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Mules In Grand Canyon National Park: Should They Stay?

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Grand Canyon National Park officials are asking for public input on the continued use of mules in the park. NPS photo.

Mules in Grand Canyon National Park. They can be a bane, and they can be a beast of burden that makes your trek down into the chasm somewhat easier. Now park officials want to know if mules should continue to be utilized in the Grand Canyon.

Folks who have more than a few hikes down into the canyon can speak harshly of mules, largely for the mess they make with their urine on the trails but also for the spacing of steps in the trails to accommodate the beasts. But mules no doubt have made the canyon accessible for folks who otherwise wouldn't have ventured down the trail.

So what do you think? Grand Canyon officials are now accepting comments on mule operations and stock use in the park as they begin to develop an environmental assessment. The presence and use of mules in and around the canyon is a long-standing tradition and one that the park would like to continue.

But park officials also are interested in continuing to provide opportunities for stock use in a manner that is sustainable. This planning effort will address the following management objective identified in the park’s 1995 General Management Plan: “Where livestock and visitors share the same trails and areas, minimize conflicts and resource impacts, and enhance safety.”

The planning process will consider the following:

* Commercial and private stock use (including horses, mules, and burros) throughout the park.

* Appropriate levels of stock use on park trails.

* Appropriate locations for stock use in the park, which may include: keeping commercial stock use on the North Kaibab Trail down to Supai Tunnel; moving stock use to one of the South Rim corridor trails (Bright Angel or South Kaibab); keeping stock use on the Uncle Jim Trail, Whitmore Trail, and select corridor trails; initiation of a concession-operated day ride on the South Rim; the need for new stock facilities or modification to existing facilities on the North and South Rim, including compliance with laws and regulations for mule health and safety.

The Park Service encourages public participation through the National Environmental Policy Act (commonly known as NEPA) process during which the public has two opportunities to formally comment on the project – once during initial project scoping and again following release of the EA which is expected this fall. The NPS is currently in the scoping phase of this project and invites the public to submit their comments in a variety of ways during the next 30 days.

Three open house meetings are scheduled in June where Grand Canyon National Park staff will be available to answer questions and take comments on stock use in the park. Meeting dates and locations are as follows:

June 2, 4-7 PM (Arizona Time) – Flagstaff Public Library, 300 W Aspen Avenue, Flagstaff, Arizona

June 3, 4-6 PM (Arizona Time) – Community Building, Room B, South Rim Village, Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona

June 4, 4-7 PM (Utah Time) – Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument Kanab Visitor’s Center, 745 East Highway 89, Kanab, Utah

You may also submit written comments on this web site or by mailing them to: Steve Martin, Superintendent, Grand Canyon National Park, Attn: Mule Operations and Stock Use EA, P.O. Box 129 (1 Village Loop for express, Grand Canyon, AZ 86023 by June 22, 2009.

The park expects to prepare an EA this summer, with a decision document for this project anticipated in December, 2009. Additional information about this project can be found at this web site or by contacting Rachel Stanton, Project Planning Lead, at (928) 774-9612.

Comments

The mules serve a wonderful and grand tradition a the GCNP and this service needs to remain in place. My question is the number of mule trains on the N. Kaibab trail and for that matter the Bright Angle Trail on the S Rim. Last October I was on the NK going down into the canyon and 3 mule trains were separated by less than 5 minutes apart. The first train was large, pushing 20 mules and the other 2 were about 10 riders each. All total I think I stopped for 6 or 7 trains that day. It was a slow day as mule trains go I guess and the trail was a disaster. All the urine, green apple dumplings, ruts, and then the walk arounds from this mess, where possible; are causing further trail erosion. Some of the areas on the trail there is not much stand aside room to let the trains pass and when a mule decides its time to take care of business, well the splatter is down right disgusting.

My position is not IF the trails are shared because there should be room on them for all, but spacing and the number of mule trains allowed on a daily basis needs to be seriously considered and discussed!. The mule trains need to be kept available to get those who choose not to walk down or cannot; down into the canyon to see and enjoy. However, that needs to be balance with those walking down and for those of us that choose that method we should not feel or think that we are walking in a sewer. I can only imagine what it is like on one of the south rim trails in the summer on a 100+ degree day with all the trains.


I agree with all of the above post. Me, my wife, and 2 sons made the day trip to Plateau Point. Without a doubt, one of the most enjoyable experiences in our lives. It is imbedded in our memory forever. KEEP the mules!!


I agree that they should keep the mules. I hiked Kaibab and Bright Angel some twenty years ago. If I wanted to visit the bottom of the Canyon again the only way would be by mules. Please keep them.


I agree keep the mules. Did that when I was child and If I do it again I will use the mules.


I didn't see too much of a problem with droppings, although I didn't take the Bright Angel Trail.

I would note that the mules don't accommodate everyone. If your entire weight (includes everything) is more than 200 lbs you won't be allowed to ride a mule down.

As for the way down, it's still possible to get a reservation at Phantom Ranch if you're willing to hike down and back up. People are staying in the campgrounds near the Colorado River, so it's not as if human beings can't get down under their own power, although I realize most people don't have the fitness level to do so. I saw one ranger early in the morning who made it most of the way up, so a reasonably fit person could train to do it.


I agree with John's reply. The mules are a part of the history of Grand Canyon and should stay. The National Parks are for all of us to enjoy, there are visitors that are unable to hike into the canyon for various reasons, they should not be denied the only way at this time to enjoy this remarkable natural wonder. The many should not be penalized because of the few who are unhappy.
Thank you,
JC


Mule riders are exactly as much of a "special interest group" as hikers: the last time I was at Grand Canyon I couldn't have afforded a mule trip (however, I was under 200 lbs). I don't think that I as a hiker should have to be a second-class visitor, _frequently_ leaving the trail to make way for mule trains and walking through their excrement. [A couple of meetings with mule trains and dung I can step around seem reasonable to me.] I think that both kinds of visitors should be accommodated, and that the planning process must account for increasing usage for both.

I highly doubt that NPS will eliminate all of the mules: if total elimination of mules is an option listed in the EA it will be there for completeness, to show that they considered all alternatives and rejected some (a straw horse?). To quote from the superintendent's letter: "The presence and use of mules in and around the canyon is a longstanding tradition and one that the park would like to continue." Everyone please submit your comments to the website: they will help justify rejecting the no mules "alternative"!

The options seriously considered will be how many mules per day on how many & which trails. I hope that the answer will not be the opposite extreme of "as many mules as possible on all trails every day", benefiting the concessionaire and riders at the expense of hikers and the resources, and making it like a ride at Disneyland or a walk in Cades Cove in the springtime (or time at the top on the south rim for that matter). At the same time I would like to see something that increases rather than decreases the capacity for both hiking and mule trips, so that trips down the canyon don't become a lottery or multi-decade waiting list like the river trips are.

I don't like having to give way repeatedly to oncoming mule trains. My preference would be either a posted schedule alternating days or weeks of mules / no mules on all of the major trails (staggered so that on any given day mules are allowed on some trails but not on others), which lets mule riders use every historic trail, or designated mule trails and hiking trails, where the mule trails can be built a bit sturdier (they're in the process of rebuilding some of the trails now after 70 years of wear & tear). Either permanently designated mule trails or weekly rotation could allow for requiring the concessionaire to remove the dung from trails or sensitive parts of trails if nutrients are a problem, or if the hiking experience is to be improved.

Those options alone don't increase capacity. If designated mule trails (fixed or rotating) or sections of trails could be made one-way for each day or half-day, more mule trains might be accommodated without head-on meeting of trains, thus fewer delays and a less-crowded experience for riders, and the ability for some hikers to tuck in between mule trains. [Making all trails shared but one-way on any given day or half day would work for me, as my net speed out of the canyon is about that of mules, so I wouldn't pass or be passed by mules, but runners are much faster and others are slower.]

If you have better suggestions, please submit them to the park planning website.


I agree with most of the posts. I took the 1 day mule ride yesterday. It should be on everyones list of things to do if they can. I would certainly understand the complaints of hikers. However, hikers have other trail alternatives that don't have mules. When I was younger I could have hiked the trail, but now that I am able to afford the trip to AZ and the Grand Canyon, I am greatful that I was able to see the panoramic view from the plateau.


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