For over twenty years National Park Service (NPS) personnel and
commercial river guides have joined together on Co-operative
Resource trips in Grand Canyon National Park. These trips began
as volunteer opportunities for river guides to give back to the
valuable natural resources of the Colorado River and the Grand
Canyon, and a way for guides to interact with and get to know
the NPS employees that actively manage the resources. According
to Mark Pillar of Arizona River Runners, the long-time Colorado
River outfitter began participating in Co-operative Resource
trips in 1991, donating their facilities and equipment year
after year and drawing in guides from other river outfitters.
Pillar says, “Over the years, these trips continued and evolved
to give each outfitter a chance to outfit and actually pay their
guides to participate. Although the funding and acronyms may
have changed, the spirit of the trips remained the same – Grand
Canyon outfitters and guides working alongside NPS personnel for
the greater good