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<br />01187 <br /> <br />Introduction <br /> <br />Three Department of the Interior agencies, the Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation), <br />National Park Service (NPS), and U.s. Geological Survey (USGS), are proposing a series <br />of experimental releases of water from Glen Canyon Dam and mechanical removal of <br />non-native fish to help native fish, particularly the endangered humpback chub. The <br />dam releases are also designed to conserve fine sediment in the Colorado River corridor <br />in Grand Canyon National Park. <br /> <br /> <br />Glen Canyon Dam, authorized by the Colorado River Storage Project Act (CRSPA) of <br />1956 and completed by Reclamation in 1963, dams the Colorado River some 15 miles <br />upstream from Lees Ferry, Arizona. Below Glen Canyon Dam, the Colorado River flows <br />for 15 miles through Glen Canyon. 1bis area is managed by the National Park Service as <br />part of Glen Canyon National Recreation Area. Fifteen miles below Glen Canyon Dam, <br />Lees Ferry, Arizona marks the beginning of Marble Canyon and the northern boundary <br />of Grand Canyon National Park. <br /> <br />The primary purpose and major function of the dam is water conservation and <br />storage. The dam is specifically managed to regulate releases of water from the Upper <br />Colorado River Basin to the Lower Basin to satisfy provisions of the Colorado River <br />Compact and subsequent water delivery commitments, and thereby allow states within <br />the Upper Basin (Wyoming, Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona) to deplete water <br />from the watershed upstream of Glen Canyon Dam and utilize their apportionments of <br />Colorado River water. <br /> <br />In addition to the primary purpose of water delivery, another function of the dam is <br />to generate hydroelectric power as an incident to other purposes of Glen Canyon Dam. <br />Water released from Lake Powell through Glen Canyon Dam's eight hydroelectric <br />turbines generates power marketed by the Western Area Power Administration <br />(Western). Between the Dam's completion in 1963 and 1990, the dam's daily operations <br />were primarily undertaken to maximize generation of hydroelectric power in <br />accordance with Section 7 of the CRSP A, which requires production of the greatest <br />praticable amount of power. Over time, additional considerations have arisen with <br />respect to the operation of Glen Canyon Dam, including concerns regarding effects of <br />Glen Canyon Dam operations on species listed pursuant to the Endangered Species Act. <br /> <br />Later, by 1992, recognizing that how the dam is operated might affect Glen Canyon <br />National Recreation Area and Grand Canyon National Park, President George H.W. <br />Bush signed the Grand Canyon Protection Act (GCP A) into law. <br />