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< March/April 2000
	River Runner Supplement
Waiting List Woes New policy affects ability to pick up cancellations on the Grand

Paddlers accustomed to calling the Grand Canyon permit office, picking up a cancelled launch date and then rallying for a whirlwind trip down the Colorado now have a few more rules to follow.

The most noticeable change - which went into effect Dec. 1, 1999 - alters how cancellations are distributed. Estimating that 20 to 40 percent of trip leaders cancel their scheduled launches, the Park Service - to combat potential under-use - routinely releases extra launch dates. Historically, these have been released through a call-in "cancellation" line to the first caller, and everyone on the waiting list was eligible.

Last year, 40 cancellations were released for dates between mid April and mid October. Of that number, four got picked up by people who joined the waiting list in 1997, 22 by people who joined in '98, and 14 by people who didn't get on the list until '99. The new policy favors those who have waited the longest. Here is how it will work: The river office will release additional launch dates beginning on Monday mornings. Each Friday, the message line will be updated to list launch dates to be released during the next week, with waiting list participants able to call over the weekend to find out what dates will become available. The line will be answered starting Monday morning at 8:00, with the launches released to the first eligible caller wanting that date. The catch: Only waiting list participants with numbers from 1 to 999 are eligible to call on Mondays, with eligibility increasing throughout the week. On Tuesdays those with waiting list numbers between 1 and 1,999 can call; on Wednesdays those between 1 and 2,999 can call; on Thursdays those between 1 and 3,999 can call; and on Fridays all waiting list participants can call.

"We believe the change is in the best interest of the majority of those on the waiting list and is consistent with guiding principles listed within the 1989 Colorado River Management Plan," says Grand Canyon National Park's Laurie Domler. "Look at it this way: when a person at the top of the list accepts a launch date, everyone else on the list moves up one spot. A waiting list is made to favor those who have waited the longest, and our policy for releasing cancellations will also."

- For more information, visit www.gcpba.org

- edb