th anniversaryof the 1983 flood!! Although firm plans have yet to bedeveloped, it seems a no brainer to celebrate the 1983flood with stories, film footage, photographs, etc. Thathigh water year was so extraordinary, that it begs to bere-visited.Jeffe Aronson has photos of the Tour West rig flippingin Crystal, and he thought it would be cool todigitize any and all photos and/or video of that yearand put it together into a dvd for the gts land session.That’s really too good of an offer to pass up. If youhave something you’d like him to include, please sendit to him directly at:And if you have some footage that should standalone, that’s great too. Just let me know. We’re open toideas as well, so if there is something particularly funor interesting you’d like to see at the next gts, pleaseshare your ideas with me: speakers, topics, band, andhands-on activities—whatever!Once we figure out the dates, we’ll let everyoneknow. But we sure hope we’ll see you there as it will bethe best gts ever!Lynn Hamiltongcrg@infomagic.netJeffe Aronson750 Warfield Ave, Apt 601Oakland, ca 94610phone: 650-922-0224email: jeffe@tpg.com.aupage 8grand canyon river guides