Western River "Guides" The Way

Western River Expeditions' "Guding Green" initiative is our way to give back to eh environment. A combined effort from guests, guides and our entire company make a difference on the rivers we operate on.

Western's guides work, live and play in truly pristine natural settings. Since 1961, our goal has been to minimize the impact of our visit by living the "take only photos, leave only footprints" philosophy. We work hard to maintain our natural surroundings…picking up litter (even the tiniest food scrap), managing and carrying out human waste, setting up cots and tents only in certain areas, and hiking just on designated trails. We recycle and use recycled products. We teach our guests how to respect and care for the environment.

The Pursuit for Renewable Energy in the Grand Canyon

Western River leads the way for Alternative Motor Boat Project
Western River Expeditions along with the Grand Canyon and Glen Canyon professional river outfitters have embarked upon an exciting new effort to develop and implement alternative motorboat technology suitable for commercial river operations within Grand Canyon National Park and Glen Canyon National Recreation Area. The National Park Service strongly supports and has formally endorsed this effort.

Program goals include the development and implementation of proven, environmentally-sensitive non-fossil fuel based motorboat propulsion systems with low noise and low or zero emission operating characteristics suitable for sustained commercial river operations. These alternative motorboat systems will replace the conventional 20hp to 30hp outboards now used in the Grand Canyon and the 135hp outboards now used in Glen Canyon.

Western River Expeditions has pledged considerable financial resources to this effort, including efforts with local University teams for product development. The National Park Service has pledged dollar for dollar matching funds. Multiple competing prototypes will be developed and rigorously field tested to compare various system approaches and competing technologies.

While serious technical and economic challenges exist, the hope is that the Grand Canyon alternative motorboat project will conclude with the wide scale implementation of a new, cutting edge environmentally-sound alternative motorboat propulsion systems proven safe, reliable and durable for the various commercial river operations on the sensitive and challenging waters of the Colorado River between Glen Canyon Dam and Lake Mead.

Western River Expeditions is a Proud Member

Western River Expeditions is a proud member of several of the finest environmentally conscious organizations in the nation: Grand Canyon River Outfitters Association, American Rivers, Leave No Trace Outdoor Ethics, Utah Rivers Council, America Outdoors, and National River Cleanup Week.

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