8128

• UCREFRP Catalog Number: 8128
• Author: U.S. Bureau of Reclamation.
• Title: Operation of Glen Canyon Dam\
• USFW Year: 1995.
• Copyright Material: NO

Affected Environment
and Environmental Consequences
This section describes how resources in the Colorado River system are
linked, what resources are affected in the study area, and evaluates the
effects of the alternatives on these resources. The baseline conditions
described are those that existed in 1990, prior to the GCES research flows.
The summary table at the end of this section compares the alternatives and
their impacts.
COLORADO RIVER SYSTEM RESOURCE LINKAGES
Resources downstream from Glen Canyon Dam through Grand Canyon
are interrelated, or linked, since virtually all of them are associated with or
dependent on water and sediment. This section gives an overview of
linkages to better illustrate the interdependence of processes and resources
in the study area. A detailed description of resources follows this overview.
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36
This resource linkage overview specifically
responds to the EIS scoping process. Many
comments from the public called for
consideration of the "Grand Canyon eco-
system," showing public awareness of the
interrelationships among resources. The
term "ecosystem" refers to the system
formed by interactions between commu-
nities of organisms and their environment.
A "system" is based on the concept that
resources and the processes that drive
them are linked. In an ecosystem, changes
in a single process can affect resources
throughout the entire system.
This EIS emphasizes the
holistic pattern of system
behavior rather than
Rerxeatlon impacts on separate
elements. However, it
cannot provide a complete,
scientific study of the
Grand Canyon ecosystem
W because such an approach
is too technically detailed
for the purpose and scope
Glen Canyon Dam EIS Summary