A Comparison of Strategies for Rationing and Managing Use on Selected Rivers in the United States in 1986 and 1998

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1 A Comparison of Strategies for Rationing and Managing Use on Selected Rivers in the United States in 1986 and 1998 Randy T. Welsh Abstract River managers often rely on rationed use limits to control visitor impacts and manage increasing demand for river access. Characteristics of 19 river segments in the Western United States with rationed use limits in place during the 1998 floating season are examined and compared to those in place in Visitor use management on these rivers is described, including application procedures, fees, use limits, and regulations. Suggestions for river managers in other parts of the world are offered. Recreational floatboating in the United States is very popular. Over 17 million people participated in rafting or kayaking in 1994 with an average of three trips per year (Cordell and others 1997). Managers at extremely popular rivers have adopted rationing and regulating floating use as one way to minimize resource impacts, crowding, and social conflicts. There are several approaches used to ration river access (Stankey and Baden 1977; Shelby and Danley 1979; Shelby and others 1982). River managers most commonly use a twostep rationing process: (1) applications are accepted at the beginning of the year for a lottery drawing where launch dates are assigned according to the launch preferences submitted by prospective river runners, and (2) any unallocated days and cancellations are assigned on a firstcome, first-served basis through phone call-ins. The remainder of river managers ration river access with a variety of first-come, first-served methods. Welsh (1986) reviewed rationing systems for rivers in the Western United States where private noncommercial visitor access was controlled through a permit system. In 1986, 14 river segments were examined. This paper looks at what has changed in the last 12 years. On what new rivers have managers chosen to ration use? How have the permit systems and rationing processes changed in this period? What regulations and required equipment changed over time? This paper examines these questions and provides suggestions for the manager considering rationing visitor use and regulating river visitors. In: Watson, Alan E.; Aplet, Greg H.; Hendee, John C., comps Personal, societal, and ecological values of wilderness: Sixth World Wilderness Congress proceedings on research, management, and allocation, volume II; 1998 October 24 29; Bangalore, India. Proc. RMRS-P-14. Ogden, UT: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station. Randy T. Welsh is a Wilderness and Wild & Scenic Rivers Specialist, USDA Forest Service, th Street, Ogden, UT 84401, rwelsh/ r4@fs.fed.us Methods To determine what changes had occurred in the last 12 years, a list of river segments with permit requirements was established by consulting several published sources (Interagency Whitewater Committee 1992; American River Management Society 1992; Penny 1991). Additionally, an Internet search was performed to learn more about the management of these rivers and to discover new segments where rationing of permits was now occurring. From these sources, a list of approximately 25 candidate rivers was generated. A letter and short questionnaire were sent to managers of these rivers to request information about their current permitting process, use information, regulations, and rationing. Followup phone calls were made to each manager. A final list of 19 river segments was established where private noncommercial river recreation use is rationed. Characteristics of 1998 Rationed Rivers Rationed river segments are diverse in their physical and managerial characteristics. Table 1 identifies these segments and describes their location, managing agency, length, duration, and difficulty. Five segments are under 30 miles long and are considered day or overnight trips. Six segments range between 39 and 47 miles long and offer a 3- to 4-day excursion. Seven segments provide a 5- to 8-day float, varying from 75 to 104 miles. One segment, the Colorado River- Grand Canyon, in Arizona, is typically floated over nine to 30 days and is 277 miles long. Eighteen of the rivers are managed by Federal agencies, including the USDA Forest Service (seven rivers), the USDI Bureau of Land Management (six rivers), the USDI National Park Service (four rivers), and the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (one river). One segment is managed by the State of Montana. These rivers offer a variety of recreational experiences, with four beginner river segments having little to no whitewater, 13 rivers with more advanced Class III-IV (International scale) whitewater rapids, and two rivers with a high degree of difficulty and Class IV-V+ technical whitewater strictly for expert river runners. The time period for rationing on these rivers varies with each segment. All 19 rivers ration use during the peak highuse season, usually during the late spring/summer runoff months when there are suitable water flows for floating. Eleven rivers require permits year-round, with eight maintaining ration limits during the low use season. Actual river use varies by river and by the rationing mechanism applied. USDA Forest Service Proceedings RMRS-P

2 Table 1 River description. River Segment name Location Agency Length Duration Dificulty miles days class Colorado Black Canyon below Hoover Dam Arizona-California border Bureau of Reclamation I-II (Easy) Colorado Cataract Canyon Southeast Utah USDI National Park Service III-IV (Advanced) Colorado Grand Canyon Northern Arizona USDI National Park Service III-IV (Advanced) Colorado Westwater Canyon Southeast Utah USDI Bureau of Land Management II-III (Intermediate) Green Desolation/Gray Canyons Central Utah USDI Bureau of Land Management II-III (Intermediate) Green Gates of Lodore - Dinosaur National Monument Northeast Utah USDI National Parks Service III-IV (Advanced) Kern Forks of the Kern Central California USDA Forest Service IV-V (Expert) Rio Chama Wild & Scenic section Northern New Mexico USDI Bureau of Land Management II-III (Intermediate) Rio Grande Ute Mountain Northern New Mexico USDI Bureau of Land Management I-II (Easy) Rogue Grave Creek to Foster Bar Southwest Oregon USDI Bureau of Land Management III-IV (Advanced) Salmon Corn Creek to Long Tom Bar Central Idaho USDA Forest Service II-III (Intermediate) Salmon Middle Fork in Frank Church- River of No Return Wilderness Central Idaho USDA Forest Service III-IV (Advanced) Salt Upper Salt in Salt River Canyon Wilderness Central Arizona USDA Forest Service III-IV (Advanced) San Juan Sand Island to Mexican Hat to Clay Hills Southeast Utah USDI Bureau of Land Management I-II (Easy) Selway Magruder to Selway Falls in Selway- Bitterroot Wilderness Central Idaho USDA Forest Service III-IV (Advanced) Smith Smith River Waterway North Central Montana State of Montana I-II (Easy) Snake Hells Canyon Idaho-Oregon border USDA Forest Service III-IV (Advanced) Tuolumne Wild & Scenic section Central California USDA Forest Service IV-V (Expert) Yampa Dinosaur National Monument Western Colorado USDI National Park Service III-IV (Advanced) 1 International scale. 26 USDA Forest Service Proceedings RMRS-P

3 Twelve rivers limit launches-per-day and party size to control the number of people entering the river corridor. Limits on other rivers apply to number of people (one river), people per season (one river), and combinations of number of launches and people per day (five rivers). These limits affect both commercial and noncommercial floaters. Table 2 describes the control seasons and rationing limit used on each river. Total rationed river use in 1997 for these segments is displayed in table 3. Total use varies from a low of 536 floaters on the Selway River to an estimated 22,000 on the Colorado River-Grand Canyon and 1998 Historical Comparison of Rationed Rivers Since 1986, five rivers have had rationed limits placed on them, including the Colorado River-Black Canyon below Hoover Dam in Arizona, the Rio Chama and Rio Grande-Ute Mountain run (both in New Mexico), the Salt River in Arizona, and the Smith River in Montana. Four of these segments are typically easy floating (Class I-II) and are usually day trips or up to several nights. The Salt River is the exception, it is a 3- to 4-day trip with more advanced whitewater (Class III-IV). Control Seasons On the 14 other rationed rivers there were five major changes to controlled-use peak seasons. Three segments reduced their control season by 5 days on the Snake River, 15 days on the Tuolumne River, and 2 months on the Yampa River. These adjustments reflected drops in demand due to recurring low water. Two rivers extended their seasons by 1 month for the Colorado River-Westwater Canyon in the spring, and by 15 days in the spring and 1 month in the fall for the Rogue River. These extensions were because of increasing demand for use on the shoulder seasons for these segments. Permit Allocation In 1986, five rivers relied on first-come, first-served permit distribution (Colorado-Cataract, Kern Forks, San Juan, Snake, and Tuolumne), one had a waiting list and limited lottery (Colorado-Grand Canyon, with 2,500 people and a 5+ year wait), and the remainder used lotteries with subsequent call-ins for cancellations and unallocated launch dates. The Colorado-Westwater maintained a monthly lottery during the peak use season. By 1998, the San Juan and Snake Rivers had moved to a lottery system, while two new additions, the Colorado-Black Canyon and Rio Grande-Ute Mountain, had begun first-come, first-served queues. The Colorado-Grand Canyon still maintains a waiting list (which has grown to 6,800 people with a 12+ year wait). All other rivers are using a lottery to initially distribute launch dates and then a call-in for cancellations and unassigned dates. Three rivers also maintain a waiting list for launch dates once the initial drawing is held: Green-Desolation/ Gray, San Juan, Colorado-Westwater (to be eliminated on all three rivers in 1999). Application Process The application process could only be described as chaotic for the private floater in For those segments with lotteries, each river had a separate and unique application process with different start and stop dates, application formats, and submission requirements. Application deadlines were at various times between December and February. Rivers with first-come, first-served queues had open application periods. By 1998, two major shifts had occurred: (1) two groups of rivers had joined together to offer joint application procedures for their lottery and (2) launch application deadlines had been standardized at either January 31 or February 1 among Federally managed rivers with lotteries. Table 4 displays the 1998 permit application procedures for the 19 river segments. Beginning in 1987, four Idaho rivers the Snake, Main Salmon, Middle Fork Salmon, and Selway, all managed by the U.S. Forest Service developed a central reservation process. Realizing that floaters on these rivers were often the same pool of applicants, they formed an alliance to reduce their administrative costs for managing a lottery. In their system, applicants were allowed up to four launch date choices assigned to one or more rivers. This was thought to give applicants the opportunity to choose their preference for a river trip while at the same time reducing the total number of requested launch dates across the four river segments. In a similar combination in 1989, three rivers the Colorado-Westwater, the Green-Desolation/Gray, and the San Juan, all managed by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management in southeastern Utah merged their application processes, although each still maintains a separate lottery. All rivers still administer independent call-in procedures with somewhat more consistent, though still variable, dates. The Idaho rivers have unpublished call-in dates after their lottery in mid-february, while the three Utah Bureau of Land Management rivers use March 1. The remaining rivers with lotteries have call-in dates ranging from February 18 to May 1. Rivers with first-come, first-served reservations have open call-ins. Table 5 compares application and call-in dates between 1986 and A slight surprise was that the number of launch choices floaters were able to submit increased on six river segments while staying the same on the remaining eight rivers. Choices range from one to four with the exception of the Colorado-Grand Canyon, which each year offers the top 300 people on their waiting list 15 or more launch choices, up from 10 in In an effort to minimize cancellations and provide more time to fill open launch slots, nine managers have opted to move confirmation dates forward from those in 1986, typically from mid-march until at least 4 weeks in advance of launch. No clear trend exists for cancellation dates with four moving forward, five staying the same, and three moving closer to the actual launch. Fees In what may be biggest change between 1986 and 1998, the charging of application and permit fees has grown significantly. Only one river charged an application fee the USDA Forest Service Proceedings RMRS-P

4 Table 2 River rationing limits 1998 use season. People per Peopleper River Segment Control season a Launches per day b day season Party size Colorado Black Canyon below All year 30 craft total 30 Hoover Dam Colorado Cataract Canyon All year; high use: April 15-Oct. 15 8, Colorado Grand Canyon All year; high use: April 16-Oct. 15. High use:1 per day with 2 on Wed; 16 Must be on wait list to call-in low use: 1 every 3rd day Colorado Westwater Canyon All year; fees: April 1-Oct. 31; 5 p, 4 c 75 p, 75 c 25 high use: May 1-Sept. 30 Green Desolation/Gray Canyons All year; fees: March 1-Oct. 31; High use: 3 c, 3 p, low use: 1 c, 1 p 25 high use: May 15-Aug. 15 Green Gates of Lodore-Dinosaur All year; high use: 2nd Mon. May- 4-6 total: shared with Yampa 300 p per yr 25 National Monument 2nd Fri. in Sept. Kern Forks of the Kern May 15-Sept c per day 15 p 15 Rio Chama Wild & scenic section High use: May 1 to June 6; release High use: 16 p per week, 5 c; 16 weekends (FS) July 17-to Aug. 29 release: 24 p,10 c per week Rio Grande Ute Mountain June 1-March 31 1 t per day 16 Rogue Grave Creek to Foster Bar All year; high use: May 15-Oct t 20 Salmon Corn Creek to Long Tom Bar June 20-Sept. 7 4 p, 4 c; 320 p per season 30 Salmon Middle Fork in Frank Church- All year; high use: June 1-Sept. 3 7 t; ratio varies per day 24 River of No Return Wilderness Salt Upper Salt in Salt River March 1-May 15 4 p, 2 c per day 45 p, 30 c per day 15 Canyon Wilderness San Juan Sand Island to Mexican Hat to All year; fees: March 1-October 31; 6 t SI; 3 t MH 65 t SI; 35 t MH 25 Clay Hills high use: all year Selway Magruder to Selway Falls in May 15-July 31 1 t per day; 62 p, 16 c per season 16 Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness Smith Smith River Waterway All year; high use: June 10-July 10 9 t per day; 8p-1c; high use: 7 p, 2 c on Wed/Sun 15 Snake Hells Canyon All year; high use: Friday prior to 2 c, 3 p; 345 p per season 24 Memorial Day-Sept. 10 Tuolumne Wild & Scenic section May 1-Sept c of 26 people each 90 p, 142 t 26 Yampa Dinosaur National Monument All year; high use: 2nd Monday May-July 14; low use after July t; shared with Green 25 a All year = permits required year-round; fee = period when fees are charged; high use = period when permits are rationed. b c = commercial allocation; p = private allocation; t = total allocation; SI = Sand Island; MH = Mexican Hat. 28 USDA Forest Service Proceedings RMRS-P

5 Table River use data. River Segment Trips People Colorado Black Canyon below Hoover Dam 3,000 7,364 Colorado Cataract Canyon 624 6,733 Colorado Grand Canyon ,000 Colorado Westwater Canyon 1,484 13,102 Green Desolation/Gray Canyons 624 6,081 Green Gates of Lodore-Dinosaur National Monument 1,004 14,718 Kern Forks of the Kern Rio Chama Wild & Scenic section 263 1,768 Rio Grande Ute Mountain Rogue Grave Creek to Foster Bar 1,789 13,819 Salmon Corn Creek to Long Tom Bar 460 6,147 Salmon Middle Fork in Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness ,836 Salt Upper Salt in Salt River Canyon Wilderness 300 3,000 San Juan Sand Island to Mexican Hat to Clay Hills 1,440 12,836 Selway Magruder to Selway Falls in Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness Smith Smith River Waterway 743 4,771 Snake Hells Canyon 315 4,015 Tuolumne Wild & Scenic section 752 6,900 Yampa Dinosaur National Monument 1,004 14,718 Rogue ($2) in Four rivers the Rogue, Colorado- Westwater, Green-Desolation/Gray, and San Juan, all managed by the Bureau of Land Management required a permit fee, which varied from $2.50 to $7.50 per person. All fees had to be paid by personal check, money order, or cashier s check. By 1998, rivers with application fees had grown to 13 with fees ranging from $2 to $100, while 12 rivers had permit fees, eight with per-person fees from $5 to $20, and four rivers with flat fees from $25 to $75 (Table 6). In addition, other fees may apply, such as tribal land use fees (Salt and San Juan Rivers), nightly impact fees (Colorado-Grand Canyon), and nonresident fees (Smith). Of those rivers requiring fees, seven will accept credit card payments in addition to checks and money orders. All fees are nonrefundable across all agencies. Changes in fee collections are due to increases in fee authority for Federally managed rivers. All three Federal agencies have had authority to collect fees to cover administrative costs of managing permit programs through the Land and Water Conservation Act of While the permit fee authority has existed with the Bureau of Land Management for many years, expansion of permit fee authority has only recently been granted to the National Park Service and Forest Service with the passage of the Recreation Fee Demonstration Program (Omnibus Consolidated Recisions and Appropriations Act of Public Law ). All four National Park rivers had taken advantage of this fee authority prior to 1998, while three Forest Service rivers (Kern, Main Salmon, Middle Fork Salmon) will not institute new permit fees until Regulations The mix of regulated behaviors and required items each float party must take on rationed rivers has increased since Requirements for fire pans and portable toilets have increased from 11 to 13 and from 7 to 12, respectively, among the original 14 rivers. Of the five new rivers, three require fire pans and two require portable toilets. Managers use these requirements to minimize impacts from campfire ring construction, firewood gathering, and charcoal buildup on beaches, and human waste sanitation concerns, from the large numbers of people concentrated in the river corridors. An additional two rivers, over the original five, require food strainers to reduce greywater contamination from dishwashing and food preparation tasks. Other safety requirements for life jackets, spare equipment, first aid kits, repair kits, bailing devices, and throw lines all saw small increases in their required use on these rivers. A requirement for air pumps was dropped from one river segment (Colorado-Cataract Canyon). Safety equipment requirements seem most dependent on agency policy and coordination with state boating laws. Table 7 displays the list of requirements by river in There were no changes in the restriction on use of motors or in the assigning of campsites. Penalties Managers use a variety of penalties to reduce abuse of the application process for rationed permits. Penalties are applied for failing to cancel within prescribed time limits and for failing to use assigned launch dates. These penalties have stayed fairly constant over the years for those rivers with lotteries. Twelve rivers currently have cancellation and no-show policies that eliminate that trip leader from consideration for future launch dates for 1 to 2 years. Since 1986, only two rivers have dropped these policies. Future of Permit Rationing Managers of the 19 rivers were asked about satisfaction with their current permitting systems. Fifteen stated they USDA Forest Service Proceedings RMRS-P

6 Table 4 River permit application process Segment Application Application Application Launch Rationing Lottery Call-in River name start finish method choices method date date Colorado Black Canyon below Hoover Dam Open Open Mail, phone, fax, or 1 First-come, first-served None None in person Colorado Cataract Canyon Open Open Mail or fax 1 First-come, first-served None Open Colorado Grand Canyon 1 Feb. 28 Feb. Mail 15 Wait list None 1st workday in Jan. Colorado Westwater Canyon Dec. 1 Feb. Mail 3 Lottery w/call in Mid Feb. 1 Mar. Green Desolation/Gray Canyons Dec. 1 Feb. Mail 3 Lottery w/call in wait list Mid Feb. 1 Mar. Green Gates of Lodore-Dinosaur 1 Nov. 1 Feb. Mail 1 Lottery w/call in Mid Feb. 1 Mar. National Monument Kern Forks of the Kern 15 Mar. 15 Apr. Mail or in person 3 Lottery w/call in Late Apr. 15 May Rio Chama Wild & Scenic section 1 Dec. 1 Feb. Mail 3 Lottery w/call in Mid Feb. 1 May Rio Grande Ute Mountain Open Open Mail or phone 1 First-come, first-served None None Rogue Grave Creek to Foster Bar 1 Dec. 31 Jan. Mail or fax 1 Lottery w/call in Feb.-Mar. 1 Apr. Salmon Corn Creek to Long Tom Bar 1 Dec. 31 Jan. Mail 4 Lottery w/call in Mid Feb. Mid Feb. Salmon Middle Fork in Frank Church 1 Dec. 31 Jan. Mail 4 Lottery w/call in Mid Feb. Mid Feb. River of No Return Wilderness Salt Upper Salt in Salt River 1 Dec. 31 Jan. Mail or in person 3 Lottery w/call in Early Feb. 15 Feb. Canyon Wilderness San Juan Sand Island to Mexican Hat to Clay Hills 1 Dec. 1 Feb. Mail 3 Lottery w/call in Mid Feb. 1 Mar. Selway Magruder to Selway Falls in 1 Dec. 31 Jan. Mail 4 Lottery w/call in Mid Feb. Mid Feb. Selway Bitterroot Wilderness Smith Smith River Waterway Jan. 17 Feb. Mail 3 Lottery w/call in Mid Feb. 18 Feb. Snake Hells Canyon 1 Dec. 31 Jan. Mail 4 Lottery w/call in Mid Feb. Mid Feb. Tuolumne Wild & Scenic section 1 Jan. Open Mail 2 First-come, first-served None 1 Jan. Yampa Dinosaur National Monument 1 Nov. 1 Feb. Mail 1 Lottery w/call in Mid Feb. 1 Mar. 30 USDA Forest Service Proceedings RMRS-P

7 Table 5 Comparison of key river permit application variables 1986 and 1998 a. Segment Application Application Launch Launch Call-in Call-in River name finish 1986 finish 1998 choices 1986 choices 1998 date 1986 date 1998 Colorado Black Canyon below NA Open NA 1 NA None Hoover Dam Colorado Cataract Canyon Open Open June Open Colorado Grand Canyon 28 Feb. 28 Feb Jan. 1 Jan. Colorado Westwater Canyon Open 1 Feb. 3 3 After lottery 1 Mar. Green Desolation/Gray Canyons 1 Mar. 1 Feb. 3 3 After lottery 1 Mar. Green Gates of Lodore-Dinosaur 15 Jan. 1 Feb Mar. 1 Mar. National Monument Kern Forks of the Kern Open 15 Apr. 1 3 None 15 May Rio Chama Wild & Scenic section NA 1 Feb. NA 3 NA 1 May Rio Grande Ute Mountain NA Open NA 1 NA None Rogue Grave Creek to Foster Bar 14 Feb. 31 Jan Apr. 1 Apr. Salmon Corn Creek to Long Tom Bar 31 Jan. 31 Jan nd Monday Mid Feb. after 15 Apr. Salmon Middle Fork in Frank Church 31 Jan. 31 Jan. 1 4 After lottery Mid Feb. River of No Return Wilderness Salt Upper Salt in Salt River NA 31 Jan. NA 3 NA 15 Feb. Canyon Wilderness San Juan Sand Island to Mexican Hat to Open 1 Feb. 3 3 Open 1 Mar. Clay Hills Selway Magruder to Selway Falls in 31 Jan. 31 Jan May Mid Feb. Selway Bitterroot Wilderness Smith Smith River Waterway NA 17 Feb. NA 3 NA 18 Feb. Snake Hells Canyon Open 31 Jan. 1 4 Open Mid Feb. Tuolumne Wild & Scenic section Open Open 1 2 Open 1 Jan. Yampa Dinosaur National Monument 15 Jan. 1 Feb Mar. 1 Mar. a NA = not applicable, river did not have rationing in were satisfied, while three were not satisfied and would change the systems in the near future. Only one manager was not satisfied, but had no immediate plans to change. In contrast, at least six of these same river segments are now in a planning process that may result in some change to rationing limits. At least three new river segments are also contemplating placing rationed use limits in the near future: Rio Grande-Taos Corridor (proposed for 1999), South Fork American (in progress), and Rio Grande-Big Bend (begins in 2000). The Snake-Hells Canyon completed a plan in 1997 that provided for 3 days every other week designated exclusively for nonmotorized floating. Previously, jet boats had been allowed on some river portions at all times. Clearly, management planning on these and other river segments is dynamic. Rationed permits will continue to be a favored mechanism to control visitor use. In a recent study (Watson and others 1998) on the Middle Fork Salmon, both commercial and noncommercial floaters had strong opposition to increasing daily launch limits (80.6 and 76.1 percent). Information about rationed rivers is also undergoing rapid change. With the advent of the Internet, new distribution channels for disseminating permit information to prospective floaters have been created. Most rivers managed by the National Park Service and the Bureau of Land Management have web sites dedicated to providing river permitting information. Only three of the Forest Service-managed rivers have comparable sites. Permitting processes have achieved a level of maturity, and with the exception of possibly contracting future application and lottery mechanisms, should be considered stable. There is still potential for more centralization of river permit reservations. Areas to be explored include reducing call-in workloads, complete standardization of application procedures for those rivers with lotteries, limiting application choices between rivers to reduce contingency applications and subsequent cancellations and no-shows, and providing for a diverse spectrum of recreation opportunities within regional boundaries while managing across agency jurisdictions. USDA Forest Service Proceedings RMRS-P

8 Table river permit fees. River Segment Application fees Permit fees Other fees Colorado Black Canyon below $0 $5 per person Hoover Dam Colorado Cataract Canyon $0 $25 Colorado Grand Canyon $100 $50: 1 person $10 per person entry fee; $4 per person $100:2-5 people per night use impact fee; $25 per year $200: 5-16 people continuing interest fee (elimintated for 1999) Colorado Westwater Canyon $0 $7 per person Green Desolation/Gray Canyons $0 $18 per person Green Gates of Lodore-Dinosaur $12 $75 $25 overlength fee for extra days above National Monument 4 on Green; 6 on Yampa Kern Forks of the Kern $2 $0 Fee demo in 1999 Rio Chama Wild & Scenic section $6 $5 per person Rio Grande Ute Mountain $0 $0 Rogue Grave Creek to Foster Bar $5 $20 per person Salmon Corn Creek to Long Tom Bar $6 $0 Salmon Middle Fork in Frank Church- $6 $0 River of No Return Wilderness Salt Upper Salt in Salt River $10 $5 per person White Mountain Apache Tribe permit, Canyon Wilderness $15 for river mile 60 to 31 San Juan Sand Island to Mexican Hat to $0 $6 SI-MH; $12 Permits required for use on Navajo Clay Hills MH-CH; $18 SI-CH a lands on south bank (river left) Selway Magruder to Selway Falls in $6 $0 Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness Smith Smith River Waterway $5 $15 residents; One day permit fee submitted with $35 nonresidents application; $15 resident, $35 per person nonresident; in addition to $5 drawing fee Snake Hells Canyon $6 $0 Tuolumne Wild & Scenic section $15 $0 $15 application fee for first 10 people, additional people $2 each Yampa Dinosaur National Monument $12 $75 $25 overlength fee for extra days above 4 on Green; 6 on Yampa a SI = Sand Island; MH = Mexican Hat; CH = Clay Hills. Suggestions for Managers of Nonrationed Rivers As demand for floating opportunities increases, more rivers may face pressure to move to rationed use limits. Managers are encouraged to begin planning. Creating baseline inventories of resource and social conditions can give valuable insight to developing trends. Establishing appropriate limits of acceptable change standards and indicators will provide reference indicators and triggers for when rationed use limits may be needed (Stankey and others 1985). Consider the role of your particular river in the spectrum of river recreation opportunities provided within a regional area. This will help tailor the management regulations needed for your particular program (Clark and Stankey 1979; Shelby and others 1990). Push to establish use limits for both commercial and noncommercial users sooner rather than later. Many managers have found their efforts to curtail escalating use hampered by existing outfitters and users who feel threatened with a change to their use patterns. Negotiated rationed use levels almost always default to existing or higher than current use levels. By placing limits early in the management of a river segment, use levels can be kept more in balance with resource and social conditions before long-lasting impacts can occur. Upward adjustments to use levels are always possible if the river conditions warrant such increases, but downward use level changes are often highly controversial and subject to political intervention. Create a consistent set of regulations within a regional area and consider applying the full set of regulations to all rivers even if there is not a current need. Many of the regulations on current rationed rivers are common sense safety requirements that most river floaters will easily abide by. Other requirements for fire pans and portable toilets will eventually become necessary as use levels increase and as 32 USDA Forest Service Proceedings RMRS-P

9 Table 7 River regulations. a Spare Spray Fire Porta Life jacket/ First Repair skits/ Food Bailing Air Throw Signal Raft Assigned River Segment pans potty jackets paddle aid kit kits flotation strainer Helmets device pump line device size campsites Motors Colorado Black Canyon x a below Hoover Dam Colorado Cataract Canyon x x x x x x x x x a Colorado Grand Canyon x x x x x x x x a Colorado Westwater Canyon x x x x x x x x x x a Green Desolation/Gray x x x x x x x x x a Canyons Green Gates of Lodore - x x x x x x x x x x x >11' long, x Dinosaur National 5' wide Monument Kern Forks of the Kern x x x Rio Chama Wild & Scenic section x x x x x x x x x Rio Grande Ute Mountain x x x x x Rogue Grave Creek to x x a Foster Bar Salmon Corn Creek to x x x a Long Tom Bar Salmon Middle Fork in x x x x x x x x Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness Salt Upper Salt in Salt x x River Canyon Wilderness San Juan Sand Island to x x x x x x x x x a Mexican Hat to Clay Hills Selway Magruder to Selway Falls in Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness Smith Smith River Waterway x x Snake Hells Canyon x x a Tuolumne Wild & Scenic section x x x x x x x x x x Yampa Dinosaur National x x x x x x x x x x x >11' long, Monument 5' wide a x = required; a = allowed. USDA Forest Service Proceedings RMRS-P

10 impacts surface within river corridors to prevent degradation of river environments. Maintaining consistent regulations in a broad regional area will help ensure overall compliance by reducing confusion about what is required within any one area. Consider the role of fees within your river program. Rationed river managers depend on these fees to pay for the costs of maintaining a rationed permit process. Permit fees can help offset costs of river management and administration and provide scarce funds for river improvement projects. Users have generally accepted application and use fees if set at moderate levels and if the money is used to aid the river program. Finally, develop your permit systems with the user in mind. Create application materials and methods that make it easy for the floater to obtain all needed information and submit requests. While some managers prefer to make the process difficult in order to weed out potential applicants, there is a responsibility to protect the interests of the user. Balance administrative costs of your permit system against the convenience and responsiveness of the process to the user. References American River Management Society River information digest, Western Region. McCoy, Lynn; Grasping, Luverne; Krumpe, Ed, eds. Cordell, H. Ken; Teasley, Jeff; Super, Greg; Bergstrom, John C.; McDonald, Barbara Outdoor recreation in the United States: results from the national survey on recreation and the environment. Athens, GA: USDA Forest Service and the University of Georgia. 114 p. Clark, Roger N.; Stankey, George H The recreation opportunity spectrum: a framework for planning, management and research. Gen. Tech. Rep. PNW-98. Portland, OR: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Forest and Range Experiment Station. 32 p. Penny, Richard The whitewater sourcebook: a directory of information on American whitewater rivers. 2nd ed. Birmingham, AL: Menasha Ridge Press. 375 p. Shelby, Bo; Danley, Mark S Allocating river use. Corvallis, OR: Oregon State University Press. Shelby, Bo; Danley, Mark S.; Gibbs, Kenneth C.; Peterson, Margaret E Preferences of backpackers and river runners for allocation techniques. Journal of Forestry. July Shelby, Bo; Johnson, Rebecca L.; Brunson, Mark Comparative analysis of whitewater boating resources in Oregon: toward a regional model of river recreation. WRRI-108. Corvallis, OR: Water Resources Research Institute, Oregon State University. 144 p. Stankey, George H; Baden, John Rationing wilderness use: methods, problems, guidelines. Res. Pap. INT-192. Ogden, UT: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Intermountain Forest and Range Experiment Station. 20 p. Stankey, George H.; Cole, David M.; Lucas, Robert C.; Petersen, Margaret E.; Frissell, Sidney S The limits of acceptable change (LAC) system for wilderness planning. Gen. Tech. Rep. INT-176. Ogden, UT: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Intermountain Forest and Range Experiment Station. 37 p. Watson, Alan E.; Hunger, Donald H.; Christensen, Neal A.; Becker, Kurt G A river through wilderness: implications of commercial and private boat allocations for management of the Salmon River as it passes through the Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness. In: Rivers: the future frontier: The River Management Society; 1998 April 28-May 3. Anchorage, AK. Welsh, Randy T The feasibility of a centralized reservation system for western rivers. Corvallis, OR: Oregon State University. 66 p. Thesis. 34 USDA Forest Service Proceedings RMRS-P