ince 1975, I have had the incredible good fortune to experience the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon seventeen times
(all private), or just short of one full year of user-days. Three of those trips have been in the “off” or non-motorized season. Prior to my off-season trip experience I was completely opposed to any and all motor use in the Grand Canyon. I hated the noise, the smell, the crowding and that sinking, deflated feeling as I watched 30 to 50 people motor by on their way to the campsite that I had been hoping to get. But my experiences on the off-season trips have, at least partially, changed my mind about motors.
During the motorized season, the hoards come into view upstream, then pass you by and within minutes, they are gone from view downstream, leaving you once again with the quiet and solitude of the River.
During the non-motorized season, it is easily possible to be within sight and hearing of the same group for days! During one late October trip we encountered the same oars commercial trip for five days in a row, sharing hikes, scouts and (almost) campsites. At that time of year, there was probably no one within 20 miles of us in either direction, but it felt like it was incredibly crowded. We finally took an unscheduled layover day to let them get ahead of us, and let us get back our Canyon solitude that is such a major part of the experience.
If, in a non-motorized Grand Canyon, the commercial and private launch numbers stay at or anywhere near current levels, the feeling of crowding in the Canyon would seemingly be greatly increased with the elimination of motors.
Added to this argument is the advent of the four-stroke outboard motor. These things are so quiet that, if it weren't for the apparent speed, you often can't even tell that it is a motorized trip until they are within 50 feet of you.
So maybe the politics, the lust for the dollar and the public's desire for recreation that fits the family vacation schedule will forever prevent true wilderness designation from reaching the river corridor. But the use of quiet motors on commercial trips in the Canyon can actually increase the wilderness experience from at least one point of view.
Fairness of allocation is the biggest issue. While I have been lucky enough to have had more than my share of the Canyon experience, I will never get the chance to run my own trip with my own choice of companions. But if I had the money, I could get together 20 or 30 friends and run my own (commercial) trip with less than a year's wait. If I had the money. Now that's not fair.

Steve Larkin