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Rock
the Earth Takes Colorado River Plan to the 9th Circuit
 On
January 11th, the 100th Anniversary of the dedication
of Grand Canyon National Park, Rock the Earth and
its plaintiff partners appealed the decision
by U.S. District Court in Arizona to
the Ninth Circuit as part of our on-going effort to
protect and restore the Grand Canyon's natural sounds
and wilderness values from a steady increase in motorized
and commercial uses.
The
plaintiffs, which include River Runners for Wilderness,
Rock the Earth, Living Rivers and Wilderness Watch,
claim that the National Park Service's new management
plan for the Colorado River corridor, authorizing
motorboat use and helicopter passenger exchanges in
the heart of the Grand Canyon, is inconsistent with
National Park Service obligations to preserve the
area's wilderness character.
The plaintiffs challenged the National Park Service's
management plan in Federal District Court in 2006,
claiming that the Park's own policies require managing
the canyon as wilderness. The plaintiffs also claimed
that the National Park Service illegally granted the
majority of river access to commercial concessionaires,
thereby forcing members of the general public to wait
years for a chance to obtain a permit to raft the
Colorado River. In November 2007, U.S. District Court
Judge David G. Campbell upheld the National Park Service's
new river management plan. Intervening in the case
on the side of the Park Service were the Grand Canyon
Private Boaters Association and the Grand Canyon River
Outfitters Association.
The
plaintiffs' appeal comes on the 100th anniversary
of President Theodore Roosevelt's declaring the Grand
Canyon a National Monument.
One
hundred years ago, President Roosevelt noted, "We
have gotten past the stage, my fellow-citizens, when
we are to be pardoned if we treat any part of our
country as something to be skinned for two or three
years for the use of the present generation, whether
it is the forest, the water, the scenery. Whatever
it is, handle it so that your children's children
will get the benefit of it."
George
Nickas, executive director of Wilderness Watch, builds
on that commitment to protection: "No doubt Teddy
Roosevelt would be appalled if he were here today
and saw how the park service has commercialized the
Grand Canyon and allowed the song of the canyon wren
to be drowned by the racket of outboard motors."
"Notably,
when first proposed, President Roosevelt was forced
to strongly defend his Grand Canyon proclamation against
repeated opposition in the courts," states Tom
Martin, Co-Director of River Runners for Wilderness.
He adds, "One hundred years later, we are in
a similar fight and likewise determined to win the
best possible protection for Grand Canyon's Colorado
River."
"What's
at stake is incredibly important to all Americans.
Not only is public access to our public spaces without
the need to pay concessionaires thousands of dollars
at issue," says Marc Ross, Executive Director
of Rock the Earth, "but also at issue is the
need for places where one can go in this country to
seek peace and solitude, without hearing the roar
of engines."
The
plaintiffs are represented by Julia Olson of Wild
Earth Advocates and Matthew Bishop of the Western
Environmental Law Center.
Please
help support our prosecution of this important case
by making a donation to Rock the Earth!
It is only with your support that we can protect special
places like the Grand Canyon!
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