Passport Requirements Change
Author: Mike Long; Published: Aug 28, 2010; Category: Big Bend Info, Current Events, Rio Grande Info; Tags: Big Bend Info, Canoeing, passport, Rafting, Rules & Regulations; 2 Comments
Ok, here is the latest update on Passport Requirements for going on river trips on the Rio Grande in the Big Bend area of Texas. We are in receipt of a letter from the National Park Service, United States Department of Interior, that relates policy changes for River Usage on the Rio Grande along the Texas/Mexico border. These statements reflect changes in the enforcement of existing regulations by US Customs and Border Patrol.
The following are direct quotes from the letter we received from Big Bend National Park:
“First, a U.S. Passport is not required to use the river in Big Bend National Park or the Rio Grande Wild and Scenic River. Additionally, a U.S. Customs declaration form is no longer required for river trips.
Second, visitors and river outfitters may not use the Mexican bank of the river, as international border crossing is only legal at a Port of Entry. Visitors may not hike into Mexico or the side canyons of Mexico. Visitors additionally may not plan a trip to camp in Mexico or on the Mexican shore. The exception is in cases of emergency: visitors may land on the Mexican side of the river to scout rapids, to bail out a boat, to repack gear, and for other safety reasons.”
These policy changes were presented to us in a letter dated August 20, 2010.
If you have questions on how this new interpretation of the regulations will affect Desert Sports river trips, give us a shout (either email or give us a call). While these changes will have an effect on some of our camps and hikes, we are still able to visit the fantastic canyons of the Rio Grande. Stay tuned for more updates.
If you have questions on the new enforcement of these regulations and how they affect the current NPS policy changes we suggest contacting the following folks:
Bill Wellman, BBNP Superintendent; bill_wellman@nps.gov
David Elkowitz, BBNP Chief of Interpretation, david_elkowitz@nps.gov
Bill Brooks, Customs and Border Patrol, Marfa Sector, william.brooks@dhs.gov
Passports for River Trips???
Author: Mike Long; Published: Jul 24, 2010; Category: Rio Grande Info; Tags: passport, Rules & Regulations; No Comments
As anyone that has run this reach of the Rio Grande knows, it is basically impossible to do a river trip in the Big Bend and not end up on the Mexican side of the river. This can happen as a part of your river trip plan, some of the best camps and hikes are on the Mexico side of the river. Or by plain accident, you dump your canoe and the only safe place to land is on river right (Mexico). The International Boundary is officially the center line of the Main Channel and, especially at the lower water levels we have been seeing, you will have at least a part of your boat in Mexico repeatedly during the course of your trip.
There have been several different policy statements made to try and address the issues. At present, the good folks at the Marfa Sector of US Customs and Border Patrol are trying to work with river runners to come up with a solution that allows them to keep doing their job and allows us to keep doing quality river trips. There was even a small contingent of Border Patrol folks on the last “Down River Seminar”, hosted by BBNP, and they got a chance to see first hand what goes on during a river trip.
What we are doing now? As per our instructions as to what is an acceptable method to deal with this situation, we are submitting a Customs Form with a manifest for each of our trips. This form is submitted to US Customs and, so far, allows us to keep doing river trips as we have in the past. At present, US citizens are not required to have a passport number for the form. If you have a passport, go ahead and bring it with you and we’ll use the number on the form, it makes their job easier. If you are not a US citizen, you will need your passport number to submit on the form (you will want to have your passport while traveling in Border regions).
That is the accepted solution at present. Stay tuned for future changes. It is possible that we could see an increase in regulation and enforcement that could result in what would basically be a closure of the river. We, being citizens of the United States, could lose access to what should be thought of as one of our National Treasures.
It would be nice if some of these lawmakers could come down and do a river trip with us, just to see what it is that they are regulating.