Glen Canyon Institute is a non-profit organization founded in 1996 dedicated to the restoration of the Colorado River

Colorado River

The Colorado River , is a river in the Southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico, approximately long, draining a part of the arid regions on the western slope of the Rocky Mountains. The watershed of the Colorado River covers in parts of seven U.S. states and two Mexican states...

 through Glen Canyon

Glen Canyon

Glen Canyon is a canyon that is located in southeastern and south central Utah and northwestern Arizona within the Vermilion Cliffs area. It was carved by the Colorado River....

, which is currently covered by Lake Powell

Lake Powell

Lake Powell is a huge reservoir on the Colorado River, straddling the border between Utah and Arizona . It is the second largest man-made reservoir in the United States behind Lake Mead, storing of water when full...

, a reservoir

Reservoir

A reservoir , artificial lake or dam is used to store water.Reservoirs may be created in river valleys by the construction of a dam or may be built by excavation in the ground or by conventional construction techniques such as brickwork or cast concrete.The term reservoir may also be used to...

 created by Glen Canyon Dam

Glen Canyon Dam

Glen Canyon Dam is a concrete arch dam on the Colorado River in northern Arizona in the United States, just north of Page. The dam was built to provide hydroelectricity and flow regulation from the upper Colorado River Basin to the lower. Its reservoir is called Lake Powell, and is the second...

. Their headquarters are in Salt Lake City.

History

Shortly after its founding, GCI commissioned eight studies on the effects of current Glen Canyon Dam operations as well as issues associated with restoring the canyon, compiling the results in the Citizen's Environmental Assessment. On this scientific basis, the institute dedicated itself to the dismantling of Glen Canyon Dam. They met with little success, but established themselves as a credible organization calling for the end of Lake Powell, a cause which has grown in popularity in recent years. As the lake level has fallen drastically in the last five years because of drought

Drought

A drought is an extended period of months or years when a region notes a deficiency in its water supply. Generally, this occurs when a region receives consistently below average precipitation. It can have a substantial impact on the ecosystem and agriculture of the affected region...

, the institute has shifted more to protecting the revealed landscape, distributing educational materials, and calling the attention of the national press.

Rationale

GCI maintains that the current protocols with regard to Lake Powell are environmentally damaging and wasteful.

The drought has also prompted several new rationale for draining Lake Powell; for instance, to save Lake Mead

Lake Mead

Lake Mead is the largest reservoir in the United States. It is located on the Colorado River about southeast of Las Vegas, Nevada, in the states of Nevada and Arizona. Formed by water impounded by the Hoover Dam, it extends behind the dam, holding approximately of water.-History:The lake was...

. Lake Powell currently loses up to 1000000 acre.ft of water through evaporation and seepage which would otherwise be contained in Lake Mead, which currently has more than enough storage to contain the extra water.

Criticism

GCI prompted the formation of a pro-lake organization, Friends of Lake Powell, to "support the preservation of Lake Powell, Glen Canyon Dam and the Glen Canyon".

See also

• Grand Canyon
  Grand Canyon
  The Grand Canyon is a steep-sided canyon carved by the Colorado River in the United States in the state of Arizona. It is largely contained within the Grand Canyon National Park, the 15th national park in the United States...
  
  
• Lake Powell
  Lake Powell
  Lake Powell is a huge reservoir on the Colorado River, straddling the border between Utah and Arizona . It is the second largest man-made reservoir in the United States behind Lake Mead, storing of water when full...
  
  
• David Brower
• Martin Litton

External links

• glencanyon.org information from the Glen Canyon Institute
• Friends of Lake Powell