Physical Resource Response to the Low Steady Summer Flow Experiment
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Sediment
The part of the hydrograph that included a habitat maintenance flow (a 4-day spike at a powerplant capacity of 877 m³/s) and sustained high releases in April and May (averaging 509 m³/s) resulted in [increased] sediment export to Lake Mead, the reservoir downstream from Glen Canyon Dam, which is outside the study area. Some mid-elevation sandbar building (between 566 and 877 m³/s stage elevations) occurred from existing sediment deposits rather than from sediment inputs from tributaries during the previous winter. Low releases in the summer combined with low tributary sediment inputs resulted in minor sediment accumulation in the study area. The September habitat maintenance flow reworked accumulated sediment and resulted in increases in the area of some backwaters.
Temperature
The mainstem water temperatures in the reach near the Little Colorado River
during the LSSF experiment varied little from previous years. Mainstem water temperatures in
western Grand Canyon average 17 to 20°C. During the LSSF, backwaters warmed more than
other shoreline environments during the day, but most backwaters returned to mainstem water temperatures overnight. Shoreline surface water temperatures from river mile (RM) 30 to 72
varied between 9 and 28°C in the middle of the day in July. These temperatures are within the
optimal temperature range for humpback chub growth and spawning, which is between 15 and
24°C. How surface water temperatures transfer to subsurface water temperatures is unknown.
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Native and Nonnative Fish Response to the Steady Summer Flow Experiment in the Mainstem Downstream from Lees Ferry
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Humpback chub and other native fishes
Data collection associated with the response of fish to the 2000 LSSF hydrograph
focused on fish growth and abundance along the Colorado River in Grand Canyon. The target
resource, humpback chub and other native fishes, did not respond in a strongly positive or strongly negative manner to the LSSF hydrograph during the sampling period, which extended
from June to September 2000. In 2000, the mean total length of YOY native fishes was similar to
the mean length from previous years, but the abundance of YOY native fish was greater in 2000.
The greatest numbers of humpback chub were near the confluence of the Colorado River with
the Little Colorado River, where the largest spawning population is found. Factors directly
associated with the LSSF hydrograph, geography, and the abundance of nonnative salmonids in
the system before the experiment, as well as elements not affected by mainstem hydrology, may
have contributed to the neutral response observed for native fish. The close proximity of the
Little Colorado River to Glen Canyon Dam precluded sufficient warming of the mainstem down
to the confluence with the Little Colorado River (RM 61) to reach optimal growth and spawning
conditions for humpback chub, unlike shoreline surface water temperatures. The 4-day habitat
maintenance flow in September interrupted persistent habitats for YOY fishes and may have
confounded the results. The high abundance of salmonids in the mainstem before the experiment
and predation by them may have affected the number and size of native fish that were caught.
Native larval fish survival in the tributaries that is unrelated to mainstem environments and flow
manipulations also can affect relative abundance observed in the mainstem. Collectively, these
variables limit understanding the effects of the LSSF hydrograph on young native fish growth
and survival.
The complicated hydrograph composed of steady discharges at multiple volumes that
varied in duration from 4 days to 8 weeks and in magnitude from 226 to 877 m3/s presented a
disruption to persistent habitat, which was the intent of the experiment. The longest
uninterrupted period of persistent habitat for YOY fish was 3 months. YOY fish that entered the
mainstem in mid-July (for example, humpback chub) had a shorter exposure to persistent habitat.
Achieving effective high-magnitude discharges for ecological experiments is a challenge in a
regulated system. The presence of a dam restricts discharge magnitude, and delivery agreements
among States further restricts annual and monthly volumes releases.
A change in flow magnitude is the most common element associated with regulation, and
fish appear to be sensitive to this variable. The spring discharge magnitudes during the LSSF
experiment were only 25 percent greater than the average MLFFs in the 1990s and 78 percent
less than the average predam spring discharge. The changes in discharge associated with the
experimental hydrograph likely were too small compared to standard operations to observe a
response by fish. The bulk of YOY fish enter the mainstem from tributaries in the summer
months, with humpback chub YOY entering the mainstem primarily in association with
monsoons that typically begin in July. Trying to affect life stages (for example, spawning and larval development) that primarily are associated with tributaries that have retained their hydrology by altering mainstem volumes may be minimally effective. Instead, developing experimental flows that can target YOY life stages directly affected by mainstem hydrology and temperatures may be more informative. In contrast to experiments involving large volume
releases that can often only be of short-duration, lower volume releases may be more attainable
and allow testing of hypotheses about limiting factors in endangered fish species survival in the
mainstem.
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Vegetation Response to Low Steady Summer Flow Experiment
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The LSSF hydrograph supported tamarisk seedling establishment, as the high-sustained spring flows scoured shorelines and the habitat maintenance
flow transported tamarisk seeds. The reduced summer hydrograph exposed open shorelines and
resulted in a proliferation of tamarisk seedlings along the scoured shorelines. The September
habitat maintenance flow reduced tamarisk seedling densities associated with later season
germination; those individuals that first established in June likely persisted.
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Effects of the Low Steady Summer Flow Experiment on Campsite Area, Rafting Safety and Travel Time, and Overall Recreational Experience
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The experimental hydrograph affected recreational users and businesses. The low-discharge part of the hydrograph,
with reduced water velocity, increased travel time for whitewater rafting, reduced time spent at attraction sites, increased the availability of low-water camps, and initially increased the number of boating accidents at rapids. However, the recreational experience that includes these elements
and participants’ perceptions likely were affected little by the experimental hydrograph.
Financial costs to the downstream commercial rafting industry included repair and replacement
of equipment damaged by exposed rocks and customer refunds associated with trip evacuations
because of stranding in rapids.
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Effect of the Low Steady Summer Flow Experiment on Angling Quality in the Lees Ferry Trout Fishery
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Commercial fishing guides in Lees Ferry lost business during the
habitat maintenance flows because they could not access desired fishing locales.
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Financial Costs Associated with the Low Summer Steady Flow Experiment
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Federal power users incurred increased financial costs because the experiment occurred when higher than
normal daily market prices had to be paid to supplement power needs. Reallocating water
delivery to other months and in the subsequent water year (12 month delivery of water delivery
from October to the end of September) to accommodate the hydrograph also increased costs to
power users. The timing of the 2000 LSSF experiment was coincident with the onset of a
drought in the American Southwest, an energy crisis in California, and market manipulation by
energy suppliers that collectively affected daily market prices for power translated to increased costs of approximately $26.4 million to power users.
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Management Implications Associated with the Low Steady Summer Flow Experiment
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The 2000 LSSF experiment was the first seasonally based experiment using Glen Canyon
Dam releases that focused on biological resources, primarily humpback chub and other native
fish. Implementing such an ecosystem-scale experiment created an opportunity to learn about
resource responses and identify flaws and barriers that limit experimental success. The short amount of time available for planning and implementation and the lack of long-term monitoring were apparent flaws of the 2000 LSSF experiment. Future experiments would benefit from
sufficient planning, long-term monitoring, and testable hypotheses for resource responses that
can be measured and are appropriate for the duration of the experiment. Future experiments
would also benefit from publishing results and findings in peer-reviewed reports and journal
articles that can be summarized for stakeholder use in a timely fashion. Reports by cooperators
who collected and analyzed data are the first step in the process of incorporating knowledge but
not the final step. Having citable literature, which can be incorporated into future experimental
efforts, is critical to building a solid, peer-reviewed basis for documenting results and furthering
experimental planning and decision making by resource managers.
Basin hydrology and reservoir elevations greatly affect experimental capacity in the
Colorado River downstream from Glen Canyon Dam. Taking advantage of unexpected sediment
inputs to the system or increased water temperatures because of reduced inflows and associated
reservoir elevations can be used to advance the understanding of how manipulated flow variables
benefit downstream resources. If experiments were approached opportunistically, flexibility also
would need to extend to administrative tasks associated with launch schedules, collection
permits, and use of motorized equipment.
Experimental flexibility necessitates the implementation of long-term monitoring that
provides a consistent data stream for long-term resource response. Immediate measures of
response may be meaningless in the longer term, particularly for long-lived species, if consistent
monitoring is absent after the experiment. A lack of response observed for 1 year may not mean
the treatment was ineffective. Multiple years of data collection may be necessary for a response
to be measurable or understood.
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Papers and Presentations
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Other Stuff
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- 2000 LSSF Report, Page 33: The results from Korman and others (2004) report suggest YOY fish might benefit more from a low steady flow period that started later in the summer season, such as August. The delayed timing might benefit YOY fishes entering the mainstem from tributaries during monsoon flooding. The resulting reduction in base flow in August compared to MLFF could provide maximum shoreline habitats coupled with warmer water released from Lake Powell (fig. 2-1; Vernieu and others, 2005) and greater ambient air temperatures (Wright and others, 2008; see link for Temperature). For more information on the development of an experiment to test fall steady flows, go to the link for the 2009-2012 Fall Steady Flow Experiment.
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