(22kb PDF File) Updated March 2009
Grand Canyon National Park, in partnership with the Grand Canyon Monitoring and Research Center, is working to create a river campsite atlas. Field staff visit each of the campsites and draw in the “campable” area, campsite boundaries, and other information about the site, such as commonly used kitchen and toilet areas. All the sites must be field-checked, the photos alone are not adequate. The information on the photos is then entered into a GIS database and stored electronically.
The atlas will eventually serve several purposes. It will be a tool to monitor changes to camp areas over time. It will provide the park with a way to better approximate actual capacity and group size at each camp. Perhaps, most importantly, it will be a useful tool to help protect sensitive park resources and the “old high water zone” The National Park Service (NPS) will be able to delineate, on the atlas photos, those areas where important rehabilitation work has been completed and where the actual camp areas and trails are located. Boaters visiting an area such as the Nankoweap complex will have a resource to use to identify the camp boundaries; the park hopes that rehabilitation work in places like Nankoweap will be more effective.
The campsite atlas is a long-term project. There are presently more than 220 river campsites in the inventory of camps between Lees Ferry and Diamond Creek. Campsite inventory work has not been completed between Diamond Creek and Lake Mead. The first pieces to be completed and made available to the public will be popular camps where there are specific resource concerns that the National Park Service (NPS) needs help addressing. The remainder will become available as the work is completed.
An example of an atlas page is provided below. This Soap Creek photo will eventually reflect those areas where extensive rehabilitation work has occurred.
CRMP Research Update:
(11kb PDF File)
