No More Walk-Ins -

"Operational Changes to Backcountry Permitting Procedures
date posted Nov 20, 2009

"The National Park Service will be making operational changes to the backcountry permitting system and placing a moratorium on the number of commercial use authorizations (CUAs) issued for guided backpacking services in Grand Canyon National Park.

"Starting February 1, 2010, only written requests will be considered during the fourth-month-out. Written requests may be submitted by fax, by letter, or by hand delivery. Regardless of how they are submitted, written requests will be considered based on the date on which they are received, and all of the requests received by 5:00 p.m. on the first day of the fourth-month-out will be placed in random order by computer and considered in that new order before the next day’s requests receive consideration.

"After February 1, 2010, in-person verbal permit requests will only be considered for start dates one to three months out."

Additional info can be found here.

Edited by greg23 on 11/23/2009 09:02:34 MST.

After reading the details I discovered that these changes apply to only the "initial" month of the permit application window, know, in the venacular, as the "fourth month out".

"...this change will not affect requests made within three months of the start date. It applies only to requests submitted within the initial month. Requests received in later months will continue to be prioritized as they have in the past: in person requests will be given immediate consideration and written requests will be prioritized by date received and responded to as staffing time allows."

So, for Walk-Ins looking for a 'next day' permit nothing changes. Whew...