ETD helped establish the location for Navajo Nation access to the Colorado River near Marble Canyon
ETD provided an environmental assessment for this project:
What hopes to be another win for Navajo river access, the new Navajo Nation Colorado River Boat Dock Project aims to further increase access for the tribe. Situated on the eastern banks between Navajo Bridge and Lee’s Ferry, the proposed site will give Navajo tribe members the opportunity to launch boats, rafts, and other watercraft onto the Colorado without having to go through the federal government departments that have in recent history had a near total domain over the river and surrounding canyons.
“The project actually didn’t start as a boat dock proposal but rather a proposal to NPS Glen Canyon to allow a Navajo to provide commercial boat trips on the Colorado River,” Department Manager for the Navajo Parks and Recreation Martin Begaye remarked, “There were several meetings or communication with NPS on this but nothing happened.”
Currently, the only method to access the river in this location is at the Lee’s Ferry boat launch. A permit is also required through the National Park System’s permit lottery service for the Grand Canyon, or a National Park Pass in Glen’s Canyon. Getting approved from the lottery can not only be lengthy, but costly; here is a full look at the process. Commercial river trips can also be reserved for trips down the Colorado River, but often have to be made at least a year or two in advance.
The original idea came from Allen Begay, the Economic Development Director under former Navajo Nation President Joe Shirley. Along with local developer Mike Anderson, Begay was told by the Army Corps of Engineers who manage the Colorado River to apply for a permit to build the boat dock. After their application was approved, they were advised to check with the National Park Service about commercial use of the river.
“The NPS had stipulated earlier that no commercial use permits would be issued except through their authority,” said Begaye. “So that became a major obstacle as that meant that a Navajo boat tour business was not possible.” Begaye continued, “… the boat dock would be for the purpose of tribal programs to use for monitoring the Navajo side of the Colorado River and a commercial operation would come later.”
The project now awaits a construction company to be chosen to build the dock to gain access to the banks of the Colorado River.