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<br />001703 <br /> <br />40 <br /> <br />Project A.2 in this document for more details). In FY06, the Cultural Program hopes to continue <br />this aeolian study with one year of additional funding. <br />In November 2004, a high-flow experiment was conducted to test a variety of hypotheses <br />that resulted from the 1996 Beach Habitat Building Flow. The 1996 BHBF presented an <br />opportunity to study the effects of high flow discharge from Glen Canyon Dam on alluvial <br />terraces and margin deposits along the river corridor. The flow was expected to provide <br />system-wide mitigation to most cultural sites in the Colorado River corridor through the <br />accumulation of additional sediment. The overall findings of the cultural resources studies <br />strongly suggested that the 45,000 cfs BHBF flow had either no effect, no adverse effect, or a <br />beneficial effect on cultural resources (Balsom and Larralde, 1996.) These findings lent support <br />to the original contention that beach habitat-building flows above power plant capacity could <br />offer system-wide mitigation for cultural resources. One location in the Glen Canyon reach, did <br />experience loss of sediments in a way that, in the long run, could be detrimental to cultural <br />resources(Balsom and Larralde, 1996), but three of the four study areas gained sand, and some of <br />the newly deposited sand appears to have been redeposited over subsequent months at higher <br />elevations through wind action (Hazel et al. 2001.) The experimental high flow of November, <br />2004 provided an opportunity to reassess the potentially beneficial aspects of bar-building flows <br />near archaeological sites. One location in the Palisades area that had been studied in 1996 was <br />remapped both before and immediately following the 2004 experimental flow, and we will be <br />continuing to track the fate of sand deposits in that area by means of repeat mapping through <br />FY06. <br /> <br />Recreational Resources - Recreational resource:s encompass several diverse, tangible <br />elements: the blue-ribbon trout fishery at Lees Ferry, the challenging whitewater rapids in the <br />Colorado River, and camping beaches in Grand Canyon. Recreational resources also encompass <br />experiential attributes, such as opportunities to experience solitude, natural quiet, and physical <br />challenges in a wilderness-like environment. Recreational issues of specific concern to the <br />GCMRC sociocultural program include changes in the size and availability of camping beaches <br />due to dam operations, changes in the quality of recreational experiences within the CRE <br />(including trout sport fishing, recreational river trips, and wilderness-dependent recreational <br />opportunities) due to effects of dam operations, plus the economic impacts to the recreation <br />industry from varying flow regimes. GCMRC has supported studies in all of these areas. <br />GCMRC FY2006 Annual Work Plan (Draft February 15,2005) <br />