Congressmen from Arizona and Utah have sent Interior Secretary Gale Norton a letter urging her to eliminate a plan to protect the Colorado River as wilderness.
More than 1 million acres of Grand Canyon National Park were recommended for wilderness protection in 1980 by the National Park Service. The Colorado River was included in the proposal as "potential wilderness" pending "the resolution of motorboat issues."
Wilderness designation would ban motorized rafting and the use of helicopters by commercial boating companies to exchange river trip passengers.
In their letter, Republican lawmakers claimed that the river's wilderness status is preventing the park from moving forward with a comprehensive reform of its Colorado River Management Plan begun last year.
"In order to complete this plan, the underlying question of whether or not the Colorado River corridor is recommended for 'potential wilderness' must be resolved," they said.
The lawmakers made it clear to Norton that they want to keep motors on the river.
"Motorized recreational use plays a critical role in enabling the NPS to provide broad public access to this area in a manner consistent with resource protection. . . . Without use of this kind, public access to these trips could be sharply reduced, by 50 percent or more."
Wilderness advocates say the letter undercuts public participation in recent hearings.