| Description |
A General Management Plan (GMP) for Glen Canyon National Recreation Area was prepared during the period 1973 - 1979 and was approved on November 21, 1979, after it and an accompanying final environmental statement (FES 79-23) had been released to the public. That Plan called for the preparation of a resources management plan to consist of four resource components: cultural, natural, grazing, and mineral. This report is about the management of mineral resources within the Recreation Area and is derived from its GMP. Created by the Glen Canyon Dam (completed in 1964) and authorized by the Colorado River Storage Project Act of April 11, 1956 (P.L. 84-485), Lake Powell exists primarily for the purposes of river regulation, irrigation, flood control, and generation of hydroelectric power. "To provide for public outdoor recreation use and enjoyment of Lake Powell and lands adjacent thereto...and to preserve scenic, scientific, and historic features contributing to public enjoyment of the area," Congress established the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area in 1972 (P.L. 92-593--Appendix 1), to be administered by the National Park Service (NPS). This act specifies that "nothing...shall affect or interfere with the authority of the Secretary...to operate Glen Canyon dam and reservoir" for the purposes of the Colorado River Storage Project Act, the achievement of which is the responsibility of the Water and Power Resources Service (formerly the Bureau of Reclamation). This act also specifies that "the administration of mineral and grazing leases within the Recreation Area shall be by the Bureau of Land Management. The same policy followed by the Bureau of Land Management in issuing and administering mineral and grazing leases on other lands under its jurisdiction shall be followed in regard to the lands within the boundaries of the Recreation Area subject to the...(finding) that such...would not have significant adverse affects...on the administration of the National Recreation Area (and) the conservation and management of natural resources..." |
