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<br />41 <br /> <br />879 . legal (Endangered Species Act, Law of the River, EIS); <br />880 . aesthetics; <br />881 . economic concerns (recreational issues); <br />882 . environmental values (wilderness designation, natural reproduced fish, non-motor <br />883 season); <br />884 . physical constraints (Glen Canyon Dam Physical Structure); <br />885 . natural variation of ecosystem. <br />886 Admittedly these boundaries can be complex when determining if monitoring <br />887 programs are inclusive of them. A conceptual model can institute and integrate these <br />888 boundaries more easily than the human mind. It is at this point that the benefit of using a <br />889 conceptual model to assist in monitoring plan development becomes apparent. <br />890 The approach being followed by GCMRC to design a long-term monitoring program <br />891 is based on the work of Davis et al., (1994), NRC (1995), and Noon et al., (1997). Each of <br />892 these authors has identified the development of a conceptual model as an essential first step <br />893 in the selection of environmental parameters to be incorporated into a long-term monitoring <br />894 program. Davis et al., (1994) Figure 4.1 have proposed a step down approach for the <br />895 development of a long-term monitoring and research program that incorporates a conceptual <br />896 system model. In addition, the development of GCMRC's long-term monitoring programs is <br />897 based on synthesis of existing data and the review of current and alternative monitoring <br />898 approaches by expert panels. <br />899 <br />900 1. The Conceptual Model <br />901 The GCMRC Adaptive Environmental Assessment Model (Le., a conceptual model) <br />902 for the Colorado River ecosystem uses existing ecological data and empirically derived ' <br />903 relationships, in conjunction with existing ecological principles, to develop a framework of <br />904 how the physical, biological and socio-cultural elements behave individually and together. <br />905 GCMRC will use this model to assist in the identification of the key environmental <br /> <br />November S, 1998 <br />SecoDd Draft - Do Not Cite, Pbotocopy, or Distribute <br />