Grand Canyon backcountry plan meeting Monday

[sonnylawrence]

Please come voice your opinion in two days in Flagstaff. We are out of time. The National Park is soliciting public input. Read Rich Rudow's story here: https://www.facebook.com/rich.rudow/...=3&pnref=story

[Rick Demarest]

For the non-FB crowd:

Dear friends,

Most of you know that Grand Canyon has a special place in my heart. My first visit was on a Hatch commercial river trip that my wife Joanna gave me as a gift in 1989. I was so inspired that I quickly returned to backpack many trails. Curiosity soon led me off-trail to see more remote sites. Eventually, Todd Martin and I started exploring these remarkably intricate and stunningly beautiful microenvironments, called slot canyons, hidden deep in the Grand Canyon backcountry. It’s been a great pleasure to share these incredible and rarely seen places through photographs with all of you. But perhaps the most satisfying thing has been seeing the smiles and sense of wonder when some of you first visited these incredible cathedrals yourself. Your photos tell the story. A lot of you have caught this "Grand Canyoneering" bug.

Increased visitation to these remote places puts important responsibilities to protect Grand Canyon squarely on our shoulders. The National Park Service has just issued the first new Backcountry Management Plan for public consideration in 28 years. It will be another generation, or more, before the NPS considers updating this plan again. For the first time technical canyoneering is regulated in this plan. Some backcountry routes you’ve been privileged to do may not be allowed anymore. Some new routes may be enabled. You have a voice to help determine the best balance between protecting Grand Canyon for future generations, and allowing people the sense of wonder and amazement that you had on your first visit. But you must participate in the process to exercise your voice. Please help by attending the NPS meeting in Flagstaff Monday night. Details here: http://www.americancanyoneers.org/gc...lan-draft-eis/

Here’s just one example of what’s at stake. Walking by Tatahatso Canyon as a backpacker provides a similar sense of wonderment and curiosity that you have walking around hundreds of other limestone slots in Grand Canyon. But in 2008, when Todd Martin and I rappelled through Tatahatso and saw the giant gothic pillars hidden deep in the slot canyon, we knew we found something extraordinarily special. Seven years later, this has become a popular route for technical canyoneers. Unfortunately, most of us are doing this route illegally. What? Yes, you read that right. The vast majority of us are exiting Tatahatso with a 7 mile packraft to Eminence Break and this is currently illegal. One alternative in the Backcountry Plan would keep this illegal. Three alternatives, including the one preferred by the NPS, would make it legal. Now is your chance to ensure that others can be as inspired as you to legally visit Tatahatso Canyon.

I hope see many of you on Monday.
Thanks!
Rich Rudow