Richard C. Engar
dentist, commercial passenger

   I worked on the North Rim in 1971, have hiked the main corridor trails several times and have hundreds of miles under my belt on the abandoned trails, including Nankoweap in 1997, and have completed a trip with a commercial river outfitter through the lower Grand Canyon in 1993. I will be completing a trip through the entire Grand Canyon in summer of 1998 with a commercial outfitter.

   During my hiking experience I have encountered a number of participants of private river trips. Most of these are very hardy types who had to wait several years to complete their trips. Yet, when I asked them about expenses involved to complete their trips the amounts they mentioned were comparable or even higher than the amounts of money charged by the commercial outfitters. Additionally, even though I have spent years hiking in the canyon, have given guest lectures about the canyon on both the North and South Rims, write a regular column about my Grand Canyon and other wilderness adventures for the Utah Dental Association newsletter, and have encountered large numbers of hikers on my adventures, not once have I been invited to be a part of a private river trip through the canyon. The bottom line of the whole argument about river usage boils down to accessibility to individuals. The current ratio of approximately seventy percent of the river corridor use being made available to the commercial outfitters is appropriate and should be maintained.

   During our 1993 river trip I met and became acquainted with a number of individuals who made up the group. Many of us in the group had nothing in common other than a desire to see the Canyon from the perspective of the river and the ability to pay the deposit and other fees in a timely manner to enable us to participate. Government workers, physicians, school teachers, post-cancer patients, a twelve-year old, and a woman who weighed over three hundred pounds were part of our group. The trained boatmen made the experience safe and rewarding for all participants no matter what physical infirmities were present. In my canyon encounters with the individual parties I have never seen a private party take down any 300 pound women; the majority of the private parties I have encountered consisted of individuals who looked very fit physically. As I stated previously, the welcome mat is not laid out very extensively by the individuals making up these private parties. Yet, they have a place and their ability to obtain time on the river is appropriate.

   Although I have virtually no access to a private party and do not have the rowing abilities or resources yet to lead such a private group, I do have the resources to complete a river trip by utilizing the services of a commercial outfitter, as do many of my friends, and with the large number of outfitters and different types of trips available, members of the general public have the same ability.

   I have read that forty percent of the individual boaters cancel their trips when they are awarded a permit; I have also spoken with private parties who were able to take up canceled space at the last minute which was fortunate. However, this is a significantly high ratio which must be considered when reassessing the allocation of private vs. commercial permits to run the river.

   In my experience, the current system and ratio works. We must safeguard the Canyon as long as we can and the park service must continue to limit the number of river trip passengers allowed to pass through the canyon each year. Yet, the current 70/30 commercial to private permit allocation keeps the canyon open to interested members of the general public who might see their opportunities limited should the ratio change. Many of these public citizens develop a love and avocation for the canyon, as have I, which serves to support efforts by the Park Service and others to preserve the canyon and maintain it for the use of our own children and grandchildren. I am looking forward to sharing the river experience this time with my sixteen year old son and am happy that we have the opportunity and access to the canyon through a commercial outfitter. I am also glad that the non-rim portions of the Canyon are pretty much the same as they were in 1971 when I first set foot into it. This preservation is the duty of all of us and will be enhanced as access to the canyon is maintained and more members of the general public continue to have the opportunity to appreciate the river gorge firsthand.