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Executive Summary flows, The purpose of this research is to study the effects of steady flows on endangered and native fish. Reclamation recognizes that many uncertainties about the actual impact of the various flow alternatives still exist. To address such concerns, Reclamation intends to initiate a process of "adaptive management" that would provide for long-tenn monitoring, research, and measurement of the effects of the selected alternative, The results of this effort would fonn the basis for future modifications of the dam's operations. Most Key Parties Support the Preferred Alternative, but Some Concerns Remain The process for selecting a preferred alternative for the future operations of the Glen Canyon Dam considered many factors, such as protecting natural and cultural resources and maintaining hydropower generating capability, and involved many parties with diverse interests, Reclamation's goal was to select an alternative dam-operating plan that would pennit downstream resources to recover to acceptable long-tenn management levels while maintaining some level of hydropower flexibility, Reclamation believes that it accomplished this goal by selecting the Modified Low Fluctuating Flow as the preferred alternative. According to Reclamation, this flow alternative was developed to reduce daily flow fluctuations well below the dam's historic operations and to provide periodiC high, steady water releases of short duration with the goal of protecting or enhancing the downstream resources while allowing limited flexibility for power operations, This alternative has the same annual and essentially the same monthly water releases as the dam's historic operations but would restrict daily and hourly water releases more than previously, GAO judgmentally selected 37 key interested parties and surveyed them on whether they supported Reclamation's preferred alternative and whether they have any remaining concerns about implementing this alternative as the future operating plan for the Glen Canyon Dam, GAO'S judgmental sample consisted of all of the organizations and individuals that Reclamation identified as providing significant comments on the draft impact statement, any organizations that were considered cooperating agencies in the impact statement's development process, and other key interested parties. Over 83 percent (25 of 30) of the respondents to GAO'S survey supported the preferred alternative, and many expressed support for the process used by Reclamation to develop the impact statement. Of the five remaining respondents, three stated that they had no position on the issue, while two, the San Juan Southern Paiute Tribe and the Grand Canyon River Guides, believed that the current interim operating criteria Page 8 GAOIRCED-97-12 Glen Canyon Dam's Environmental Impact Statement