Free Grand Canyon Slideshows In Salida and Portland

January 2004. Author Tom Martin will update local 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 show will be in Salida, Colorado, at Bongo Billy's Coffee House, 300 W. 2nd St., at 8:00 p.m., Sunday, Feb. 8, and at Lewis and Clark College in Portland, Oregon on Tuesday, February 17, in the Templeton Student Center (Council Chambers) at 7:00 p.m.

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 during the past summer gathered over 50,000 comments. "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 next summer, if you can afford it. This process is of vital interest to any canyon lover hoping to visit the Colorado River in Grand Canyon."

The free slide shows 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. Look for upcoming shows in California and Washington in mid-February, times and locations to be announced.