February 2004. On Sunday, March 7 at 7:00PM, author Tom Martin will update Santa Fe, New Mexico, boaters on the controversial Colorado River Management Plan (CRMP) now in progress for Grand Canyon National Park, and how this plan will affect the boating public. Tom will illustrate his talk with a slide show on the Grand Canyon based on his book, "Day Hikes From The River: A Guide to 100 Hikes from Camps on the Colorado River in Grand Canyon National Park."
The highly controversial CRMP, which was stopped by the Park in 2000, was restarted as part of a settlement agreement in a lawsuit filed by river running groups and individuals. The public comment period which ended this past summer gathered over 50,000 comments. This process is of vital interest to any canyon lover hoping to visit the Colorado River in Grand Canyon. "The wait for do-it-yourself river runners is so long, those at the bottom of the list will wait an incredible 20 years to get permission to run the river" said Martin, who notes that "you can book a commercial trip tomorrow for this summer, if you can afford it."
The free slide show will be open to the public and feature beautiful vistas illustrating Grand Canyon hikes you can do from the river and exciting river running shots. Tom will be signing his book, and copies of the new Grand Canyon book "Hijacking A River, A Political History of the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon", by Jeff Ingram, will also be available. Book sales will benefit River Runners for Wilderness, a non-profit group which is sponsoring the events. RRFW represents the interests of the boating public. This slide show will be hosted at the residence of Tom Robey and Gail Ryba, at 145 W. Zia, 0.6 mile west of Old Pecos Trail. (505) 955-9578