GCDAMP ADMINISTRATION

Glen Canyon Dam Adaptive Management Program (GCDAMP)

Due to the significant levels of uncertainty surrounding the resources of the Colorado River ecosystem and the effects of dam operations on those resources, the Glen Canyon Dam Environmental Impact Statement stipulated an adaptive management approach. This approach allows for scientific experimentation that adds to the knowledge base of effects of the operation of Glen Canyon Dam, primarily on downstream resources, and results in the development of recommendations to the Secretary of the Interior regarding additional operational changes. The adaptive management approach being taken to manage Glen Canyon Dam operations and the resources affected by dam operations is as follows:

• The Adaptive Management Program focus is on the Colorado River ecosystem;
• Models are developed to reveal the potential effects of policies, activities, or practices that are being considered for implementation;
• Questions are formulated as testable hypotheses regarding the expected responses or linkages of the Colorado River ecosystem to dam operations and other management actions;
• Questions are formulated as testable hypotheses;
• Experiments are conducted to test hypotheses and answer questions;
• Management activities reveal, through monitoring and evaluation of results, the accuracy or completeness of the earlier predictions; and
• New knowledge and information produced through experimentation are incorporated into management discussions and recommendations to the Secretary of the Interior. [1]

The Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt, created the Glen Canyon Dam Adaptive Management Program (GCDAMP) in response to the 1995 Environmental Impact Statement on the Operations of Glen Canyon Dam. The GCDAMP is responsible for implementation of the Grand Canyon Protection Act of 1992, to monitor the operation of Glen Canyon Dam, to ensure the dam is operated in compliance with a range of laws and regulations regarding the operation of the Colorado River Basin Project, and mitigate any significant environmental impacts. This program is considered to be one of the most successful examples of adaptive management in the country.

What is Adaptive Management?

Adaptive management has gained widespread acceptance in resource management since Holling (1978) developed the concept. Lee (1993:9) defines adaptive management with a simple imperative: “policies are experiments; learn from them.” Other characteristics (as described by Nyberg 1998; Walters 1986; Taylor et al. 1997) include:

• A focus on ecosystems;
• Experimentation and manipulation of managed ecosystems;
• A time scale based on the biological generation or longer;
• Acknowledgement of uncertainty about what policy or practice is best for a particular management issue;
• Careful implementation of a plan of action designed to reveal the critical knowledge;
• Monitoring of key response indicators;
• Analysis of outcomes in consideration of original objectives; and
• Incorporation of results into future decisions. [2]

Organizations and Positions Within the Glen Canyon Dam Adaptive Management Program

The GCDAMP is comprised of a variety of stakeholders with disparate interests in the resource. They range from federal and state agencies, Native American Indian Tribes, the Colorado River Basin States, electrical utility consortia, recreational groups, and environmental groups. The Adaptive Management Work Group (AMWG) strives for balance and consensus on how to protect downstream resources in their recommendations to the Secretary of Interior through the Secretary's Designee on the operation of the dam.

The Technical Work Group (TWG) is comprised of technical representatives from each group represented by AMWG and performs tasks assigned by that group. Tasks include, developing criteria and standards for monitoring and research programs, providing periodic reviews and updates, developing resource management questions for the design of monitoring and research by the Grand Canyon Monitoring and Research Center (GCMRC) and providing information for preparing annual resource reports and other reports for the AMWG. GCMRC is dedicated to providing credible, objective scientific information to the GCDAMP through the TWG on the effects of operating Glen Canyon Dam and other management actions on the downstream resources of the Colorado River ecosystem.

This work is reviewed by Independent Review Panels overseen by the Science Advisors program, as called for in the Glen Canyon Dam Environmental Impact Statement (Reclamation 1995:38), are comprised of qualified individuals not otherwise participating in the long-term monitoring and research studies. The panels include peer reviewers, science advisors, and protocol evaluation panels whose primary responsibility is to assess the quality of research, monitoring, or science being conducted by the Adaptive Management Program and to make recommendations to improve it.

Summary of the Glen Canyon Dam Adaptive Management Program

The Adaptive Management Program was developed and designed to provide an organization and process for a collaborative, science-based integration of monitoring and research information to make formal recommendations to the Secretary of the Interior. These recommendations must recognize the environmental commitments of the Glen Canyon Dam Environmental Impact Statement and Record of Decision, and comply with the Grand Canyon Protection Act. The Adaptive Management Program must also remain in compliance with the Law of the River and relevant environmental statutes, regulations, and policies. With all these demands, the Adaptive Management Work Group devised a vision and mission statement and principles to guide its activities and decision making. [3]