Rim-to-rim runners and hikers, river runners, and climbers all are exerting pressures and creating impacts on Grand Canyon National Park's backcountry. How to manage those activities while preserving the basic character of the more than 1.1 million acres of backcountry terrain is the goal of the park's draft Backcountry Management Plan, which is now open for public review and comment.

It's been near three decades since the National Park Service last established guidelines for backcountry use in the park. Since 1988, new recreational pursuits and more users have created both capacity issues in some backcountry campgrounds and impacted resources. Additionally, the backcountry plan adopted in that year is not consistent with the park's general management plan adopted in 1995.

Since work on a draft environmental impact statement studying the issue was launched in 2011, nearly 600 comments have been received by the park for consideration. The public now has three months to consider the current draft and comment on it.

There are four alternatives in the draft plan, including a "no action" alternative that would leave backcountry management in its current form and Alternative B, the park's preferred alternative, which would "reduce group size for overnight backpacking in the two most remote backcountry zones, manage river-assisted backcountry travel using 31 route-based river sections, and limit commercially guided services." Under this alternative, overnight use in the backcountry would be expected to decrease by 1 percent, park planners say.

Alternative C would manage river-assisted backcountry travel using 11 river sections, allow greater access to the backcountry through retention of large groups and development of campsites in the Corridor, and limit commercially guided services; overall, overnight use in the backcountry is expected to increase by 5 percent. Alternative D, the environmentally preferable alternative, would concentrate backcountry use in non-wilderness areas (Note: most of the 1.1 million acres in the park's backcountry is proposed for wilderness designation and managed as such), reduce group size for overnight backpacking in all zones outside of the Corridor, and limit commercial use and only allow it in non-wilderness areas; overall, overnight use in the backcountry is expected to decrease by 3 percent.

Part of the need for an updated plan comes from increased visitation to the Tuweep area, which has exceeded the capacity established in the 1995 GMP, according to park officials, and concerns from tribes "related to culturally significant places and access across tribal lands."

More details of the draft plan can be found at this site. Comments may be left there as well.

Two public hearings currently are planned:

Wednesday, December 2 

Grand Canyon Village, South Rim

Shrine of the Ages

From 4 p.m. to 6 pm

Monday, December 7

DoubleTree Hotel, 1175 W. Route 66

Flagstaff, Arizona

From 4 p.m. to 7 pm

The Park Service also plans to hold at least one webinar to reach the broadest range of stakeholders and interested public. Information about the webinar will be announced at a later date.