October 19, 2023
Dear members – here is an update on Board activities:
Officers
Erica Stones is our new Board member as a Member at Large. A Kansas native and a former teacher of French, she is eager to participate with the other board members in representing your interests. Welcome aboard!!
The following officers have agreed to continue in their current capacities; John Vrymoed, President; Rich Turner, Vice President; Blakely LaCroix, Secretary; Howard Robinson, Treasurer; Samantha Rist, Membership; David Levine, Store Operations; Helen Howard, Member at Large. For members who have recently joined – welcome!! GCPBA has no paid staff, Board members volunteer their time to represent the interests of the private boater.
USGS Workshop
The USGS held a workshop at their campus in Flagstaff on Sept 20, 2023. The purpose was to gather input for the development of an early warning system to alert boaters and hikers on potential debris flows and flash floods. As you know, serious accidents have occurred as well as a number of close calls where folks have had to run for their lives.
Rich Turner and I attended the workshop to provide input from the perspective of the private boater along with representatives of the National Weather Service, Coconino County Emergency Services, Grand Canyon River Guides, to name a few.
Being scientists, USGS personnel presented a geomorphological distinction between debris flows and flash floods accompanied by colored charts of the number of these occurrences in the last 100 years for a number of camps.
Although informative, we indicated that it would be unlikely that a private boater would carry a tablet or a printout in order to select a camp with the least likelihood of a flash flood. We emphasized that many privates now carry a Garmin inReach, which could be used to get information of an impending storm. Although visible storm clouds provide a heads up of potential flash floods, there are times when cloud bursts occur some distance beyond the rim and not visible. We suggested, once a system is developed, that information on an alert system could be provided during the orientation meeting.
Historical Society Symposium
The Society is holding their symposium at the Shrine of Ages on the South Rim/GC National Park Nov 2 – 4, 2023. If wanting to attend, it is best to register as soon as possible at https://rb.gy/g17oa as space is limited.
Added Member Benefit
GCPBA members can now get a discount when shuttling vehicles with Wild River Shuttle Grand Canyon. Their services have received very good reviews – you can visit their website at https://rb.gy/hljt5
Sept 28 – Oct 1, 2023 Board Meeting
Although the Park had committed to joining us, we received a notice that they would not be attending due to the impending government shutdown. We had intended to update the Park on the Navajo Nation’s docks project. For those members new to this topic, the US Army Corps of Engineers granted a permit, with conditions, for the Navajo to construct docks for commercial purposes just downstream of Lee’s Ferry. The original permit was extended and will expire October, 2024.
Given the results of our last FOIA request, it appears the Navajo are not moving forward, as there has been no communication between the Corps and Navajo in the last 6 months.
It was our intent to share with Park our EIS comments concerning post 2026 operations. We may do so at a later time. Here’s a synopsis of our comments:
Post 2026 Lake Mead/Powell Operations EIS comments
GCPBA’s comments expressed two primary concerns: 1. As stated by the Glen Canyon Dam Adaptive Management Program “…sandbars have eroded due to normal dam operations as well as erosion from thunderstorms…”, and 2. The generation of hydropower has become a priority over mitigating the health of the river’s ecosystem. The concerns and comments from other organizations were very similar if not identical to GCPBA’s.
Conducting a high flow experiment every 3 or 4 years does not make up for the sand/silt trapped behind the dam. In comparison, a peak flow of 45K cfs was an annual occurrence prior to the dam’s construction. As GCDAMP has noted, the river’s ecosystem has steadily degraded. Without any modification to the dam’s 1956 design, this degradation will continue.
Having examined the dam’s design, there is a viable modification that can be made to mitigate the adverse effects of dam operations. This modification and a history of the dominance of hydropower over the river’s ecosystem was given in a power point presentation at the Board meeting. We can share the presentation via a zoom meeting with one or more members if interested. If so, please contact us at gcpbamail@gmail.com to make arrangements.
That’s it for now. We will follow up with another newsletter to go over the necessary revisions of the Bylaws considered during the Board meeting.
Respectfully yours,
John Vrymoed
President
Grand Canyon Private Boaters’ Association