Glen Canyon Environmental Studies: Multidisciplinary Studies of the Effects of Glen Canyon Dam

Upon its completion in 1963, Glen Canyon Dam began altering the physical environment and the wildlife in Glen Canyon, Marble Canyon, and Grand Canyon downstream from the dam (see map).

In 1982, concern about these changes led the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, which operates the dam, to establish Glen Canyon Environmental Studies, an interagency effort to address two major questions:

1. Are current operations of Glen Canyon Dam, through control of the flows in the Colorado River, adversely affecting the environmental and recreational resources of Glen and Grand Canyons?
2. Are there ways to operate the dam, consistent with Colorado River Storage Project water delivery requirements, that would protect or enhance those resources?

Agencies cooperating in the studies are the Bureau of Reclamation, National Park Service, Department of Energy's Western Area Power Administration, U.S. Geological Survey, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Hopi Tribe, Hualapai Tribe, Navajo Nation, and Southern Paiute Consortium, with contributions from Arizona Game and Fish Department, private consultants, universities, and river guides.

Funding for these studies has been provided mainly from the sale of hydropower.

• Experimental controlled flood
• Environmental Impact Statement prepared by U.S. Bureau of Reclamation

See suggestions for further reading for the sources of information on this page.