Prez Blurb

“April is the cruelest month…” —T.S. Eliot (1888–1965). The Waste Land. 1922.

In April this year, we learned of the passing of Derald Stewart, Don Harris, and George Steck. Derald was a boatman and boat-builder from Durango. If you saw a Grand Canyon Expeditions dory trip, you might have seen Derald, rowing a dory he built. Don Harris was truly one of the founding fathers of Grand Canyon river-running. And George, George was just at the Guides Training Seminar, giving a great presentation on his friend Robert Benson, and way, way off-trail hiking in the Grand Canyon. George was supposed to go on the river part of the gts, but had to cancel in order to return to Albuquerque for some medical treatment. Each of them are further remembered in this issue of the bqr.
The building and testing of a Temperature Control Device (tcd) for Glen Canyon Dam is being studied. The Bureau of Reclamation (bor) is asking for comments, i.e. what should they consider as potential impacts of a tcd? We are asking them to consider if bringing the water from the near-surface will bring anything new into the canyon (exotic species or diseases), and whether the warmer water will do more harm than good to the Humpback Chub. I don’t know the answers to these questions, and I don’t think anyone on the board does, but we think the Bureau needs to be sure of the answers before building the tcd. Our comments to the bor are in this issue.
Colorado River Management Plan (crmp) reminder—the Draft eis willbe released later this summer. When it is available, you need to make sure you get a copy of the draft, or at least the executive summary. Read it, make sure you know what will change and what will stay the same, and then make sure you comment, even if you think the new plan is perfect (how likely is that?). If the Park hits the nail right on the head, you’d better write and tell them “they’ve done good,” because no matter what they come up with, plenty of folks are going to complain or try to get it changed.
The National Park Service needs to hear what you know. Most folks in the Park Service haven’t been down the river as many times as you have. Most folks in the Park Service haven’t seen the number of people get turned on to the Canyon for life that you have. Most folks in the Park Service haven’t spent a week, or two weeks, or three weeks with the public in the Canyon, time and time again.
Gcrg has requested the Park Service make available enough summaries for every trip launching from Lees Ferry. There will probably be public meetings in Flagstaff this summer and maybe in Page and Kanab. Gcrg requested them. We are trying to make it as easy as possible for guides to take part; we know it won’t be easy, with schedules and being away from phones and mail for weeks at a time. Your outfitters should have multiple copies of the draft. I recommend taking one on each trip and getting the passengers involved. They, and people like them, have a huge stake in the outcome as well.
As a board, we are still working with Grand Canyon National Park in discussing and exploring First Aid requirements. We’ve asked the folks at the South Rim to explain a little about “Medical Control,” what it is, and whether or not we have it. Their response is in this issue.
In a nutshell, I think the Park’s goals for river trips and gcrg’s goals for river trips are the same:
1. no one gets hurt
2. protect the Grand Canyon
3. have a good time.
The nps combines the second and third in the following: “to conserve the scenery and the natural and historic objects and the wild life therein and to provide for the enjoyment of the same in such manner and by such means as will leave them unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations.”

So while we have the same goals, we haven’t quite agreed on the best way to arrive at them. But we’re working on it. We’re looking forward to a mutually agreed-upon solution that prevents or reduces injuries, provides injured parties with the best possible care, and allows experienced guides to remain working and pass on the benefits of their experience, to passengers and fellow guides alike. That’s a lot. Maybe that is why it is taking a while.
Speaking of preventing or reducing injuries, gcrg is still trying to get information on river-related incidents. The last few years we’ve had some verbal reports at the gts or the Fall meeting, but we’ve been unable to get any documentation. Apparently the Grand Canyon News in Williams, Arizona gets the Ranger Report every week by email. Although we requested it six months ago, we have still not been placed on the list. We heard that there were 74 evacuations from river trips last season. I know I only heard about a fraction of those, and only then through the grapevine, or from reading the Grand Canyon News. Of those 74 cases, I believe I was told there were only a few cases of dehydration, and no cases of hyponatremia. I think that speaks to what the guides can do in preventing injury or illness—if we have the information. If the guides knew what those 74 cases were, where they happened, when they happened, and why they happened, I would bet there would be fewer evacuations next season. How many fewer, I can’t say. But each time an injury is prevented, the pilot and the Emergency Medical Service folks don’t have to fly, and that’s a good thing. And that means a river trip can be going on a hike, or having an early camp, or taking a nap at “MatKat,” instead of filling out “soap” notes on a sunny beach and shooing red ants off someone on a backboard. That seems like a positive goal, and one worth working hard to try to meet. So gcrg is going to work hard to try and get that information, disseminate ite, and reduce injuries, because we like to go hiking, and we like to get to camp early, and we don’t want to be that person on the backboard, either.
What ties all of this together? I don’t know, maybe nothing. Or maybe it is the battle against complacency. We’re losing more friends each year, We can’t afford to say, “Ah, I’ll see them next trip, next season, next year.” Maybe you won’t. This season, make the effort to see your old friends, and make some new ones. Walk across the ramp at Lees, or across five boats at Havasu, or across twenty boats at Deer Creek, to say hello. Make the effort to let the Park know what you think about the crmp. Make the effort to let the gcrg Board know what you think about what we’re trying to do. Make the effort to participate in gcrg. Join us, run for the Board, or just come to the meetings and tell us what you think. Every time you do something extra, something beyond just what you need to do, you get more out of it than whoever or whatever you’re helping. You’ve seen it on every river trip you’ve ever been on. The people who get the most out of the trip are the ones that pitch in and make it their trip. And that is the battle against complacency, against just doing enough to get by.
And it’s also the best way to prevent injuries, to protect the Grand Canyon, and to have a good time. I hope I see you on the river this season.

John O