The U.S. Attorney’s Office has charged a man, Samuel Edwards, for illegally packrafting through the Grand Canyon National Park. Edwards pleaded guilty on May 15th for misdemeanor charges of leading a backcountry packrafting trip without a permit and entering a restricted area. Packrafting is often used by hikers to travel by the river in order to access another trail. Traveling without a permit can create dangerous situations, as the park has no knowledge about a hiker’s whereabouts if anything goes wrong. Edwards has been ordered to pay a $25-hundred fine and placed on two years of probation, which restricts him from visiting all national parks, national monuments and federal recreation areas. Officials for the Grand Canyon National Park say “by employing only legitimate and permitted guides, visitors can minimize both their own risk and the impact they have on the land.” In 2022, there were 338 search and rescue missions in the Grand Canyon.

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Daisy Johnston