GlenCanyon NRA: Castle Rock Cut open....

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Casey

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This is from today's NPS Morning Report:

Glen Canyon National Recreation Area (AZ,UT)
Castle Rock Cut Opens

The Castle Rock Cut, a boat passage linking Wahweap and Warm Creek Bays, has been opened to boat travel.

The National Park Service recently completed an excavation of the cut. Work to deepen it began in February and continued until mid-April. Contractors removed nearly 87,000 cubic yards of material and lowered the depth of the cut by approximately 8 feet to 3,607 feet in elevation. Because of the excavation project, the cut is open five weeks earlier than in 2008.

“I knew when I arrived at Glen Canyon that the Castle Rock Cut project was a priority for the park and the community,” said superintendent Stan Austin. “I’m pleased to see the cut open well before the Memorial Day weekend.”

With the cut open, boaters no longer need to travel through The Narrows to reach uplake destinations such as Padre Bay and Rainbow Bridge. Traveling through the cut saves boaters about 12 miles and shortens response times to life, health, and safety emergencies uplake.

The elevation of Lake Powell reached 3,613 feet last Thursday and continues to rise. National Park Service staff placed buoys to mark the channel from Wahweap to the junction of Warm Creek and the main river channel. The cut is marked as a no wake zone and boaters are reminded to use caution.
[Submitted by Brian Sweatland, Chief of Planning, Compliance & External Affairs]
 
Thanks, Casey - using that cut sure eliminates a long run through busy water with many wakes bouncing off canyon walls. We're starting to pack up for our 'spring' time on the Lake - have a couple of g'kids and a kid joining us after their school is out.
 
Great news!!
 
Also avoids Antelope Marina. Great to know--and the deeper cut will be a real plus. I guess I am surprised that they made a cut there..
 
Bob - when the lake level is up, that area is a natural waterway. They had a small channel marked with buoys through the shallow natural connection, and now apparently have dredged that channel to a deeper, more permanent channel.
 
Well, this certainly makes more sense than the "environmentalists" who were actively seeking to drain Lake Powell...

http://www.riverlakes.com/drainpowell.htm

Just shows that there times when good sense prevails.
 
The National Park Service willingness to dredge a more functional channel from Wahweap Bay to Warm Creek (and thus reduce traffic in the Narrows) may have something to do with the fact that Glen Canyon is a "National Recreation Area" versus National Park(NP) or National Monument(NM) status.

As an NRA, Glen Canyon is operated under a somewhat different set of management objectives than NP's or NM's. Although "preservation" is certainly an element in the operation of all NPS areas, NRA's have somewhat more latitude in the management philosophy compared to other types of areas.

NRA's were incorporated into the NPS under the reorganization of 1933, and (at the time) were a very controversial step away from the traditional "preserve it for generations yet unborn" NPS idea of 1916.

...enough NPS trivia.

Best,
Casey
 
JamesTXSD":362vko3r said:
Well, this certainly makes more sense than the "environmentalists" who were actively seeking to drain Lake Powell...

http://www.riverlakes.com/drainpowell.htm

Just shows that there times when good sense prevails.
Click to expand...

Jim-

That's a very good, sound, we-reasoned article that I happen to agree with wholly!

Too bad they didn't keep it more rational and thoughtful by not using the term "whacko" a a few other such labels over and over. It turns an otherwise soundly written piece into a name-calling exercise that weakens it's persuasiveness.

One needs to keep up a class-act when taking a strong position and hoping to convince others. But I'm preaching to the choir here, and I'm sure you all know this already!

Jim, you're one of the very best writers on this site, and well all appreciate your insights, humor, thoughtful judgement, and writing skills. Kudos!

Cheers!

Joe. :teeth :thup
 
The article about draining Lake Powell, is a rather biased one-sided look at Lake Powell, full of mis-information and emotionally-charged words. There are plenty of articles, equally one-sided, full of mis-information and emotionally-charged words, arguing forcefully for a different view.

Many of the critics of Lake Powell are natural resource and water resource managers with long experience in the Southwest, and with far more factual information than presented in the article.

Perhaps the best way to consider the fed's water resource management of the Colorado River would involve a far more extensive consideration than only Lake Powell - and even a little science.

But, for us boaters, the bottom line is it's a marvelous lake to explore and enjoy.
 
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