Jeff Behan
commercial guide

   Muzzle the Motors

   Grand Canyon river trips cost commercial passengers $150-$200/day. Private boaters wait 8 years to get here. They come for the incredible scenery, whitewater and side canyon hikes, and to temporarily escape civilization and everyday life through personal immersion in one of the world’s most amazing wilderness environments. For many, the unparalleled opportunities for experiencing the natural world are key reasons for being here. Unfortunately, excessive outboard motor noise and fumes during the summer months are now so commonplace in the River Corridor that many visitors, commercial and private alike, do not get what they came for. (Crowding and aircraft noise are related, but separate issues.)

   Motorized travel on the Colorado River is a complex management dilemma. It is inconsistent with the wilderness qualities that off-road areas in most other national parks are managed for. Yet motors are the most efficient way to take people and equipment down the river. Banning them would not be practical, say proponents, because this would result in overcrowding among oar trips, probable user day cuts, and higher trip prices. Conceding these points, it is nevertheless time to more seriously address the negative impacts of outboards on the experience of all non-motorized visitors.

   Some companies are taking a proactive approach to reducing impacts by trying sound-muffling shrouds and quieter, cleaner brands of motor, and by running enclosed-motorwell boats. This is encouraging, but after company consolidations, other outfitters have expanded their fleets of outdated open-motorwell rigs powered by the noisiest motors, resulting in a sharp rise in the number of the loudest boats. The situation is no longer tolerable, if ensuring some wilderness qualities along the River Corridor is still a genuine management objective.

   The burden of proof should lie with motor outfitters to show they are switching to the quietest and cleanest boats currently in commercial use. 20 years ago, an exception to widely accepted park management doctrine was made on their behalf. The economies of scale inherent in running motor trips have allowed these businesses to become highly profitable since then. It's time to put some of these profits back into the place that made them successful, by reinvesting in more environmentally conscious boat designs. If the outfitters are unwilling to do this on their own, the River Subdistrict should step in and require it.

   note: in a joint news release dated Sept. 23, 1997, the NPS and Grand Canyon Outfitters Association announced a voluntary outfitter committment to convert all outboard motors in Grand Canyon to low-noise, low-emission models by 2001.