U.S. Department of the Interior

U.S. Geological Survey

GCMRC FY 2021-23 Triennial 

Workplan and Budget – First Draft

Technical Work Group Meeting

April 15-16, 2020

Scott VanderKooi

Southwest Biological Science Center

Grand Canyon Monitoring and Research Center
LTEMP Implementation

Resource Areas to be Evaluated and 

Considered Before Any Experiment

Objectives And Resource Goals Of The 

LTEMP

Water Quality and Water Delivery Archaeological and Cultural Resources

Humpback Chub Natural Processes

Sediment Humpback Chub

Riparian Ecosystems Hydropower and Energy

Historic Properties and Traditional Cultural 

Properties Other Native Fish

Hydropower Production and WAPA’s Assessment 

of the Status of the Basin Fund Recreational Experience

Rainbow Trout Fishery Sediment

Recreation Tribal Resources

Other Resources Rainbow Trout Fishery

Nonnative Invasive Species

Tribal Concerns/Resources Riparian Vegetation
FY2020

Funding $9,088,000

Geophysical sciences 24%

Vegetation & effects of 

management 11%

Aquatic and fish science 46%

Socioeconomics 3%

GIS and remote sensing 2%

Administration and 

support 14%
Potential Allocation of FY2021 

budget based on initial 

GCMRC/agency assessment of 

stakeholder interests, scientific 

issues, and monitoring 

mandates in support of LTEMP 

implementation

Streamflow, Water 

Quality, and 

Sediment Transport

Sandbar and 

Sediment Storage 

Monitoring and 

Research

Riparian Vegetation

Effects of Dam 

Operations and 

Vegetation 

Management on 

Archaeological Sites

Nutrients, Flow, and 

Temperature as 

Ecosystem Drivers

Aquatic Invertebrate 

Ecology Humpback Chub 

Monitoring and Research

Salmonid 

Monitoring and 

Research

Invasive Aquatic 

Species

Socioeconomic 

Research

Geospatial Science, 

Data Management, 

and Technology

Overflight Remote 

Sensing

Administration

Hydropower 

Monitoring and 

Research

Geophysical sciences 23%

Vegetation & effects of 

management 6%

Aquatic and fish science 41%

Socioeconomics 2%

GIS and remote sensing 14%

Administration and 

support 14%
Proportions remain relatively 

unchanged for potential 

allocations in FY2022 and 

FY2023 (FY2023 shown)

Streamflow, Water 

Quality, and Sediment 

Sandbar and 

Sediment Storage 

Riparian Vegetation

Effects of Dam Operations 

and Vegetation 

Management on 

Archaeological Sites

Nutrients, Flow, and 

Temperature as Ecosystem 

Drivers

Humpback Chub Aquatic Invertebrate Ecology

Monitoring and Research

Salmonid Monitoring 

and Research

Invasive Aquatic 

Species

Socioeconomic 

Research

Geospatial Science, 

Data Management, 

and Technology

Overflight Remote 

Sensing

Administration

Hydropower 

Monitoring and 

Research

Geophysical sciences 25%

Vegetation & effects of 

management 7%

Aquatic and fish science 42%

Socioeconomics 2%

GIS and remote sensing 8%

Administration and 

support 16%
Potential Allocation of 

FY2021 budget 

proportions by general 

categories

Salaries

Operating Expenses Travel & Training

Logistics

Cooperators

(non-USGS)

USGS

Cooperators

USGS Burden

Categories

Salaries 47%

Travel & Training 1%

Operating Expenses 11%

Logistics 12%

Cooperators (non-USGS) 15%

USGS Cooperators 4%

USGS Burden 10%

Burden rates:

USGS – 14%

Pass through – 3%

Sub-allocation – 0%
Potential Allocation of 

FY2023 budget 

proportions by general 

categories

Proportions are relatively similar 

for FY2022 and FY2023, with a 

slight increase in burden rate in 

FY2023

Salaries

Operating Expenses Travel & Training

Logistics

Cooperators

(non-USGS)

USGS

Cooperators

USGS Burden

Categories

Salaries 46%

Travel & Training 1%

Operating Expenses 5%

Logistics 12%

Cooperators (non-USGS) 14%

USGS Cooperators 4%

USGS Burden 18%

Burden rates:

USGS – 28%

Pass through – 3%

Sub-allocation – 0%
Streamflow, Water Quality, and Sediment Transport and 

Budgeting in the Colorado River Ecosystem

Project Elements

1. Stream gaging and hydrologic analyses

2. Water quality

3. Sediment transport and budgeting

4. HFE monitoring (Experimental Fund)

LTEMP Resource Areas:

• Water Quality and 

Water Delivery

• Sediment

• Natural Processes

FY18: $1,230,000

FY19: $1,201,000

FY20: $1,280,000

FY21: $1,270,000*

FY22: $1,394,000*

FY23: $1,468,000*

(*Provisional estimates, subject to revision)
Sandbar and Sediment Storage 

Monitoring and Research

Project Elements

1. Monitoring sandbars using topographic surveys 

and remote cameras

2. Bathymetric and topographic mapping for 

monitoring long-term trends in sediment storage

3. Control network and survey support

4. Bank erosion, bed sedimentation, and channel 

change in the Colorado R. arm of the Lake Mead 

Delta in Grand Canyon

5. Streamflow modeling

6-9. Sandbar and riverbed response to experimental 

actions (Experimental Fund)

FY18: $1,039,000

FY19: $1,050,000

FY20: $1,015,000

FY21: $1,281,000*

FY22: $1,197,000*

FY23: $1,371,000*

LTEMP Resource Areas:

• Sediment

• Archaeological and 

Cultural Resources

• Natural Processes

(*Provisional estimates, subject to revision) • Recreational Experience
Riparian Vegetation 

Monitoring and Research

Project Elements

1. Ground-based riparian vegetation monitoring

2. Mechanistic experiments with plant species 

of interest

3. Predictive modeling of vegetation responses 

to dam operations

4. Vegetation management decision support

LTEMP Resource Areas:

• Riparian Vegetation

• Natural Processes

• Recreational Experience

FY18: $585,000

FY19: $515,000

FY20: $515,000

FY21: $345,000*

FY22: $395,000*

FY23: $405,000*

(*Provisional estimates, subject to revision)
Effects of Dam Operations and Vegetation 

Management for Archaeological Sites

Project Elements

1. Dam operations, vegetation management, archaeological sites

2. Monitoring landscape-scale ecosystem change with repeat photography

3. Cultural Program Administrative History

4. Holocene Map of Fluvial Sediment in the Colorado River Corridor

LTEMP Resource Areas:

• Sediment

• Riparian Vegetation

• Archaeological and Cultural 

Resources

• Natural Processes

FY18: $262,000

FY19: $269,000

FY20: $284,000

FY21: $349,000*

FY22: $359,000*

FY23: $363,000*

(*Provisional estimates, subject to revision)
Controls on Ecosystem Productivity: 

Nutrients, Flow, and Temperature

Project Elements

1. Phosphorus budgeting in the Colorado River

Identify the relative importance of different phosphorus sources to the 

productivity of the Colorado River system

2. Rates and composition of primary producers in the Colorado River

Identify patterns and controls on primary productivity in the Colorado River

3. Productivity at higher trophic levels

Fish metabolism and ecosystem modeling

LTEMP Resource Areas:

• Water Quality and Water Delivery

• Other Resources (Food Base)

• Natural Processes

FY18: $343,000

FY19: $254,000

FY20: $284,000

FY21: $481,000*

FY22: $499,000*

FY23: $509,000*

(*Provisional estimates, subject to revision)
Aquatic Invertebrate Ecology 

(Food Base)

Project Elements

1. Aquatic invertebrate monitoring in Marble and Grand Canyons

2. Aquatic invertebrate monitoring in Glen Canyon

3. Aquatic invertebrate monitoring of Grand Canyon tributaries 

4. Fish diet studies

5. Spring powerplant capacity flow (Experimental Fund)

LTEMP Resource Areas:

• Other Resources (Food Base)

• Natural Processes

FY18: $771,000

FY19: $746,000

FY20: $718,000

FY21: $797,000*

FY22: $807,000*

FY23: $820,000*

(*Provisional estimates, subject to revision)
Humpback Chub Population Dynamics 

Throughout the Colorado River

Project Elements

1. Humpback chub population monitoring

2. Annual spring/fall abundance estimates of humpback chub 

in the lower 13.6 km of the LCR

3. Juvenile Chub Monitoring near the LCR Confluence

4. Remote PIT Tag Array Monitoring in the LCR

5. Monitoring Humpback Chub Aggregation Relative 

Abundance and Distribution

6. Juvenile Humpback Chub Monitoring – West

7. Chute Falls Translocations

8. Backwater Seining

9. Assessing yearly variability in humpback chub hatch dates

LTEMP Resource Areas:

• Humpback Chub

• Natural Processes

FY18: $1,506,000

FY19: $1,637,000

FY20: $1,632,000

FY21: $1,780,000*

FY22: $2,012,000*

FY23: $1,956,000*

(*Provisional estimates, subject to revision)
Salmonid Research and Monitoring

Project Elements

1. Rainbow Trout Monitoring in Glen Canyon 

2. Trout Reproductive and Growth Dynamics

3. Brown Trout early life history stages in Glen Canyon

4. Salmonid modelling

LTEMP Resource Areas:

• Rainbow Trout Fishery

• Humpback Chub

• Nonnative Invasive 

Species

• Recreational Experience

• Natural Processes

FY18: $683,000

FY19: $717,000

FY20: $667,000

FY21: $828,000*

FY22: $785,000*

FY23: $754,000* (*Provisional estimates, subject to revision)
Warm-water Native and Non-Native 

Fish Monitoring and Research

Project Elements

1. System-wide native fish and invasive 

aquatic species monitoring

2. Invasion and colonization dynamics of 

warm-water invasive fishes

3. Impacts of channel catfish on native fish 

in the Little Colorado River

LTEMP Resource Areas:

• Nonnative Invasive 

Species

• Recreational Experience

• Natural Processes FY18: $557,000

FY19: $581,000

FY20: $598,000

FY21: $619,000*

FY22: $730,000*

FY23: $725,000*

(*Provisional estimates, subject to revision)
Socioeconomic Research

Project Elements

1. Predictive Models for Adaptive Management 

2. Brown Trout Incentivized Harvest 

3. Recreation Monitoring and Research 

LTEMP Resource Areas:

• Humpback Chub

• Sediment

• Nonnative Invasive Species

• Recreational Experience

FY18: $281,000

FY19: $237,000

FY20: $243,000

FY21: $187,000*

FY22: $222,000*

FY23: $228,000* (*Provisional estimates, subject to revision)
Hydropower Monitoring and Research

Project Elements

1. The Economic Impact of Electrical Production at Glen 

Canyon Dam: Hydropower’s Role in Facilitating Renewable 

Energy Integration and Mitigating Emissions

LTEMP Resource Areas:

• Hydropower and Energy

FY18: $11,000

FY19: $12,000

FY20: $13,000

FY21: $61,000*

FY22: $23,000*

FY23: $10,000*

(*Provisional estimates, subject to revision)
Geospatial Science, Data 

Management and Technology

Project Elements

1. Enterprise GIS, geospatial analysis and processing

2. Data management and database administration 

3. Remote monitoring and advanced technology support

FY18: $302,000

FY19: $274,000

FY20: $320,000

FY21: $543,000*

FY22: $542,000*

FY23: $574,000*

(*Provisional estimates, subject to revision)
Remote Sensing Overflight in Support of 

Long Term Monitoring and LTEMP

Project Elements

1. Overflight Remote Sensing

FY18: $75,000

FY19: $75,000

FY20: $75,000

FY21: $1,005,000*

FY22: $339,000*

FY23: $374,000*

(*Provisional estimates, subject to revision)
Administration and Support

Project Elements

1. Salaries

Leadership

Program managers

Support staff

Logistics staff

2. Travel and training

3. Vehicle costs

4. IT supplies and support

FY18: $1,375,000

FY19: $1,356,000

FY20: $1,444,000

FY21: $1,505,000*

FY22: $1,674,000*

FY23: $1,763,000*

(*Provisional estimates, subject to revision)
Lake Powell Water Quality*

Project Elements

1. Description of water-quality 

status and trends in Lake 

Powell and Glen Canyon Dam 

releases

2. Documentation of historical 

record of Lake Powell waterquality conditions

FY18: $197,000

FY19: $208,000

FY20: $212,000

FY21: $219,000**

FY22: $224,000**

*Not Funded by the GCDAMP

(**Provisional estimates, subject to revision)
Proposed FY2021-23 Triennial Workplan

(Amounts rounded to 

nearest $1,000)

(*All estimates are provisional, subject to revision)
Questions?