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THE BALANCING ACT think so, certainly not up to 100 percent. I think the question is how close to 100 percent we're going to get and that is where you will probably have an infinite number of opinions. But I think you must attempt to restore some or a lot, depending on your perspective, of the natural hydrograph. I don't think it's all or nothing. SWAN: But do you have thoughts about how you make it work given the institutional framework that exists? SNAPE: That's what the MSCP is struggling with. I think the Glen Canyon experiment from several years ago is a great example of what can be done. But to have fish recovery in the Lower Basin, the water needs to be generally warmer and it needs to flow generally slower, with periodic flooding events. That's the only way in which you're going to have some degree of fish recovery in the Lowet Basin. To have fish recovery generally warmer and flow generally in the Lower Basin, the water needs to be slower, with periodic SYMPOSIUM PROCEEDINGS SEPTEMBER 1999 ~ RINNE: Bill, I've got one thought. If you think about the Upper Basin, it's a big cup. Much of the storage is at the lower end of the basin. If you look at the Lower Basin, the big cup is located at the upper end of the Lower Basin. Because of this, the challenge to mimic the natural hydrograph is different. There is some potential in the Upper Basin. I think they're doing this and it coincides with snow melt runoff. You may have a little bit of flexibility there to do that. In the Lower Basin, I'm not speaking to the institutional barriers that you were talking about just the physical aspect of it. Typically, releases in the Lower Basin are going to be either space building in the fall or flood releases in late winter or early spring. And sometimes that doesn't necessarily fit with the natural hydrograph a lot of the ecosystem might have been used to historically. The other comment I would make is that, in the Lower Basin, if you assume for a minute that you can get the water out of Mead - and I do agree with what Bill Snape is saying - you might try to work towards the natural hydrograph. I think that's what the MSCP is trying to look at. flooding events. - Bill Snape But, you have some fairly significant physical limitations right now in the Lower Basin. We have a floodway that's supposed to be 40,000 cfs, yet if you release more than about 20,000 cfs out of Parker, you begin to damage a lot of the development along the river on downstream. And even at 40,000 cfs, you can't say unequivocally that the whole floodway on down will be unaffected. You'll affect some areas. Some of them will be very much within the banks. So if you want to go back to natural hydrographs with a 120,000 cfs release, and then push that through the floodway, that's another challenge. Again, that doesn't speak to the legal constraints of how do you get water out under the decree or how do you get water out other than for flood control releases. PALMER: On the issue of the natural hydrograph. You ask the question: Given the physical limitations, is it achievable? Let me venture to my usual position of offense and usurpation by saying, I don't even think it's desirable. The notion of a natural hydrograph indicates right off the bat that you're not after achievement of balance. I think it's important to start off in a river system by attempting to define your goal. I wanted to make reference to a life changing article that I read recently authored by Jack Schmidt, Larry Stevens, Marzoff, Rich Valdez and others. Right at the moment, I can't remember the title. Pam probably has a copy of it in her back pocket. It in essence says that you will achieve one ecosystem one way and a different ecosystem another way and the question of which ecosystem you want is a policy choice. You cannot change, for example, the environment through operations at Glen Canyon Dam. You can't change the environment in the Grand Canyon for the benefit of native fish without affecting, perhaps in an adverse way, the trout fishery that exists there. So you have to make a policy choice about what kind of river system you want to have. Once you've made the policy choice, then it becomes a little clearer about how you can achieve it. I don't believe that negotiations with respect to the Glen Canyon process are an attempt to achieve a natural hydro graph, a pre-dam release. I don't believe that the current flow recommendations relative to Flaming Gorge Dam are an attempt to achieve a natural hydrograph or a pre-dam condition either. SWAN: Pam? I'm sure you have a reply. HYDE: I do. This is one of the great times when I get to vehemently disagree with Clayton. I think this