7424

• UCREFRP Catalog Number: 7424
• Author: National Research Council
• Title: Editor
• USFW Year: Series
• USFW - Doc Type: 1987
• Copyright Material: YES

EXECOTIVE SDI~Il~ARY
REVIEW OF THE GLEN CANYON
ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES
Since the turn of the century, water issues in
the Southwest have centered on the use of
irrigation to reclaim land for agriculture and,
more recently, the generation of hydroelectric
power. The Bureau of Reclamation has a major
responsibility for federal government involvement
in water resource development and, by most measures
of progress, their activities have been successful.
In recent years, however, water quality issues
have assumed greater attention. As the limits of
the quantity of water are reached and as the
population of the Southwest grows and changes,
water users other than agriculture and power
generation (e.g., recreation and urban water
supply) have gained more legal and political
standing. As a result, the laws are changing and
the Bureau of Reclamation is adjusting to major
changes in responsibility, i.e., from irrigation
development and power generation to operations
planning and environmental management.
The Bureau of Reclamation's performance of the
Glen Canyon Environmental Studies (GCES), in the
period from 1982 to 1987, is one manifestation of
the change. The GCES were initiated in 1982 as a
response to some of these new pressures, but now
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