1. In accordance with existing federal law and National Park Service policy, the primary requirement for the Colorado River Management Plan is the preservation of the Colorado River corridor within Grand Canyon National Park as an unimpaired natural and cultural area, to the extent possible given the deleterious downstream effects of Glen Canyon Dam. In a manner fully consistent with this fundamental purpose, the National Park Service must provide for the responsible use and enjoyment of this resource by the general public, in part by assuring the continued availability of high quality, professionally assisted recreational river trip opportunities.

2. The Grand Canyon river experience exerts a tremendous draw on potential visitors of all types and backgrounds from across America and around the world, including highly proficient and committed outdoor and whitewater recreationists as well as those with no previous experience in a wild, primitive, backcountry environment, National Park Service management and administration of the Colorado River corridor within the Grand Canyon should acknowledge, respect, and respond to this wide spectrum of public user interest, desire, need, and expectation.

3. Recreational use of the Colorado River within the Grand Canyon is necessarily limited in order to protect the resource and visitor experience quality for all. Because demand for this use exceeds the available supply, Grand Canyon river visitation opportunities must be rationed and distributed in a sustainable manner according to a ratio that reflects the relative size of the competing user sectors. The Grand Canyon professional river outfitters provide the only practical means of river access for the vast majority of visitors, and serve a vital and irreplaceable role in enabling and facilitating the general public’s responsible and intimate interaction with the Grand Canyon. Members of the general public who wish to utilize the services of a river concessioner substantially outnumber those qualified to run a private trip, and are equally worthy recreational users of the Colorado River within the Grand Canyon.

4. In any revised Colorado River Management Plan, the National Park Service must continue to provide a full and diverse range of Grand Canyon river trip options, styles, itineraries, including all current choices of watercraft and propulsion type, group size, and trip duration. Both motorized and non-motorized recreational use on the Colorado River of the current types and levels are environmentally sound and appropriate for the area. Continued motorized use is an essential means of providing broad public access to the unique Grand Canyon river experience without undue restriction.

5. A revised private permit distribution system should ensure that non-commercial trips remain non-commercial, and be distinguished by simplicity, practicality, ease of use, and equality of opportunity, so NPS administration is fair, and can provide responsive customer service economically. The current waiting list method of distributing private river trip permits is untenable, and should be replaced in its entirety with a new model capable of equitably distributing the necessarily limited number of permits.