March 25, 2008

Raul M. Grijalva, Chairman

Subcommittee on National Parks, Forest and Public Lands

Committee on Natural Resources

U.S. House of Representatives

1324 Longworth HOB

Washington, DC 20515

Ref.: Testimony presented at a field hearing held in Flagstaff, Arizona
on March 28, 2008 on

*Community Impacts of Proposed Uranium Mining Near Grand Canyon National
Park*

Dear Chairman Grijalva and esteemed members of the Subcommittee on
National Parks, Forests, and Public Lands:

My name is Rob Elliott and I am the President of Arizona Raft
Adventures, Inc., also know as AzRA, and we are one of the largest river
outfitters providing river trips on the Colorado River through the Grand
Canyon. \[Please find additional required information following
signature on page 3 and page 4.\]

I am testifying in support of the permanent withdrawal from mining,
mineral exploration, and mineral entry on all Federal Lands in the
Tusayan Ranger District of the Kaibab National Forest and certain lands
managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in House Rock Valley and
the Kanab Creek watershed on the Arizona "strip."

Thank you for coming to Flagstaff, Arizona and providing me and other
interested stakeholders the opportunity to testify on behalf of this
issue of vital interest to our community's immediate and long term
public health and economic wellbeing.

**BACKGROUND**

I am testifying on behalf of Arizona Raft Adventures (AzRA), our
approximate 100 employees, and the approximate 1,500 public visitors we
serve each year on Colorado River rafting trips through the Grand
Canyon. AzRA is one of 16 rafting outfitters in the Grand Canyon. I have
personally guided visitors to Grand Canyon National Park since 1965 and
AzRA has outfitted river trips through the Grand Canyon since 1974.
AzRA, its parent ARTA River Trips, and its subsidiary Grand Canyon
Discovery have served over 50,000 visitors on river trips through the
Grand Canyon since we began operations in 1965. We employ a dozen people
year 'round and another 90 people seasonally out of Flagstaff, Arizona
and generate annual revenues of 3 ½ million dollars. Besides the cost of
their river trip, our customers spend an estimated half million dollars
in lodging, car rentals, restaurants, and provisions for their river
trips in northern Arizona each year. We just renewed our ten year
concession contracts this year and expect to serve an additional 15,000
park visitors through our contract term which ends in 2017.

Our one and two week river trips begin at Lees Ferry, Arizona. We travel
three and four days through Marble Canyon where numerous, pristine side
streams flow into the river from the west. These side streams are little
bits of paradise where bio-diversity thrives in the middle of otherwise
harsh desert and these side streams provide our favorite places to hike
and camp---streams such as Vasey's Paradise, Saddle Canyon, and Rider
Canyon which drains House Rock Valley, and other areas on the Marble
Platform which are among the subject lands for withdrawal from future
mining activity.

On day three or four we pass the Little Colorado River which enters the
Colorado River from the east, draining large areas of the Navajo
Reservation. The LCR has elevated levels of radioactive contamination
that are probably attributable to uranium activities in the LCR and its
tributaries such as the Rio Puerco.

We travel another two or three days through upper Granite Gorge where
streams such as Pipe Creek, Horn Creek, Hermit Creek, Elves Chasm and
others enter the Grand Canyon from the lands to the south in the Tusayan
Ranger district which are also among the subject lands for withdrawal
from future mining activity. As I believe you already know, Horn Creek
enters the Colorado River just below the Orphan mine on the South Rim of
the Grand Canyon and is contaminated by radioactive materials. As
documented in a 2000-2001 survey radioactive levels were found that
reached the maximum allowable for human consumption. The contamination
was significantly higher than any other stream tested in the Grand
Canyon. The National Park Service warns that water in Horn Creek should
not be consumed.

As our river trips progress westward and near our take out point we pass
a drainage called Kanab Creek where John Wesley Powell ended his second
expedition in 1872 and hiked three days and 60 miles out to Kanab, Utah.
Kanab Creek drains a huge landscape from the north where uranium mining
activity has occurred in a Kanab Creek tributary called Hack Canyon.
There was a flood in Hack Canyon in 1984 that washed about four tons of
high grade uranium ore downstream.  I don't know whether there was any
cleanup or follow up monitoring to this spill. Lands managed by the BLM
in the Kanab watershed are also among the subject lands for withdrawal
from future mining activity.

**PRIMARY CONCERNS**

I am concerned first and foremost for the health and safety of my
employees and my customers. Were uranium contamination in any of the
subject lands and drainages flowing in the Colorado River in Grand
Canyon to occur on a scale that could risk the health and safety of my
employees and customers and I had not spoken up at this hearing, I would
feel I had fallen short of rising to my civic responsibility to help
preempt a health risk that together we might be able to avert.

Secondly, I am concerned about any potential for perceived or real
radioactive contamination of side streams flowing into the Colorado
River in Grand Canyon National Park in the Marble Canyon area, upper
Granite Gorge, and the Kanab Creek watershed caused by potential uranium
mining in the subject lands the Subcommittee is proposing for withdrawal
from mining activity.

Even a tiny amount of contamination of side streams flowing into the
Grand Canyon would be big news across the nation. The Grand Canyon just
seems to do that. What I mean is that the Grand Canyon is a lightening
rod for environmental, national park, and public lands news of any kind,
simply because it's the Grand Canyon and the Grand Canyon provides a
ready-made headline. Just look at how much interest was generated in the
beach habitat building flows released earlier this month from Glen
Canyon Dam as a prime and recent example.

Uranium contamination in any amount in the Grand Canyon would be
devastating to our business. Virtually all our customers might cancel
their river trip before taking on any degree of public health risk
associated with even a remote chance of exposure to radioactive
contamination. I believe it to be a very real threat that they would
defer their Grand Canyon river trip to some other year *or some other
decade*, after the contamination had been cleaned up and the public
lands and the Colorado River was declared safe. Uranium contamination is
just that scary to people, thanks to Homer Simpson and the popular
press. The potential damage to our business and future lost sales could
go on for years and we could go easily out of business in the meantime.

Lastly, I am concerned about mining and mining construction activity in
the immediate Tusayan area just south of the main entrance to Grand
Canyon National Park. Grand Canyon National Park is a crown jewel of our
national park system. The Tusayan area is a gateway to Grand Canyon
National Park and could be blemished by the site of mining activity and
mining trucks at the entrance to the park.

**CONCLUSION**

Thank you for hearing my testimony in support of withdrawing public
lands in the Tysayan Ranger District, on the Marble Platform, and the
Kanab Creek drainage from future mining activity. I am concerned for the
health and safety of my employees and customers and for the survival of
my business were significant or even modest radioactive contamination to
occur that might carry into the Colorado River in Grand Canyon National
Park due to mining activity on these public lands. I urge you to take
whatever legislative action might be prudent and effective in
withdrawing these lands from future mining activity. Thank you for your
interest and consideration.

Sincerely,

Rob Elliott

President

Arizona Raft Adventures, Inc.

Grand Canyon Discovery, Inc.

**REQUIRED INFORMATION, continued on page 4**

**REQUIRED INFORMATION**

1\. Name: Rob Elliott

2\. Business Address: 4050 E. Huntington Drive

3\. Business Phone Number: (928) 526-8200

4\. Organization(s) I am representing: Arizona Raft Adventures /Grand
Canyon Discovery

5\. Educational certificates, diplomas, etc.: none applicable

6\. Licenses, certifications, affiliations: Concessioner, Grand Canyon
National Park

Trustee, Grand Canyon Trust

Trustee, Grand Canyon Outfitters Association

(*not* representing GCROA in subject testimony)

7\. Employment, occupation, etc.: Set forth in testimony

8\. Offices, elected positions, etc.: none applicable