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Purpose of and Need for Action
<br />PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT
<br />This EIS has received broad interest from water and power users,
<br />environmental and conservation groups, Federal and State agencies,
<br />Indian Tribes, and private citizens across the country. Information has
<br />been disseminated through public meetings and periodic newsletters to
<br />about 20,000 people. In addition, interest groups have been invited to
<br />observe and participate in the cooperating agency meetings.
<br />The ongoing Glen Canyon Dam EIS scoping process was initiated in early
<br />1990 to receive public comment on and determine the appropriate scope of
<br />the EIS. Every effort was made to notify all potentially interested parties
<br />about the scoping process and opportunities to provide comment.
<br />Reclamation increased opportunities for public participation through
<br />public meetings, news releases, mailings, and legal notices, as well as
<br />contacts with media, organizations, and individuals.
<br />The Federal Register notice of environmental scoping meetings was
<br />published on February 23,1990, with a corresponding news release
<br />announcing the opening of the scoping process. The scoping comment
<br />period initially established for March 12 through April 16,1990, was
<br />extended to May 4,1990, in response to public comment. Public meetings
<br />were held in Salt Lake City, Utah; Denver, Colorado; Phoenix and
<br />Flagstaff, Arizona; Los Angeles and San Francisco, California; and
<br />Washington, DC. More than 17,000 comments were received during the
<br />scoping period, reflecting national attention and intense interest in the EIS.
<br />Issues of Concern
<br />As a result of the analysis of the oral and written scoping comments, the
<br />following were determined to be resources or issues of public concern:
<br />beaches, endangered species, ecosystem, fish, power costs, power
<br />production, sediment, water conservation, rafting/boating, air quality, the
<br />Grand Canyon wilderness, and a category designated as "other" for
<br />remaining concerns. Comments regarding interests and values were
<br />categorized as: expressions about the Grand Canyon, economics,
<br />nonquantifiable values, nature versus human use, and the complexity of
<br />Glen Canyon Dam issues.
<br />The EIS team consolidated and refined the public issues of concern,
<br />identifying the resources and their significant issues to be analyzed in
<br />detail. These resources are: water, sediment, fish, vegetation, wildlife and
<br />habitat, endangered and other special status species, cultural resources, air
<br />quality, recreation, hydropower, and non-use value.
<br />6 Glen Canyon Dam EIS Summary
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