Skip Links

USGS - science for a changing world

U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2010-5135

Grand Canyon Monitoring and Research Center

Proceedings of the Colorado River Basin Science and Resource Management Symposium, November 18–20, 2008, Scottsdale, Arizona

Coming Together: Coordination of Science and Restoration Activities for the Colorado River Ecosystem

Edited by Theodore S. Melis, John F. Hamill, Glenn E. Bennett, Lewis G. Coggins, Jr., Paul E. Grams, Theodore A. Kennedy, Dennis M. Kubly, and Barbara E. Ralston

Thumbnail of report cover

Introduction

Since the 1980s, four major science and restoration programs have been developed for the Colorado River Basin to address primarily the conservation of native fish and other wildlife pursuant to the Endangered Species Act (ESA): (1) Recovery Implementation Program for Endangered Fish Species in the Upper Colorado River Basin (commonly called the Upper Colorado River Endangered Fish Recovery Program) (1988); (2) San Juan River Basin Recovery Implementation Program (1992); (3) Glen Canyon Dam Adaptive Management Program (1997); and (4) Lower Colorado River Multi-Species Conservation Program (2005).

Today, these four programs, the efforts of which span the length of the Colorado River, have an increasingly important influence on water management and resource conservation in the basin. The four efforts involve scores of State, Federal, and local agencies; Native American Tribes; and diverse stakeholder representatives. The programs have many commonalities, including similar and overlapping goals and objectives; comparable resources and threats to those resources; and common monitoring, research, and restoration strategies. In spite of their commonalities, until recently there had been no formal opportunity for information exchange among the programs. To address this situation, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) worked in coordination with the four programs and numerous Federal and State agencies to organize the first Colorado River Basin Science and Resource Management Symposium, which took place in Scottsdale, AZ, in November 2008. The symposium's primary purpose was to promote an exchange of information on research and management activities related to the restoration and conservation of the Colorado River and its major tributaries.

A total of 283 managers, scientists, and stakeholders attended the 3-day symposium, which included 87 presentations and 27 posters. The symposium featured plenary talks by experts on a variety of topics, including overviews of the four restoration programs, water-management actions aimed at restoring native fish habitat, climate change, assessments of the status of native and nonnative fish populations, and Native American perspectives. Intermixed with plenary talks were four concurrent technical sessions that addressed the following important topics: (1) effects of dam and reservoir operations on downstream physical and biological resources; (2) native fish propagation and genetic management and associated challenges in co-managing native and nonnative fish in the Colorado River; (3) monitoring program design, case studies, and links to management; and (4) riparian system restoration, monitoring, and exotic species control efforts.

For additional information contact:
Theodore S. Melis, Physical Scientist
U.S. Geological Survey
Southwest Biological Science Center
Grand Canyon Monitoring and Research Center
Flagstaff, AZ 86001
http://www.gcmrc.gov/

This report is presented in Portable Document Format (PDF); the latest version of Adobe Reader or similar software is required to view it. Download the latest version of Adobe Reader, free of charge.


Suggested citation:

Melis, T.S., Hamill, J.F., Bennett, G.E., Coggins, L.G., Jr., Grams, P.E., Kennedy, T.A., Kubly, D.M., and Ralston, B.E., eds., 2010, Proceedings of the Colorado River Basin Science and Resource Management Symposium, November 18–20, 2008, Scottsdale, Arizona: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2010–5135, 372 p.



Contents

Executive Summary: Future Challenges for Science and Resource Management of the Colorado River by John F. Hamill

Plenary Sessions

Colorado River Basin Science and Resource Management Symposium, November 18–20, 2008, Scottsdale, Arizona by Kameran A. Onley

Overview of the Colorado River Basin Collaborative Management Programs by David Campbell, Scott Durst, Angela T. Kantola, Dennis M. Kubly, Robert T. Muth, John Swett, and Sharon Whitmore

Changing the Law-Science Paradigm for Colorado River Restoration by Robert W. Adler

A Watershed Perspective of Changes in Streamflow, Sediment Supply, and Geomorphology of the Colorado River by John C. Schmidt

Water Management for River Conservation: Lessons From Outside of the Colorado River Basin for Moving From Sites to Systems by Christopher P. Konrad

In-Stream Flow Management: Past, Current, and Future Operation of Upper Colorado River Reservoirs by Thomas Ryan

In an Era of Changing Climate—Description of Interim Guidelines for Lake Powell and Lake Mead by Terry Fulp, Carly Jerla, and Russell Callejo

Sustainability and River Restoration in the Colorado River Basin: A Climate Perspective by Katharine L. Jacobs

Aquatic Production and Carbon Flow in the Colorado River by Robert O. Hall, Jr., Theodore A. Kennedy, Emma J. Rosi Marshall, Wyatt F. Cross, Holly A. Wellard, and Colden F. Baxter

An Overview of the Spread, Distribution, and Ecological Impacts of the Quagga Mussel, Dreissena rostriformis bugensis, with Possible Implications to the Colorado River System by Thomas F. Nalepa

Economic Values for National Park System Resources Within the Colorado River Watershed by John W. Duffield, Chris J. Neher, and David A. Patterson

Confluence of Values: The Role of Science and Native Americans in the Glen Canyon Dam Adaptive Management Program by Kurt E. Dongoske, Loretta Jackson-Kelly, and Charley Bulletts

The Promise and Peril of Collaboration in the Colorado River Basin by Kirk Emerson

Technical Papers

Effects of Experimental Ramping Rate on the Invertebrate Community of a Regulated River by Karen E. Smokorowski

Projecting Temperature in Lake Powell and the Glen Canyon Dam Tailrace by Nicholas T. Williams

Bed Incision and Channel Adjustment of the Colorado River in Glen Canyon National Recreation Area Downstream from Glen Canyon Dam by Paul E. Grams, John C. Schmidt, and David J. Topping

Water Velocity of the Colorado River: Implications for Native Fishes by Christopher S. Magirl and Matthew E. Andersen

Entrainment of Semi-Buoyant Beads as a Surrogate for Larval Razorback Sucker, Xyrauchen texanus, into Flood-Plain Wetlands of the Middle Green River, Utah by Trina N. Hedrick, Kevin R. Bestgen, and Kevin D. Christopherson

How Has Over-Allocating the Colorado River Affected Species in the Gulf of California? by Kirsten Rowell and David L. Dettman

Salinity Tolerances for Egg and Larval Stages of Razorback Sucker by James R. Stolberg and Michael J. Horn

Effectiveness of the Barrier-and-Renovate Approach to Recovery of Warmwater Native Fishes in the Gila River Basin by Robert W. Clarkson and Paul C. Marsh

Evaluating Effects of a High-Flow Event on Rainbow Trout Movement in Glen and Marble Canyons, Arizona, by Using Acoustic Telemetry and Relative Abundance Measures by Kara D. Hilwig and Andy S. Makinster

Mechanical Removal of Nonnative Fish in the Colorado River Within Grand Canyon by Lewis G. Coggins, Jr., and Michael D. Yard

Fish Management in National Park Units Along the Colorado River by Melissa Trammell

Bat Monitoring at Habitat Creation Areas as Part of the Lower Colorado River Multi-Species Conservation Program by Allen W. Calvert, Susan C. Broderick, and Theresa M. Olson

Little Colorado River Lower 1,200-Meter Long-Term Fish Monitoring, 1987–2008 by Brian C. Clark, William R. Persons, and David L. Ward

The Humpback Chub of Grand Canyon by David R. Van Haverbeke

Razorback Sucker Population Status in Lake Mohave: Monitoring, Database, Analysis, and Repatriation Program Optimization by Carol A. Pacey, Brian R. Kesner, Paul C. Marsh, and Abraham P. Karam

Colorado River Campsite Monitoring, 1998–2006, Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona by Matt Kaplinski, Joseph E. Hazel, Jr., and Rod Parnell

Water Use by Riparian Plants on the Lower Colorado River by Pamela L. Nagler and Edward P. Glenn

Causes, Management, and the Future of Exotic Riparian Plant Invasion in Canyon de Chelly National Monument, Arizona by Lindsay V. Reynolds and David J. Cooper

Geologic Considerations for the Placement and Design of Backwater Restoration Sites Along the Lower Colorado River by D.V. Malmon, T.J. Felger, and K.A. Howard

Ecosystem Restoration—Alamo Lake and the Bill Williams River by William E. Werner

Posters

Aeolian Reworking of Sandbars from the March 2008 Glen Canyon Dam High-Flow Experiment in Grand Canyon by Amy E. Draut, Joseph E. Hazel Jr., Helen C. Fairley, and Christopher R. Brown

Applying an Ecosystem Framework to Evaluate Archaeological Site Condition Along the Colorado River in Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona by Helen C. Fairley and Hoda Sondossi

The Development of Two Portable and Remote Scanning Systems for PIT Tagged Fish in Lentic Environments by Brian R. Kesner, Jon R. Nelson, Michael K. Fell, Guillermo Ley, and Paul C. Marsh

Using Changes in Bed-Surface Grain Size as a Proxy for Changes in Bed Sand Storage, Colorado River, Grand Canyon by Robert Tusso, David M. Rubin, David J. Topping, Hank Chezar, and Michael Breedlove

Use of Specific Conductance in Estimating Salinity and as a Natural Tracer of Water Parcels in the Colorado River Between Glen Canyon Dam and Diamond Creek, Northern Arizona by Nicholas Voichick and David J. Topping

Mapping Full-Channel Geometry in Grand Canyon by Using Airborne Bathymetric Lidar: The Lees Ferry Test Case by Philip A. Davis and Theodore S. Melis


Accessibility FOIA Privacy Policies and Notices

Take Pride in America logo USA.gov logo U.S. Department of the Interior | U.S. Geological Survey
URL: http://pubsdata.usgs.gov/pubs/sir/2010/5135/index.html
Page Contact Information: USGS Publications Team
Page Last Modified: Thursday, 10-Jan-2013 19:12:54 EST