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<br />6 <br /> <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br /> <br />~1) A feasibility study of possible changes <br />1n dam operations and non-operational <br />alternatives for protecting downstream <br />resources. Such a study would comply with <br />National Environmental POlicy Act (NEPA) <br />requirements for informing and involving <br />interested and affected publics and agencies <br />and might or might not lead to a change in <br />dam operations. <br /> <br />(2) Continued research and monitoring of <br />resources. <br /> <br />(3) No action. <br /> <br />Over Thirty Studies Are Integrated In This <br />Final Report <br /> <br />This report is based upon the results of over 30 <br />technical studies, background analyses, and associated <br />literature reviews. Over 100 researchers from govern- <br />ment agencies, universities, and private consulting <br />firms participated in the four-year GCES effort. <br /> <br />Many kinds of data were collected and analyzed for the <br />study. Hourly dam release records for 25 years were <br />tabulated and analyzed. Aerial and ground photographs <br />taken over a 30-year period were used in assessing <br />temporal changes in river hydraulics, backwater <br />availability, changes in camping beaches and sand <br />volume, and broad scale changes in riparian vegetation. <br /> <br />Three ecological studies, including monitoring of <br />14,000 individual plants and 900 seedlings, related <br />river flows to seedling establishment, growth, and mor- <br />tality in order to predict future changes in the veg- <br />etative community. Although other groups of verte- <br />brates were studied, riparian birds were emphasized; <br />approximately 30 species and over 500 nests were stud- <br />ied over six years. <br /> <br />Studies <br />aquatic <br />physical <br />examining <br /> <br />of the impact of dam releases on fish and the <br />food base involved analyzing the chemical and <br />properties of water, and collecting and <br />over 30,000 fish to determine fish habitat <br />