WAO Blog

The most recent development with the proposed “Over the River” art project is the timeline for the actual display of the artwork has been delayed…again. This is a bit disappointing, but if this is approved by Fremont County my guess is that this really will be the last delay. So, the project is scheduled for the first couple weeks in August of 2015. This change is prompted by several factors, most obviously that Fremont County is dragging their feet making a decision. From what I understand, since the public hearings there has been no movement by either the County Commissioners or those involved in preparing the Event Management Plan (EMP), which will spell out, in detail, traffic management, safety and the way things will operate on the river, as far as all of us are concerned, the outfitters. I am on a committee, known as the Rationing & Agreement Advisory Committee (RAAC) at Colorado Parks & Wildlife or more specifically the AHRA which is the managing agency on the river for commercial outfitters. As chairman of this committee for the past 9 years, I will be very involved in the EMP for the on-river activites, for both commercial outfitters and private boaters – those who own their own rafting or kayaking equipment and recreate on the river without using an outfitter to provide their trip. I have been suggesting to the managers at the AHRA for some time that we should begin this process, but so far my advice has fallen on deaf ears. At our last meeting, before this most recent delay, the RAAC managed to gain more info than we have at past meetings, at which we have been stonewalled. This river is managed by several lengthy documents – the Arkansas is the most regulated river in North America other than the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon. We have the “Management Plan” which looks like a book, the “Rationing Plan”, the Special Use Agreement – which is the permit are commercial operators have – and several associated “riders”. There will be “rationing” during this event, all sections of the river have some sort of limiting carrying capacity and there are days we are already limited in several sections, such as the Royal Gorge. So the RAAC will be directly involved in determining those limits as well as where outfitters are allowed to be and when with regard to the access points we use for put-in and take-out. There will also be private boater permitting during the event. One of the big issues with the Over the River event is the public demand to see some of these plans, with have yet to be developed. I find it difficult to spend a huge amount of time and incur brain damage for any event that is not actually approved to go forward. If the Fremont County people decide NOT to approve the necessary permit, all that time and brain cells will have been wasted. In the case of all the agency people, Christo is paying the freight for employees to do this important work. In the case of myself & others involved, we are all volunteers and are not compensated for our time and efforts. I am expecting a sudden sense of urgency among the agencies involved now that these types of issues have been brought forth. On the other hand with another year until the project is complete and the display is ready to happen, they may slow this process down as they are government bureaucrats and are best at putting things off. Tony – WAO

Yesterday, February 1st, I attended the hearings for the “Special Use Permit” needed by the Christo team to move forward with the project, along with several other rafting outfitters in the area, plus what seemed like half the county. I spoke on behalf of our outfitters association for about 5 minutes – we are obviously in support of this event collectively, although we do have a couple people in our membership who are either opposed or ambivalent about it. The hearings began with a presentation from Christo and his team, which was interesting and very informative. The biggest complaint about the project is the amount of traffic it could generate, and noboby will be more affected by that than all of us that are trying to run our shuttles each day of the event. Most of those who spoke in objection live in the canyon where this will take place. I completely understand the concerns…it will be inconvenient, no doubt. A lot of what was said was a bit over the top though, and some of it was just plain ridiculous. There is another hearing tonight, in a town called Cotopaxi, which is in the middle of the canyon. There was no indication from the Fremont County Commission as to when they will make a decision…so now we wait to see what will happen. I believe if Fremont County grants the permit, this project will happen. The other county – Chaffee, will be impacted and must also give their blessing to the event, but I think that one is very likely to be approved.  Tony – WAO

This year it looks as though most of our guides will be returning. There will also be a couple of guides that will be here from our past. In other words, they worked here at one point in time, left to do something else, and are now coming back to be a WAO guide again. We have a very low turnover rate when it comes to our guides here, and there are a few that have been here a very long time. Dave – or Eman as he is known – is our most senior guide and has been here since 1993 and has around 50,000 “river miles”. When we get our office inspection from the river rangers, who come to check occasionally to be sure we are keeping proper records of our guide staff, I give them very little as it pertains to Dave. First, they all know Dave and realize how long he has been a WAO guide. I also contend that once he hit the 50,000 mile mark, I quit keeping track of him. I show them his updated First aid & CPR cards and we move on. Chris Collins – or as I call him “that damn Collins” – has worked here for as long as Dave, but not as steadily…he once was married and had a “real job” during all that and wasn’t a guide for those few years, and at one point way back when he left to work at another company, but it was an agreeable parting. In fact, a couple of years later we bought that company and ended up with Collins again. He kind of came with the deal as though he was a boat or a Van or some piece of equipment. I believe we have enough guides on our staff already for the upcoming season, which is a bit unusual this early. Not that they don’t all mostly return each year, it’s just getting the commitment from them that typically takes longer. We are very fortunate to not have a bunch of “rookies” and otherwise marginally experienced guides. Our staff is solid, both on and off the river, and we are very proud to say that we feel we have, overall, one of the most experienced group of guides in Colorado.

Tony – WAO

There are still several permits that must be obtained by the Christo team before exact dates for the construction and display of this much anticipated and unusual display of artwork and event. One of the permits will need to be approved by Fremont County, Colorado - via the Board of Commissioners. A public hearing date has been set in Fremont County. February 1st…which is a Wednesday…at 9 am to noon and then it will continue after a break at 1:30 pm until 3:30 pm. This hearing will take place at the Fremont County administration building at the corner of 6th and Macon avenue in room LL3 in Canon City, Colorado. You do not need to be present to make your comments part of the Public Record. Simply email the Fremont County commission at planning@fremontco.com with your input. I will continue with updates on this subject and information about other opportunities for public comments and the final components of the permit process as information becomes available.

Tony – WAO

January 6th 2012 -
WAO began operations in June of 1992, so this year we will be celebrating 20 years in business – which will actually be our 21st season. As such we will be “bouncing back” to 1992 pricing for a limited time, yet to be determined. Once this is determined these dates and pricing structure will be posted on our “Specials” page. When we first began, we had 3 boats, one old 15 passenger van – which I always referred to as the “Wonder Van” – because I often wondered if it would start, show up at the take-out or break down somewhere along the way on any given day. When people would ask why I called it the “Wonder Van” I would reply that “I wonder about that van.” Our staff consisted of my wife Kathy, who was typically the driver of the Wonder Van, and three guides…one of which was me. Since our humble beginnings, we have grown considerably. This year promises more growth, and as we continue to grow, more complication. Many people don’t realize how complicated it can be to run this operation…logistically at times it can be very intense. Plus we work 7 days a week from May 1st to Labor Day. Our trip schedule is tight, our season is short and one thing that is always a constant is that things will change day to day or even within any given day. One of my mantras (I have a bunch of them) in the office during the season is “keep up with the changes.” One of my rules with office staff is to never write things down in ink as far as reservations or the “pads” we use to keep track of trips and those scheduled to be on them, both customers and guides, because it will certainly change. Dry erase white boards are in several places in the office – the biggest one for the guides and drivers schedule - another that I refer to as the “immediate future” board and a couple of others we use to keep track of overnight trips and the package or combo trips we do. That’s just the easy stuff. Our shuttle system is complex and has been known to frustrate many a bus driver…an aspect of our business that I don’t think many customers take into account. I feel our shuttles and our many vehicles and trailers comprise the most complicated, expensive and potentially dangerous thing we do here. My assistant manager, Howard, and I are constantly working to mitigate the risk involved in this and to keep all the vehicles and trailers in top condition. As I explain to our mechanic, Jesse, “we need them to run well and be in good (and legal) shape for 100 consecutive days”…much tougher than it might sound. Now that the new year has arrived, we are busy in the office closing out 2011 and beginning our preparations to do it all over again this spring. After a long break for the holidays, I am ready to get back to work. I tell people all the time that I’m not sure what my job description is or what I do all day…but it takes all day to do it.

Tony – WAO

We ran our first trip for the year. Tomorrow – Saturday – we have excellent weather predicted and the river is beginning to rise. Snowpack numbers are also very good and there should be plenty of water this year with the highest flows arriving in late May thru mid to late June. The most snow is up in the northern part of the drainage which is exactly what we always hope for. Several of our guides are already here and they are ready to rock! The remainder of our staff will trickle in, as always, as we progress into May with all guides expected before Memorial Day weekend. Reservation lines have been steady and we look forward to a great year!

On the Arkansas River in Colorado, we operate in a Colorado State Park. Yesterday, as part of our permit or “agreement” as they call it at the Arkansas Headwaters Recreation Area (AHRA) which is a division of Colorado State Parks, I attended the annual meeting that all agreement holders are required to attend. Today, we received our annual authorization to begin operating for the 2011 season. The process of obtaining & maintaining our permit is very complex and the rules we are required to follow can be mind boggling. As with many things that involve government agencies and regulations, it can be overwhelming if you do not stay involved with the process and the constant changes. Outfitters on the Arkansas River are required to re-apply each year even if you have been in business for a long time, such as WAO, or if you have never broken any rules. Even though we have been doing this for nearly 20 years and have never even had so much as a ticket or a violation of any kind, we still have to jump through all the hoops. I sopmetimes wonder if it could possibly be any more complicated…and then someting happens to make it so. Or, most recently, to make it more expensive to operate. The newest change was to our commercial vehicle insurance that raised our rates due to the State deciding, for no apparent reason, that outfitters need a higher limit of liability on our policy. It is so much different now than when I first became a guide in 1986. In those days you would see a ranger maybe once or twice all season. We all pretty much did as we pleased and everything was much simpler. No we are being smothered with rules & regs to the degree that even those of us that are very engaged in the “process” and attend all the meetings, serve on the committees that make decisions and help to guide the direction of things still get confused at times. We have a “Special Use Agreement” (which used to be called a permit) there are riders for rafting outfitters, there is a lengthy “Management Plan” and a system of allocation or “Rationing” of access to the river on certain historically busy days, such as the 4th of the July for instance, that is so complicated there are only a handful of people that fully understand how it works. At this point it is good that all that is over for this year and we can finally focus on running trips and going rafting instead of all the bureaucratic stuff. It must be very hard for anyone who is new to this industry to try to catch up. Tony – WAO

Now that spring is here & we are seeing things start to sprout again it’s time to prepare ourselves to open for the season. Typically, we are open by May 1st, but we are certainly willing to start a bit earlier than that if the weather cooperates and there is interest in getting on the river. We have a couple of guides who live locally and both of them are chomping at the bit to get started. Weather in April & the first part of May can be unpredictable. It can be over 80 degrees and was on Saturday! Last night it snowed…only a tiny bit, but it was snow, plus it was only 19 degrees this morning. In the next couple of weeks we plan to have a Van & a Bus ready to roll and fire up our vehicle insurance policy. At that point we will set up the boatshed and all the related equipment out in the boatyard. Time to start planning for a rafting trip. We have some great deals on our specials page right now. Tony – WAO

On the Arkansas River, unlike any other river in Colorado or the western U.S. we are fortunate to have a program that allows for dam releases to keep rafting season “flowing smoothly”. This is known as the Voluntary Flow Management Program or VFMP. In order for the US Bureau of Reclamation (BOR) to operate the program, there must be water & storage space available. What makes this program possible is that there are reservoirs upstream of the sections where rafting trips occur, and there is also a large storage facility “below” or downstream of rafting operations at Lake Pueblo. Water that is utilized for this program is not native to the Arkansas Basin. All the water comes from “imports” from the Frying Pan river drainage on the west slope of the Colorado Rockies. This water comes to the upper reservoirs via a system of pump stations & tunnels and is considered part of the Colorado River water supply as the Fryingpan river is a tributary to the Colorado. Thus, the Colorado River is a key factor to Arkansas River flows, particularly later in our season. Next time I will explain more about the VFMP and how it works for rafting outiftters. Tony – WAO

Unlike any other river in Colorado, or in the entire western Unites States, the Arkansas River is fortunate to have what is known as the Voluntary Flow Management Program. (VFMP) The VFMP was first implemented in the early 1990’s as a means to keep the Arkansas River running at a flow conducive to a reasonable recreational experience for both commercial outfitters (rafting companies) and private boaters – kayakers& those who own their own rafts – during the most popular period for recreational whitewater boating. From July 1st to August 15th each summer the VFMP provides for a flow of at least 700 cubic feet per second (CFS) at a place called Wellsville which is the official measuring station for flows on the Arkansas River.

Other than flows for river rafting, the VFMP is also a wildlife management tool in the spring and fall months. The Arkansas River, which is the most popular river for rafting in the western U.S., is also one of the few fisheries that supports a “native” Brown Trout population and is extremely popular with fly-fishermen. The largest component of the VFMP provides flows that support a healthy fishery and overall biomass for this incredible Brown Trout fishery. Operations most of the year, when possible, are such that that the spawn, incubation and hatch of fry and insects occur under optimal conditions relative to the flow of the Arkansas River.

The VFMP is a cooperative agreement between Colorado State Parks, The Colorado Division of Wildlife, Colorado Trout Unlimited (TU), the Southeastern Colorado Water Conservancy District (SECWCD), the Colorado Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and the Arkansas River Outfitters Association (AROA). The United States Bureau of Reclamation (BOR) plays a key role in the operation of the VFMP, although they are not a signatory to the agreement. The BOR operates the reservoirs in Colorado and are responsible for the actual releasing of water that makes it all work. What makes this program possible is the cooperation, understanding and mutual respect between all these agencies and entities. The willingness of those involved to work together toward a mutual goal that involves a very divergent group of water owners, water providers, municipalities and government agencies has created a model for all rivers in the west that Colorado can be very proud of.

This unique management technique on the Arkansas is only possible due to the fact that there are reservoirs upstream, near the actual headwaters of the Arkansas River, and a large reservoir downstream of where all river rafting occurs. Lake Pueblo is a very large storage facility, making it possible to capture the water that is released from the upper reservoirs to be used for municipal or agricultural purposes at a later date. Therefore, other than “transit losses” or evaporative losses of actual water, the VFMP is what is considered a non-consumptive use of water.

The annual operation the VFMP during the summer component in July and the first couple of weeks in August benefits not only rafting companies and private boaters, the VFMP helps to support the many communities and tax-collecting municipalities that not only benefit from a tourism based economy, but depend on tourism for their very survival. Possibly the most important benefit of the VFMP is the opportunity to serve the tourists/vacationers who flock to the Arkansas River and the many communities in its path to enjoy the scenic beauty, whitewater thrills, excellent family class rafting trips suitable for nearly anyone and a world-class fishery for those inclined to dip a line and attempt to catch a trout.