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National Park Service talks Grand Canyon mules, stock use
Public meetings conclude on mule operations and stock use at Grand Canyon

<br>Photos by Patrick Whitehurst/WGCN<br>
Pictured, left to right, is former Grand Canyon resident Bruce Aiken, Grand Canyon National Park Public Affairs Officer Maureen Oltrogge and National Park Service Environmental Protection Specialist Rachel Bennett at a March 25 public meeting on proposed changes to mule operations and stock use at the Grand Canyon.

<br>Photos by Patrick Whitehurst/WGCN<br> Pictured, left to right, is former Grand Canyon resident Bruce Aiken, Grand Canyon National Park Public Affairs Officer Maureen Oltrogge and National Park Service Environmental Protection Specialist Rachel Bennett at a March 25 public meeting on proposed changes to mule operations and stock use at the Grand Canyon.

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. - Officials with the National Park Service (NPS) held the last of three meetings seeking public comment on mule operations and stock use at the Grand Canyon with their last meeting held March 25 at Little America Hotel in Flagstaff. Roughly 31 people attended the Thursday meeting. Seven attended a Kanab, Utah, meeting with 27 reported in attendance for a meeting on the South Rim. Grand Canyon National Park Superintendent Steve Martin said the purpose of the meetings have been to share ideas with the public.

"There tends to be a lot of misunderstanding about what we're doing and why we're doing it," Martin said. "We also realize how important the trails are to Grand Canyon National Park and the use of the trails in the park."

He said the trails are a part of the park's $2 billion infrastructure.

"We put a lot of time into trying to keep a really good stock experience at the Canyon and one that's maintainable."

He added that many of the trails, created prior to the start of World War II by members of the Civilian Conversation Corps, have been difficult to maintain in more recent years, largely due to the number of riders that take stock into the Canyon.

"In the last 10 or 15 years we just haven't had the funds to keep up with the erosion. It isn't all stock use," Martin said. "Roughly 5 to 10 percent is stock use. Ninety percent or more is hikers. The livestock probably cause about 90 percent of the problem."

Should funds improve, Martin told those in attendance at the March 25 meeting that park officials would consider raising the number of riders into the Canyon.

Rachel Bennett, NPS environmental protection specialist, said she thought the meetings have been well received by those with an interest in the proposal.

The proposed alternative for mule operations and stock use calls for halving the current number of rides in the Canyon, while adding additional above-rim rides.

Bennett said she has heard concerns that the NPS would continue to cut mule operations and stock use at the Grand Canyon during the recent public meetings.

"There's more of a fear than a question," she said. "Although our proposal is to limit the number of commercial mule rides, we're not really looking at any limits on private stock use. I think we've come to a pretty reasonable proposal. It's not drastic. If it doesn't work, we will have to go back to the drawing board."

A number of groups, including the Back Country Horsemen of Central Arizona, the Sierra Club and others have been in attendance at the meetings.

Kelly Schwartz, with the Back Country Horsemen of Central Arizona, said her group does not support the proposed alternative for mule operations and stock use at the Grand Canyon.

"One of our five principles is to support the use of stock on public lands and backcountry where that use has been historic and traditional, which the Grand Canyon qualifies. It seems very disingenuous to us to blame the trail erosion, these repair issues, on mules when no significant maintenance has taken place in 80 years. I don't know of any well traveled roads that hold up very well without any maintenance efforts; even 10 years out, the potholes can be horrible. It doesn't seem quite appropriate to blame that on the mules," Schwartz said.

She said certain user groups may also be adversely impacted by limiting the number of rides into the Canyon. Above rim rides on the South Rim, however, have been added to the proposal.

"There may be people who are elderly and disabled who are fairly fit, but because of arthritis, knee replacements, hip replacements, other issues, could not make the trip down hiking, but on the back of a mule they could enjoy it, so has there been any evaluation of the user groups in the Canyon by type of access? To severely limit mules and not take a look at what demographic group the different users are comprised of, hikers, mule riders, people who go in with private stock is, on the face of it, probably pretty discriminatory," Schwartz said.

Martin said that park officials have looked at how the limits may affect those with disabilities and, besides riding mules and stock, suggested that river trips were another alternative for those with impairments to get into the park.

"We're really trying to figure out the funding and the maintenance so that we can keep stock in the Canyon and we will continue to have mules going into the Canyon under our preferred alternative," he said. "We recognize that and that's why we've really worked hard to keep some level of stock use in the Canyon. We think that's important."

Stacey Hamburg, conservation program coordinator for the Grand Canyon Chapter of the Sierra Club, said she was attending the event due to the club's interest in protecting the area's natural resources.

"The national park's primary mission is to protect the natural resource. It's not business, it's not to maintain business, air tours, mules; if the air tours or the mules degrade the natural resource then that has to be curtailed," Hamburg said. "Our concern is that these mules do degrade the resource."

She said the number of mules currently allowed into the Grand Canyon needs to be reduced.

"It's too much," Hamburg said. "And there is user conflict. So we're here to advocate for the resource and to advocate for hikers, who are there just to quietly enjoy a nice, peaceful hike."

Hamburg added that she believes a detailed study is also in order when it comes to mule feces and its effects on the environment, including nearby water sources.


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