Strategic Plan 

Glen Canyon Dam 

Adaptive Management Program 

Approved January 17, 2002 

by the Glen Canyon Dam Adaptive Management Work Group

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Technical Work Group 

The Technical Work Group is comprised of technical representatives of Adaptive Management 

Work Group members and operates at the direction of the Adaptive Management Work Group. 

The Technical Work Group’s main function is to provide technical assistance to the Adaptive 

Management Work Group. Technical Work Group functions may include (Reclamation 

1995:37): 

• Developing, with the Grand Canyon Monitoring and Research Center, criteria and standards for 

monitoring and research programs and providing periodic reviews and updates of these; 

• Developing, with the Grand Canyon Monitoring and Research Center, resource management 

questions (i.e., information needs); 

• Reviewing and commenting on the scientific studies conducted or proposed by the program; 

• Provide a forum for discussion by Technical Work Group members, external scientists, the public, 

and other interested persons; 

• Providing information as necessary for preparing annual resource reports and other reports as required 

by the Adaptive Management Work Group; and 

• Reviewing strategic plans, annual work plans, long-term and annual budgets, and other assignments 

from the Adaptive Management Work Group. 

Grand Canyon Monitoring and Research Center 

The Grand Canyon Monitoring and Research Center was created to fulfill the mandate in the 

Grand Canyon Protection Act for the “establishment and implementation of a long-term 

monitoring and research program to ensure that Glen Canyon Dam is operated in a manner that 

protects the values for which the Grand Canyon National Park and the Glen Canyon National 

Recreation Area were created.” The Grand Canyon Monitoring and Research Center serves as 

the science center for the Glen Canyon Dam Adaptive Management Program. The Grand 

Canyon Monitoring and Research Center leads the monitoring and research of the Colorado 

River ecosystem and facilitates communication and information exchange between scientists and 

members of the Technical Work Group and Adaptive Management Work Group. Other 

functions of the Grand Canyon Monitoring and Research Center are: 

• Advocate quality, objective science, and the use of that science in the adaptive management decision 

process; 

• Provide scientific information about resources in the Colorado River ecosystem; 

• Support the Secretary of the Interior’s Designee and the Adaptive Management Work Group in a 

technical advisory role; 

• Develop research designs and proposals for implementing (by the Grand Canyon Monitoring and 

Research Center or its contractors) monitoring and research activities in support of information needs; 

• Coordinate review of the monitoring and research program with independent review panels; 

• Coordinate, prepare, and distribute technical reports and documentation for review and as final 

products; 

• Prepare and forward technical management recommendations and annual reports, as specified in 

Section 1804 of the Grand Canyon Protect Act, to the Technical Work Group; 

• Manage data collected as part of the Adaptive Management Program and serve as a repository for 

other information about the Colorado River ecosystem; 

• Administer research proposals through a competitive contract process, as appropriate; 

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• Develop, with the Technical Work Group, criteria and standards for monitoring and research 

programs; and 

• Develop, with the Technical Work Group, resource management questions (i.e., information needs). 

• Produce the State of the Colorado River Ecosystem Report. 

Independent Review Panels 

Independent Review Panels, 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. Responsibilities of the 

panels include: 

• Reviewing Glen Canyon Dam Adaptive Management Program monitoring and research programs and 

protocols; 

• Providing reports based on their review to the Grand Canyon Monitoring and Research Center, 

Technical Work Group, and Adaptive Management Work Group; 

• Making recommendations and providing advice to the Adaptive Management Work Group, Technical 

Work Group, and Grand Canyon Monitoring and Research Center regarding science activities; 

• Assessing proposed research plans and programs, technical reports and publications, and other 

program accomplishments; and 

• Conducting five-year reviews of Grand Canyon Monitoring and Research Center monitoring and 

research protocols. 

 History of the Glen Canyon Dam Adaptive Management Program 

This strategic plan and the Glen Canyon Dam Adaptive Management Program cannot be 

understood without referencing key events since completion of Glen Canyon Dam in 1963. The 

plan and program arose from the Bureau of Reclamation’s proposal to install additional 

generators on the bypass tubes and to rewind and uprate the existing generators at Glen Canyon 

Dam. This proposal resulted in the establishment of the Glen Canyon Environmental Studies 

that existed from 1982 through 1996.

Glen Canyon Environmental Studies 

While the National Park Service, Native Americans, river runners, and scientists had noticed that 

some beaches were disappearing and that plant and animal life along the Colorado River were 

changing since Glen Canyon Dam was completed in 1963, the Glen Canyon Environmental 

Studies program of the Bureau of Reclamation was the first systematic effort to investigate the 

effects of dam operations on downstream resources. The program began in 1982 and lasted 

through 1996. The Glen Canyon Environmental Studies did identify a mix of positive and 

negative consequences of dam operations on the downstream environment. In response to 

substantial public concern over the findings of the Glen Canyon Environmental Studies, in 1989 

the Secretary of the Interior announced that an environmental impact statement would be 

completed to evaluate the operation of Glen Canyon Dam. With this announcement, the Glen 

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Annual Science Plan 

Each year the Grand Canyon Monitoring and Research Center prepares a detailed science 

plan describing the monitoring and research activities proposed for the upcoming year. 

The plan is discussed with the Technical Work Group and the Technical Work Group 

budget ad hoc group in an effort to identify both important monitoring and research 

questions and relative priorities among the scientific activities. The Grand Canyon 

Monitoring and Research Center also consults with the Programmatic Agreement 

signatories to determine if there are any potential effects from the proposed monitoring or 

research activities delineated in the annual science plan. Final recommendation to the 

Secretary of the Interior rests with the Adaptive Management Work Group. 

The annual science plan is critical to the evaluation of the effectiveness of actions taken 

to protect downstream resources. The plan must have a stable and long-term monitoring 

component to address long-term trends. It must also have a research component to 

address new questions that arise through scientific investigations. Finally, it must have 

the statistical rigor required to substantiate its conclusions. The annual work plan will 

include a report on the prior year’s activities. 

Request for Proposal Process 

The Grand Canyon Monitoring and Research Center utilizes a competitive proposal 

solicitation process open to government employees, public sector contractors, and 

universities through an open Request for Proposals process. All Adaptive Management 

Program monitoring and research projects are selected on the basis of their support of 

scientific capability and merit, submission timeliness on previous work (as evaluated 

through an independent, objective, and unbiased peer review process), management 

objectives and information needs, demonstrated capabilities of proposers, and cost 

effectiveness. Following the selection of proposals, appropriate procurement 

mechanisms (i.e., grants, contracts, and cooperative agreements) are utilized for 

supporting selected projects. 

The Grand Canyon Monitoring and Research Center is committed to the use of peer 

review and has peer review guidelines that describe the processes it follows in reviewing 

all Grand Canyon Monitoring and Research Center proposals, programs, publications, 

and other products or deliverables. The guidelines will convey the unambiguous standard 

of scientific objectivity and credibility followed by the Adaptive Management Program. 

In general, following approval by the Adaptive Management Work Group of the longterm monitoring and research strategic plan, an annual monitoring and research program 

will be completed and approved each year in April. After approval of the annual 

monitoring and research plan, Request for Proposals will be issued. Proposals will be 

screened by the program managers for their responsiveness to the Request for Proposals, 

and all qualified proposals will undergo an independent and objective scientific peer 

review. Awards will be made based on the results of peer review, the program manager’s 

evaluation of project relevance, and technical contracting requirements. 

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