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<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 />SBCTION II: MOTIVATION AND BACKGROUND FOR THE STUDIES <br /> <br />Valued Environmental And Recreational Resources <br />Bxist Below Glen Canyon Dam <br /> <br />A great many people from around the country and the <br />world are concerned about the resources along the <br />Colorado River below Glen Canyon Dam. Each year, up to <br />10,000 . anglers fish for trophy-size rainbow trout in <br />the 15-mile reach below the dam. Another 9,000 <br />visitors annually take half-day raft tours of Glen Can- <br />yon in this reach. An additional 15,000 individuals <br />take white-water float trips through the Grand Canyon <br />each year. Many more people would like to take these <br />trips, but the NPS limits the number in order to <br />protect the environment. <br /> <br />The Colorado River in the Grand Canyon supports an un- <br />usual and important community of plants and animals. <br />In the desert Southwest, streamside (riparian) <br />ecosystems are scarce and decreasing in extent along <br />most rivers. In contrast, the Colorado River gorge in <br />Grand Canyon is a protected 277-mile corridor within <br />which riparian vegetation has increased in area since <br />1963, the year Glen Canyon Dam was completed. The <br />river itself provides habitat for the largest remaining <br />self-sustaining population of humpback chub (a <br />federally-listed endangered species) as well as sev- <br />eral other species of native fish. <br /> <br />Flow In The Colorado River Through Glen And Grand <br />Canyons Is Controlled By Glen Canyon Dam <br /> <br />Glen Canyon Dam impounds the water of the Colorado <br />River forming Lake Powell, one of the largest res- <br />ervoirs in the western United states. By storing and <br />regulating the waters from the Upper Colorado River <br />Basin states (Upper Basin), ~len Canyon Dam enables <br />delivery of water each year to Arizona, Nevada, <br />California, and Mexico, as required by legal compact <br />and treaty. Glen Canyon dam is also a major producer <br />of electricity for the western United states, <br /> <br />9 <br />