Controlled Flooding of the Colorado River in Grand Canyon: the Rationale and Data-Collection Planned

Controlled flooding of the Colorado River by releases from Glen Canyon Dam has been proposed as a way to manage sediment and other resources in the Grand Canyon. Floods are a natural occurrence of rivers and, in the case of the Colorado River, the architect of the Grand Canyon landscape. Scientists have proposed a controlled flood in response to resource managers' request for ways to restore some of the pre-dam resource conditions. Floods are expected to suspend sand moved to the river bottom by lower flows and deposit it along the river banks where it will be above water after the flood recedes. In this way, the limited sand resources can be utilized to preserve habitat for plants and animals and for use by river runners and campers. Because some effects of a clear water flood from Glen Canyon Dam are uncertain, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the Bureau of Reclamation and the National Park Service, has planned a short period of controlled flooding to provide in