GRAND CANYON NATIONAL PARK, Ariz. (AP) - Some Flagstaff-area tour operators are concerned about parts of a plan to manage the Grand Canyon’s backcountry areas.
The Grand Canyon National Park’s draft backcountry management plan would change the permitting process for commercial tour operators staying in the backcountry overnight, reported The Arizona Daily Sun (https://bit.ly/1Y2b7om ). Many tour operators say they are content with the current system and worry the new rules would hurt business for most companies.
The draft plan would do away with the general public lottery currently used for allocating the permits. Instead, it would assign most nights to a few operators with concession permits.
Other companies would be would be limited to a few overnight trips per year.
“Between one and five concessionaires would essentially have a monopoly on the business, and for a significant portion of operators, part of their business would cease to exist,” said Seth Heald, president of Arizona Outback Adventures.
Two other companies told the Daily Sun that the current proposal could knock out as much as 50 percent of their business.
Anything below the rim of the Grand Canyon is considered the backcountry. The plan covers 1.1 million acres, most of which are proposed for wilderness designation.
The draft would update the current 1988 document, adding relatively new recreation activities such as canyoneering, rim-to-rim excursions and backpacking trips that require short travel on the Colorado River. The proposal has received more than 1,000 comments from hikers, visitors, tour operators and others.
Rachel Bennett, a Grand Canyon environmental protection specialist, said the park was surprised at the negative feedback from many local guiding companies and will likely consider altering the proposal.
“I can say I do think it will look different in the next round,” she said.
The draft was, in part, a response to requests from tour operators who wanted longer-term opportunities and more guarantees in how they do business at the park, according to Bennett. She also said the concessions contracts would give the park more oversight and require more consistency in price and quality of services.
“From the Park’s perspective that’s what we thought (operators) would be interested in,” she explained.
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Information from: Arizona Daily Sun, https://www.azdailysun.com/
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