GCDAMP History Time-Line -Years

• 11,000 BP Paleo-Indian peoples occupy Grand Canyon region

1869

• Major John Wesley Powell leads first recored expedition to traverse Grand Canyon
• Powell's death-defying Grand Canyon odyssey

1902

• Reclamation Act Creates the Bureau of Reclamation

1916

• National Park Service Organic Act passed

1919

• Grand Canyon National Park created

1921

• Colorado River was officially re-named from the “Grand” to the “Colorado.” (July 25th)

1922

• Colorado River Compact signed allocating the Colorado River water between the upper and the lower basins. Upper basin States have the right to use 7.5 maf/yr only if that quantity is available after meeting delivery requirements of 7.5 maf/yr to the Lower basin plus the amount required to satisfy anticipated claims by Mexico.

1928

• Boulder Canyon Project Act passed authorizing Hoover Dam.

1935

• Hoover Dam completed

1944

• Treaty with Mexico obligating the US to provide 1.5 maf of Colorado River water to Mexico annually

1948

• Upper Colorado River Basin Compact signed

1956

• Colorado River Storage Project Act passed authorizing Glen Canyon Dam

1963

• Glen Canyon Dam completed as part of the Colorado River Storage Project.
• U.S. Supreme Cort held in Arizona vs California that, as a result of the Boulder Canyon Project Act, California held an allocation of 4.4 maf, Arizona 2.8 maf, and Nevada 300,000 acre-feet of Colorado River water

1964

• U.S. Supreme Court decision in Arizona v. California confirmed apportionments of Colorado River water authorized in 1928 Boulder Canyon Project Act, including Nevada's allocation of 0.3 maf per year. The Decree in this case set many of the rules under which the river is operated.

1965

• The 1965 Reservoir Equalization and Channel Cleaning Floods
• United States contract for delivery of power from the Colorado River Storage Project to customers.

1966

• National Historic Preservation Act passed

1967

• Humpback chub and Colorado pikeminnow federally listed as endangered

1968

• Colorado River Basin Project Act passed

1969

• National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969 passed requiring Federal agencies to consider the environmental impacts of their proposed actions and reasonable alternatives to those actions.

1970

• Long-range Operating Criteria developed for Glen Canyon Dam operations

1972

• Last verified record of Colorado Pikeminnow caught in Grand Canyon at Havasu Creek

1973

• Endangered Species Act (ESA) of 1973 passed to protect and promote the recovery of animals and plants that are in danger of becoming extinct because of the activities of people. Administered by the US Fish and Wildlife Service.

1974

• Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Act authorized the construction, operation, and maintenance of works in the Colorado River Basin to control the salinity of Colorado River water available for use in the United States and Mexico. Some GCDAMP stakeholders participate in the Salinity Control Forums created by the act.
• First Lawsuit filed over Glen Canyon Dam operations by commercial raft operators contending that the disruption of normal flows was interfering with their ability to conduct river trips.

1975

• Grand Canyon National Park Enlargement Act passed

1978

• U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service files jeopardy opinion on the effects of Glen Canyon Dam on endangered fishes

1979

• Grand Canyon National Park designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site
• USBR proposes an upgrade of Glen Canyon Dam's generators

1980

• Lake Powell reaches full pool (3,700 ft)
• Bonytail chub listed as endangered

1982

• Glen Canyon Environmental Studies - Phase I (1982-1988) created to study effects of Glen Canyon Dam operations

1983

• The 1983-86 Floods
• Glen Canyon Dam releases more than 92,000 cfs to stop Lake Powell from overtopping Glen Canyon Dam.

1984

• The 1983-86 Floods
• One of the last Razorback Suckers seen in Grand Canyon is caught and released at Bass Rapids

1985

• The 1983-86 Floods

1986

• The 1983-86 Floods

1987

• National Research Council completes review of Glen Canyon Environmental Studies, publishing River and Dam Management: a Review of the Bureau of Reclamation's Glen Canyon Environmental Studies

1988

• Salt Lake City Area Integrated Projects(CRSP)passed-1989 after a series of public information and comment forums.
• Glen Canyon Environmental Studies issues Glen Canyon Environmental Studies Final Report, completing Phase I and starting Phase II (1988-1988), which would be accelerated to support environmental impact statement process.

1989

• Secretary of the Interior Lujan orders an environmental impact statement on dam operations.
• National Research Council sponsors symposium that reviews existing knowledge on Colorado River ecosystem

1990

• The 1990-91 Experimental Flows
• Beginning of Interim Operating Criteria

1991

• The 1990-91 Experimental Flows
• Interim operating criteria for Glen Canyon Dam implemented.
• Razorback Sucker and Kanab Ambersnail federally listed as endangered.

1992

• Grand Canyon Protection Act of 1992 passed

1994

• Programmatic Agreement on Cultural Resources signed between the State of Arizona, Department of the Interior agencies, and six tribes over protection of cultural resources in the river corridor below Glen Canyon Dam.
• U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service designates critical habitat for four species of endangered Colorado River fish and completes Biological Opinion outlining reasonable and prudent alternatives that must be evaluated for dam operation.
• Memorandum of Agreement signed for development of a Lower Colorado River Multi-Species Conservation Plan between state agencies in Nevada, California, and Arizona and federal agencies, including the Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of Reclamation, Fish and Wildlife Service, and the National Park Service.MSCP History (SDSU)

1995

• Establishment of the Grand Canyon Monitoring and Research Center
• Transition Work Group to act as a bridge between GCES and GCDAMP (1995-1996)

1996

• The 1996 Beach/Habitat-Building Flow (BHBF)
• Record of Decision on the Operation of Glen Canyon Dam Final Environmental Impact Statement to comply with consultation requirements of the Grand Canyon Protection Act of 1992. (Signed by Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt)

1997

• The AMWG held their first meeting on September 10-11, 1997, and officially formed the Glen Canyon Technical Work Group (TWG) as a subgroup to work on tasks charged to them by the AMWG.
• The TWG was formed to provide stakeholders with involvement in federal decisions concerning the operation of Glen Canyon Dam and Power Plant.
• The 1997 Habitat Maintenance Flow (HMF)
• Strategic Planning Subcommittee (1997-2000)
• AMWG and TWG fully established

1999

• AMWG Colorado River trip to develop the Vision Statement for the GCDAMP

2000

• The 2000 Low Steady Summer Flow Experiment (LSSF)
• Second and third tests of the habitat maintenance flows concept conducted in spring and summer.

2001

• Humpback Chub population in Grand Canyon was in decline in the 1990s, and reached a low of about 5,000 adult fish in 2001.
• Draft Strategic Plan for the GCDAMP developed by program managers.

2002

• U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announces recovery goals for endangered fishes of the Colorado River Basin.
• Adaptive Management Work Group recommends implementation of the first 2 yr of an experimental design proposed by the GCMRC.

2003

• Experiment begun to remove nonnative trout from the Colorado River in Grand Canyon.
• Fluctuating nonnative fish suppression releases from January through March implemented and continued through 2005.

2004

• The 2004 Fall HFE
• GCDAMP Goals and AMWG Priority Questions

2006

• Long-Term Experimental Plan Environmental Plan (LTEP)

2007

• Beginning of Interim Guidelines for Lower Basin Shortages (2007-2027)
• Strategic Science Plan

2008

• The 2008 Spring HFE

2009

• 2009-2011 Fall Steady Flow Experiment

2010

• 2009-2011 Fall Steady Flow Experiment

2011

• 2009-2011 Fall Steady Flow Experiment
• The 2011 Equalization flows
• Start of a Biennial Budget and Workplan
• Core Monitoring Plan (draft)

2012

• Publication of the High Flow Experiment Protocol
• The 2012 Fall HFE: 42,300 cfs for 96h (slow downramp)
• Razorback Sucker found in lower part of Grand Canyon- believed the fish traveled some 50 miles upstream from Lake Mead. Last one recorded had been caught in 1990.

2013

• The 2013 Fall HFE: 34,100 cfs for 96h

2014

• The 2014 Fall HFE: 37,500 cfs for 96h

2015

• A 2015 Fall HFE was canceled due to the discovery of green sunfish in Glen Canyon (1,168,000 mt)
• Start of a Triennial Budget and Workplan

2016

• Publication of the LTEMP EIS
• LTEMP Science Plan
• TWG Protocol Paper

2018

• The 2018 Fall HFE: 38,100 cfs for 60h

2020

• COVID moves all meetings for the year to remote

2021

• The 2021 Spring Disturbance Flow

2022

• A 2022 Fall HFE was not conducted due to the discovery of smallmouth bass in Glen Canyon (1,600,000 mt)

2023

• The 2023 Spring HFE: 39,500 cfs for 72h

2024

• SEIS Bypass Releases (CoolMix) to control smallmouth bass

2025

• SEIS Bypass Releases (CoolMix) to control smallmouth bass

2026

Start of 2027-2028 Operating Guidelines