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<br />(\u2319 <br /> <br />other authorities ... in such a manner as to protect, mitigate adverse impacts to, and improve the <br />values for which Grand Canyon National Park and Glen Canyon National Recreation Area were <br />established." In order to carry out this direction, the Department formed the Glen Canyon <br />Adaptive Management Program, which brings 25 groups together to provide the Department with <br />" recommendations on the operation of Glen Canyon Dam and other actions. This process <br />includes representatives from the Colorado River Basin States, stakeholder groups, federal <br />agencies and Tribal governments. <br /> <br />When faced With enc4tngered species challenges, both the Upper and Lower Basin States have <br />formed workilig paftrterships to assist in the conservation of listed species. In the Upper Basin, <br />the Upper Colorado River Endangered Fish Recovery Program and the San Juan River Basin . <br />Recovery ImnJementation Program have invested to purchase water and habitat, construct <br />facilities and '4ndertake research to address the needs of the four big-river listed species. In the <br />Lower Basin,Jhe Department anticipates initiating a 50-year program next month to provide <br />additionalhab~tat and. fish-stocking actions to benefit 26 species. These efforts are designed to <br />prooo<:t currently listed species and prevent the need for a<:tditiomillistings. <br /> <br />Wheh faced w~pt the need .to prqyide a transition peri9d to allow California to reduce its use of <br />the. Colorado R1.ver, thc.sevenColorado River"basin states fonneda consensus reflected in the <br />2001 Interim SdiplusGuidelines that are used to manage r:ele!lses from Lake Mead. <br /> <br />When faced witlt.proble,Jils completing the agreement among California's users of the Colorado <br />River,represe~uttivesofall seven Colorado River Basin states were actively engaged in finding <br />soi\ltions to benel1t all those served by the Colorado. These efforts lead to the historic Colorado <br />Ri'ver~aterDeliyery Agreement signed by Secretary Norton on October 10,2003. <br /> <br />Ove-fthe past feW-years, asthis drought has deepened, Secretary Norton has..called on the Basin <br />States to work together to provide the Department with planning recommendations on actions to address <br />the drought. The Department ha~askedJor particular input from the Basin States in two contexts: <br /> <br />1) Under this y~ar' s Anng.al ~l"ating Plan, the Secretary will undertake a review, be~g <br />later this month, to review the planned releases from Glen Canyon Dam for the period of May - <br />September of this year; i.e., for the remainder of this water year's operations. <br /> <br />2) Under current plans, the. D~partment anticipates initiating a public process to develop operating <br />guidelines for the administration of shortages to the States of Arizona, California and Nevada; i.e., <br />guidelines that would control the release ofwater fro~ Lake Mead to users in the three lower Basin <br />States. <br /> <br />We at the pepartment appreciate the difficulties that may be encountered in trying to reach <br />agreement among the Basin States on these issues. While the Department will be faced with making <br />decisions on both these efforts, our goal is to insure that the Basin States have every opportunity to <br />provide Us with consensus-based recommendations on these issuesbefoTeNe have to act. <br /> <br />jr However, if the drought continues and deepens, it is not a question of whether the Secretary will <br />have. to act to m~difY operations? but a question of when. Thus, if the drought continues, the Secretary <br />will have to act, even in the absence ofa Basin states' consensus. . <br /> <br />With these preliminary remarks, I will now turn to Rick Gold and Bob Johnson to provide you <br />with detailed information on the ongoing efforts to address the upcoming decisions the Department is <br />facing. <br /> <br />-End- <br />