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<br />GENERAL OBJECTIVES <br /> <br />The Grand Canyon Protection Act of 1992 (GCPA) and Operation of Glen Canyon Dam- <br />Final Environmental Impact Statement (GCDEIS) direct the Secretary of the Interior to establish <br />and implement long-term monitoring programs and related research and scientific activities that <br />will ensure that GCD is operated in a manner consistent with Section 1802 of the GCP A. The <br />GCMRC was established to facilitate these activities. The mission and goals of the GCMRC are <br />to develop monitoring and research programs and related scientific activities that evaluate short- <br />and long-term impacts of"...the effects of the Secretary's actions...") on the biological, cultural, <br />and physical resources of the Colorado River ecosystem. The GCMRC also provides information <br />to meet needs concerning resources of the Colorado River ecosystem specified by the Adaptive <br />Management Work Group (AMWG), and the Secretary of the Interior. <br /> <br />Long-term monitoring of all resources of concern will occur to detect and quantify <br />changes related to dam operations. Research efforts will focus on interpreting and explaining <br />trends, determining causal relationships, and defining inter-relationships among physical, <br />biological and cultural processes. In addition to monitoring and research activities, the GCMRC <br />will develop an information m~agement program to ensure information archiving and transfer to <br />managers, stakeholders, and science organizations. <br /> <br />The physical scope of the research area to be investigated by the GCMRC is the Colorado <br />River ecosystem, defined as the Colorado River mainstem corridor and associated riparian and <br />terrace zones, located primarily from the forebay of GCD to the western boundary of Grand <br />Canyon National Park, a distance of 293 river miles. The research scope includes limited <br />investigations into some tributaries (e.g., the Little Colorado and Paria Rivers). All projects <br />proposed will relate to determined or potential resource impacts primarily in the Colorado River <br />ecosystem related to dam operations. It also includes, in general, cultural resource impacts of <br />dam operations for inundation levels associated primarily with flows up to approximately 300,000 <br />cubic feet per second (cfs) as addressed in the Programmatic Agreement4, and for physical, <br />biological, recreational and other resources, impacts of dam operations for inundation levels <br />associated primarily with flows up to 100,000 cfs. In between these levels, stakeholder concerns <br />with respect to relict vegetation, endangered species, and cultural resources may require activities <br />by the GCMRC. <br /> <br />) As specified in the 1992 Grand Canyon Protection Act, the GCD Environmental Impact <br />Statement (1995), and the Record of Decision (1996). The "Secretary's actions" include dam <br />operations or alternative dam operating criteria as well as other authorized actions; and will be <br />referred to in this document as "dam operations". <br />4The Programmatic Agreement is a legal agreement between federal and state agencies <br />and tribal groups that specifies the responsibilities ofthe parties to comply with federal <br />historic preservation legislation. <br /> <br />4 <br />