Colorado Plateau Institute
Abstract
Life is drawn together in lands of little water. It is no different in the slick rock country of the Colorado Plateau. Glen Canyon Dam was built in seven years, transforming a river while submerging beautiful canyons, labyrinths, and temples that took millions of years to construct. The town of Page emerged from the controversy, and is the site of a research institute that studies water-resource issues that result from Man's desire for A Garden in the Desert. The Apollo space program, the Eisenhower Interstate System, Colorado River Storage Protect. All are icons of an era when America was fighting a Cold War and locked in an ideological struggle with another nuclear superpower. America went to great lengths to emerge the victor, and sacrificed much in the process. The Colorado River and a countless number of canyons became one of those sacrifices. Since 1996, the Department of the Interior has worked to manage the resources of the Colorado River in a range of alternative methods. One method involves the controlled flooding of the river through the Grand Canyon National Park. Sedimentation that has been trapped behind the Glen Canyon Dam is being released to restore sandbars, habitat for endangered species, and downstream riparian vegetation. The Coiorado Institute will empower the US Department of Interior to develop and enhance water resource management and conservation methods through research and education programs throughout the United States.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- May 07, 2003
- Accession Number
- ADA417958
Entities
People
- Brian J. Ballweg
Organizations
- Air Force Institute of Technology