Prez Blurb

I’m recently back from the first private trip I’ve been on in years. I took my own advice, and I walked across the ramp at Lees Ferry to talk to everyone I could meet. I walked across the mouth of Havasu (only ten boats), and down to the motor tie-up, and up to the Motor Pool. I even walked around Diamond Creek. I met passengers, swampers, guides, trip-leaders, and even one outfitter! I talked to private trips, motor trips, oar trips, kayak trips and dory trips. I even talked to a motor/oar/dory/bluegrass trip. I talked about camps and schedules and about the last time we saw each other, and what were our mutual friends doing now? I gave away back issues of the bqr, and I tried like heck to give away many extra boxes of cookies. (Note to future private trip shoppers, teenagers love cookies, but to teenage girls, if it ain’t chocolate, it ain’t a cookie!) We had great camps, we talked it over with the commercials and other privates, and we negotiated, and everyone got what they needed. With three second-time oarsmen, we sure didn’t race anybody to any camps, nor could we send anybody on ahead to grab a camp. It was a private trip, with friends, and family, and friends of family, and family of friends. It was a wonderful thing to be vacationing in our workplace, and I hope we never lose the opportunity as guides to do just that.
This is my fourth quarterly column. In the first one (Vol 16:4 Winter 2003), I wrote, “Hopefully by the time you read this, the Colorado River Management Plan (crmp) will be out in draft form, with a preferred alternative identified.”
In the second one (Vol 17:1 Spring 2004) I wrote, “The National Park Service is planning to release the Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the Colorado River Management Plan for public review and comment in May 2004.”
In the third one (Vol17:2 Summer 2004) 1 wrote, “it is coming up by the end of May, so they say. As of May 2, the crmp website hadn’t been updated since March 11th. So I will say again, ‘by the time you read this, the Draft crmp will be out.” (That one was edited out when the plan changed again before we went to press.)
Now it is my unpleasant task, in my fourth column (August) to tell you, again, “Hopefully by the time you read this, the Colorado River Management Plan will be out in draft form, with a preferred alternative identified.”
All I can say is, “don’t forget to write!” I can only imagine that these continual delays are fueling the feelings of the private boaters, especially those who brought the lawsuit that restarted the process. I am assuming that they will respond in numbers and intensity. If you want your viewpoint, your experience, and your expertise to be heard, as it should be, you will need to comment. You will need to share your ideas, and your version of what the Canyon means, and your vision of what it can mean for the future, for guides, for passengers, and for private boaters.
Regarding first aid requirements, there have been some more ideas floated, and we (gcrg) are planning to meet with representatives of Grand Canyon National Park in August to discuss the issue yet again. As always, our goal is to find a mutually agreed-upon solution that prevents or reduces injuries, provides injured parties with the best possible care, and makes the most of the incredible pool of talented guides. This will make for better trips, fewer injuries, and better guides. No downside.
Did you hear about the latest evacuation from the River? Me neither! I heard about some of them, though. I heard about one in a bar, and about one at Macy's coffeehouse. And I heard about another one on the way to Lees Ferry. I heard that one from a paddle captain, who heard it at the Little Colorado from a motor boatman, who saw the trip at Havasu. I wonder if I got the whole story? Do you think professionals ought to get the latest updates on their profession in a bar, in a coffee shop, or third hand? (I suppose it depends on the profession!)
You might think that if guides really cared about preventing injuries on the river they’d want to know exactly what injuries were occurring, where they were occurring, who they were occurring to, and why. Well, you’re right. Guides do want to know that information, because preventing injuries is a big part of what we do. Injuries hurt guides and they hurt the people we are entrusted to guide safely. All the guides I’ve met are interested in preventing injuries, and knowing more about how to prevent them. I think the reduction in dehydration and hyponatremia cases is proof of that.

You might think that gcrg would be trying to get injury and accident information also. You’d be right about that, too. gcrg has been requesting incident/accident information from gcnp formally, to my knowledge, since August, 2001. In 2003, we formally requested the information five times. We have continued to request it in 2004. We haven’t seen any yet!
You might think that if Grand Canyon National Park (gcnp) were interested in preventing injuries and accidents on the river, they would be compiling and providing the information, especially to those who asked for it. The information is not secret. It is provided in some form to the Grand Canyon (South Rim) Newspaper every week by email. Gcrg requested to receive the same email in October of 2003. In December of 2003 we heard that they had received our request, and they were thinking about it. In March of 2004 I emailed to ask what the status was of our request. I haven’t heard back yet (August 2004). We sent a Freedom of Information Act request to Joe Alston, Superintendent of gcnp. We will keep you posted as to how that goes.
I can’t believe that gcnp is NOT interested in preventing injuries and accidents.
I can’t believe that gcnp is so understaffed and so busy that they can’t add gcrg’s address (gcrg@infomagic.net) to the email they send every week. (A thirty second investment of time?)
I can’t believe that gcnp wants to look this bad on this one. If you can think of an explanation, I’d sure like to hear it.
I’d like to thank all of you who voted for me as a director of gcrg, and those who went even further out on a limb to vote me into office. I have appreciated the support of those who have called or emailed, or spoke with me about the issues we have been working on. I also greatly appreciate the willingness of those who disagreed with what I thought to bring it to my attention. I didn’t want to espouse a position that I can’t or won’t explain to a friend or a colleague, and your questions, opinions and corrections have enabled me to see and learn much more of these complex issues than I could have ever hoped to without your assistance. I’d hope that you felt comfortable in offering your opinions, and that you will continue to weigh in with the Board, when you agree, as well as when you disagree. I’d also like to thank the many general members for their support of gcrg, and continued love of the Grand Canyon. The general members are one of the hidden strengths of gcrg. The only way gcrg could be better in my mind is to have even more participation by even more guides, newer ones and more experienced ones. If, as a guide, you don’t have a friend on the Board of Directors, you ought to seriously considering both making friends with someone on the board and running for the board next year.
You don’t have to be on the board to come to meetings and you don’t have to live in Flagstaff. You don’t even have to be a paid-up member. All you really need is to show up, and care about the Grand Canyon, and care about river trips there. If you are going to be passing through, check with Lynn Hamilton about when a board meeting is, and just show up.
Being more involved in gcrg might not be for everybody, but it might be for everybody who is or has been a boatman in the Grand Canyon. The reward is the same as being a boatman; you will find it “in the doing of the thing.”
And the payoff is, “The stars, the cliffs and canyons, the roar of the rapids, the moon, the uncertainty and worry, the relief when through each one...the campfires at night, the real respect of the river men I met and others...”
See you on the river my friends,

John O