Glen Canyon Dam Adaptive Management Program Home Page

photo of Glen Canyon Dam from downstream on the river

CURRENT FOCUS

Glen Canyon Dam High Flow
Experimental Release

Glen Canyon Dam Long-Term Experimental and Management Plan EIS
EA - Non-native Fish Control Downstream from Glen Canyon Dam
EA - Development and Implementation of a Protocol for High-Flow Experimental Releases from Glen Canyon Dam from 2011 through 2020

The construction and operation of Glen Canyon Dam fundamentally altered the Colorado River ecosystem. Because of the importance of the Colorado River to the Desert Southwest, it is not surprising that there has been, and continues to be, considerable debate over how to share and manage this natural resource.

An important part of that debate is the need to address the impacts to the downstream ecosystem resulting from the ongoing operation of Glen Canyon Dam. To address this challenge, the Glen Canyon Dam Adaptive Management Program was established in 1997 to provide for long-term research and monitoring of downstream resources. The scientific information obtained under the Adaptive Management Program is used as the basis for recommendations for dam operations and management actions.

A fundamental component of the AMP is the Adaptive Management Work Group, a Federal Advisory Committee, whose primary purpose is to facilitate the Adaptive Management process and to make recommendations to the Secretary of the Interior on actions to improve resources in Glen and Grand canyons. The group consists of stakeholders representing various interests that work collectively to identify and recommend appropriate management strategies to improve downstream resource conditions.

Through the Adaptive Management approach, scientific experimentation is integrated into resource management actions. Over time, as more is learned about the complexities of the downstream ecosystem, the goal of enhancing and improving downstream resources and dam operations can be realized.