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,<;-~ 'h" ">.3 . '," ,"i GLEN CANYON DAM - IT's TIME FOR A KINDER HAND ;il::l;EJ VEL DEe 26 1989 by .Jim Ruch Executive Vice P~es1dent Grand Canyon Trust --- f,OLORADO f1iVErl COMMiSO'- -" A Ill: ("I....' liT'" PAGE, ARIZONA - I alii standing on the U.S. 89 highway bridge at Page with the monUlllental Glen Canyon Dam holding a bathtub ringed, drought shrunken, Lake Powsll at my back, AbOVe me, the sun shines through the sallow, slightly yellowish plu.. tram tbe Ha'''a~c PO\':~::' Plant. Same six hundred teet below, through a spider web at power lines, the clear. cold, deep green Colorado River swirls out of the turbine tunnels and away downstreaa between .&saive red clifts carved over eona ot tiae. I ~ awed and challenged by the responsibility we have undertaken tor this canyon which, only yesterday. was driven solely by the force. at nature. wild and tar tram the hand ot man. Here, only 20 miles upstream trom the bo~ndary of Grand canyon National Park. I am struck by the irony of the words of Theodore Rooaevelt who looked and aaiei, "The ages have been at work on it and aan can only lilaI' it. What you can do is keep it for you~ children, your children's children, and tor all wno come after " you.." With the pre.. of a button in the White HouBe a later president. Dwight Ei.enhowor. triggered a blast in the canyon wall just behind me. The result? This bridge. this dam. and the inevitable changes that came, not with geologiC time but overnight to this river, its beaches. its wildlife. and one at the most remarkable places in the world. the Grand Canyon. It is 2& years since the dam was closed and water storage began, nine years since Lake Powell filled for the tirst time. Awareness ot what is happening to the downstream rcscurceG. ~.d the urgent need to ..elio~ate that impact. is tinally sinking into public consciousness. With the decision by Secretary of the Interior Manual Lujan, last summer, to require the preparation at an Environmental Impact statement (EIS) on the ettect ot Glen Canyon Dam operations. a process is underway which could lead to a decision to operate the dam in a manner which will minimi=e detrimental impacts upon the Grand Canyon's resources and upon those who go there to enjoy its unique value.. The u.s. Bureau or Reclamation, the dam building agency of the Department or the Interior. is responsible for the preparation at the Environmental Impact Statement. The Regional Director ot Reclamation in Salt Lake. Roland Robison has announced that i i" ., , 1\ ;,,1 l "~' I , I , \ ,~ ) (f. I :~ ~, . I. :\ ~~. ',' ~:~ , \; . .."~ '. v , I' . :~ . l:~-, " ~ " ~;.: ',. l~ , ;" ~, ~I ~, ".,", .1)