ver 30 years ago Glen Canyon Dam was built, changing forever (at least for our lifetimes) the Colorado River in Grand Canyon. Since that time we have rallied, studied, and campaigned...and now we are on the verge of seeing additional protection and restoration come to our sacred river corridor. This is good news. However, if we think we can sit back and celebrate because the Canyon is now safeguarded forever, we may be mistaken.
Although I am actually very positive about the forecast for the Canyon and the Southwest as a whole, there is still a great deal of work to be done in both the scientific and political realms. Clearly, the curve of protecting the Southwest is steep and a long term challenge. Whether the challenge comes from power, water delivery, mining, development, or even recreational interests, there are many future obstacles that will have to be overcome. We must look at Grand Canyon preservation as an ongoing issue. Therefore, we must find sustainable ways to fund our conservation efforts.
Grassroots advocacy is vital, and Grand Canyon River Guides (GCRG) is a fine example of what a small, well-organized group of volunteers can accomplish. Yet we cannot expect GCRG to do it all. We need full-time professionals (scientists, economists, attorneys, etc.) to fight the Southwest's environmental fires, both large and small, that will continue to flare. There are groups already doing such work (Grand Canyon Trust, Environmental Defense Fund, and American Rivers, to name a few), yet they all have limited resources. The key question is how can we, as a community, raise money to hire more people to protect Grand Canyon?
What if there was a way to raise well over $100,000 annually, at no cost to the outfitters and guides, and we could use the money for whatever projects or professionals we (outfitters & guides) decided were timely and appropriate? If there were such a program why wouldn't we want to be involved with it?
Well, there is such a program already in effect. It's called the Grand Canyon Conservation Fund (GCCF). Over the last several years the GCCF has raised and given tens of thousands of dollars back to the river. The money has gone to organizations fighting to protect the Grand Canyon and Southwest, promoted access trips for the underprivileged and disabled, and supported Grand Canyon National Park resource trips, to give just a few examples.

The GCCF is a success story that we can build upon. Here is how it works:
When someone signs up for an adventure in the Canyon, they receive confirmation of their trip and a bill for payment to the outfitter. On the bill the outfitter assesses an additional $1/day fee for conservation measures in the Grand Canyon and Southwestern region. This is an optional fee. If future Canyon passengers are not comfortable paying the fee, they simply do not pay.

In other words, a person paying more than $1,000 for a 7-day trip is asked to contribute $7 to help protect the Grand Canyon. Recently, I spoke with two of the six outfitters involved in the program. They said that 99.9% of guests contribute to the fund. It seems that people are pleased to play a role in the protection of the Grand Canyon.
The 6 outfitters in the program represent 40,666 (roughly 35%) of the total 115,500 commercial user days. We should applaud the 6 outfitters and urge the remaining 10 to join the effort. We have a lot of room for improvement.
This program can easily be incorporated into an outfitter’s brochure or added as an insert. Once more for the record, it does not cost the outfitters or the guides anything. This is a perfect way to raise money to hire top people to protect and restore the place that we not only love, but where we make our living.
We are much more of a community than we are an industry. We are brothers and sisters bound together by the silt of the Colorado River. We have a great time partying together, so why not raise some money to protect the Canyon together?
Money is not everything and in some cases it is nothing. However, it is going to cost money to hire the people to do the jobs that will make a difference for the future of the Grand Canyon. The more money we raise the greater the potential for a bright future.
The Grand Canyon and Southwest are very much worth the effort.
To get involved: Guides please discuss the program with your outfitters and encourage them to enroll. Outfitters please contact the GCCF to learn more about how to administer the program.

Robby Pitagora
Berkeley, CA