bit of history was made in early May, with the launch of the first Adaptive Management Work Group river trip through Grand Canyon. The amwg is the Federal Advisory Committee to the Secretary of the Interior that advises him on how to operate the dam for the benefit of natural and cultural river resources. It is composed of representatives from the states, tribes, public interest groups, and agencies who have concerns for how the dam is operated. I represent the recreational river runner community on that committee. Our purposes were to become better acquainted with one another¹s concerns, learn first-hand about the river resources, and develop a vision/mission statement for the program.

I believe that all three purposes were accomplished. It was no small task to orchestrate 36 people on four motor rigs for eight days, and learn all of the things we did. Much credit goes to the Grand Canyon Monitoring and Research Center staff for a tremendous organizational and educational effort. Just as much credit goes to the crew; Kirk Burnett, Brian Dierker, Duffy McCabe, Lars Niemi, and Jen Kunde for getting us down the river in style.

After a dam tour and talks on the reservoir, dam, and power generation, we launched into the "great unknown". With such a diverse group, political and bureaucratic posturing might have dominated the trip. But the canyon wove its magic, and something very different happened.

For me, the trip¹s defining moment happened just before we shoved off from our first camp at North Canyon. Tim Begay of the Navajo Nation had us all lined-up, standing quietly with hands clasped along the river front. In the exquisite early morning light of Marble Canyon, while he sang tribal verse and made offerings for our safe passage, two ravens glided down to the boulder pile in front of us, followed by a giant condor! We all stood there, quietly awestruck, watching these great birds jump and squawk and spread their wings in their own peculiar way. That was when people began to realize that there was more to this whole thing than kilowatts, acre-feet, and bureaucratic agendas. It went on from there.

All participants contributed to the trip in a variety of ways. But we were particularly honored by the spiritual guidance of our Native American colleagues; Arden Kucate (Pueblo of Zuni), Tim Begay (Navajo Nation), Brenda Drye (Southern Paiute Consortium), Cisney Havatone (Hualapai Tribe), and Gene Kuwanquaftewa (Hopi Tribe) who took turns leading us in a prayer-offering each morning. I think that we all gained a profound appreciation for their deep cultural connection to the Grand Canyon as well as their light and gentle sense of humor.

It was through a sense of connection with the place that our scientific education and aesthetic experiences took on even greater meaning. We worked hard to write a vision and mission statement over the last four days, which everyone seemed to be fine with at the end. During the eight river days, people relaxed and soaked it all in, the walls, the light, the sounds. People were smiling at the end, and grateful for the opportunity to live and breathe the air of the grandest of earth cathedrals‹it was a superb trip by any measure.

Andre Potochnik