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. . partial solution to the fully protected species issue (i.e., Assembly Bill 2795). Director Hight offered to continue the dialog and information sharing over the next month or so as the legislative session gears up. Because of the need to finalize the California's Colorado River Water Use Plan in 2001 and the MSCP by Spring 2002, it is imperative that the Fish and Game Code be amended during this legislative session. Status of the Lawsuit in Defenders of Wildlife, et al. v. Babbitt, et al. As the Board is aware, U.S. District Court Judge James Robertson, on October 13, 2000, denied the Lower Basin states' and water and power agencies motions to intervene. Arizona, California and Nevada have filed notices of motions to appeal the Judge's decision and order. The California Attorney General's Office filed a notice of appeal on October 31, 2000. Additionally, the plaintiffs and defendants recently met and developed a schedule for disposition of the matter. According to the current schedule, discovery is anticipated to be completed by March-April 2001, with the trial projected to occur during the Summer of 200 I. Lower Colorado Water Supplv Proiect As reported at the September Board meeting, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) issued its final report for the "accounting surface" from Laguna Dam to the Southerly International Boundary. I have included in the Board folder, for your infonnation, a copy of the USGS fact sheet entitled Identifying Wells Downstreamfrom Laguna Dam that Yield Water that will be Replaced by Water from the Colorado River, which summarizes the final report. The Board staff will be holding a meeting, in late November or early December, with representatives of the Board's agencies to discuss the USGS report, its possible effect on the Lower Colorado Water Supply Project, current status of the Project, and future activities. WESTERN WATER PLANNING Glen Canvon Adaptive Management The Glen Canyon Dam Adaptive Management Program Technical Work Group (TWG) met in Phoenix, Arizona, on November 6-7, 2000. The TWG recommended that the Adaptive Management Work Group, approve the Grand Canyon Monitoring and Research Center's (GCMRC) annual work plan and Fiscal Year 2002 budget of $7.58 million. Of this amount, approximately $6.576 million would come from Colorado River Storage Project power revenues, and the remainder from the USGS' agency budget. As you will recall, the GCMRC was recently transferred from Reclamation to the USGS. Additionally, there were infonnational reports from several ad hoc subcommittees dealing with clarification of the GCMRC's management objectives and research infonnation needs. Finally, the Western Area Power Administration (Western) reported preliminary data, which indicated that Glen Canyon Dam operations during summer 2000 resulted in Colorado River Storage Project customers having to purchase approximately $16 million of additional electrical energy from the 6