Remarks of the Honorable Dirk Kempthorne, Secretary of the Interior
at
Grand Canyon High Flow Experiment
March 5, 2008
Male Voice: This is a podcast from the U.S. Department of the Interior.
Bob Johnson: Good morning. My name is Bob Johnson. I am the Commissioner of the Bureau of Reclamation. And it’s my pleasure to welcome you here today to Glen Canyon Dam in this great experiment of Man in the Grand Canyon. Glen Canyon Dam standing seven hundred and ten feet above bedrock is the second highest concrete-arch dam in the United States. The benefits provided by this facility are numerous and are vital to life in the southwest as we know it.
Glen Canyon Dam is the key component of the Colorado River Storage Project which makes possible the assured use of water in the upper basin states of Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming, especially in times of drought. This is because it is much like a bank account in terms of having water storage to meet upper basin obligations as set forth in Colorado River Compact of 1922. It also provides water through that compact to the lower basin states of Colorado River: Arizona, Nevada and California. And through a treaty with the country of Mexico, it also provides for the delivery of water for use in that country.
The water that is released from Glen Canyon Dam flows into Lake Mead and supplies not only water but a significant benefit in terms of the power resources that are produced here at the dam. When the dam is entirely full, it stores approximately 26.2 million acre feet of water which is nearly two times the average annual flow of the Colorado River system. Millions of people in the Seven Basin states depend upon both the stored water and the hydro-power that is generated when the water is released. The average annual generation of Glen Canyon Dam serves the needs of approximately 400,000 homes in the southwest and generates 4.5 billion kilowatt hours annually. It would take 2.5 million tons of coal and approximately 11 million barrels of oil each year to generate that same amount of power.
It is our responsibility to operate the dam in accordance with the provisions of the Colorado River Storage Act of 1956 as amended and the other features of the law of the river. In doing so, we also comply with the Grand Canyon Protection Act of 1992 and all of the applicable environmental laws. This means that we have a responsibility to continue to deliver water and power while respecting the nation’s environmental values. We have worked hard to meet these competing obligations given to us by Congress.
Understanding and managing the complex ecosystems such as the Grand Canyon is not something that can be achieved without a long-term adaptive management process built around a continuous cycle of experimentation, evaluation, learning and improvement over time. For that reason Reclamation helped form the Glen Canyon Adaptive Management Program in 1997 to advise the Secretary of the Interior on actions to improve the resources in the Glen and Grand Canyons of the Colorado River basin. We are proud to be a partner of one of the world’s finest programs in this regard. The Adaptive Management Program provides us with a process to continually refine and if necessary, modify the operations of Glen Canyon Dam. What we are doing today is yet another important step in that process. While we don’t have all the answers, we have learned a relatively lot of -- a lot in a relatively short period of time. With today’s experiments we will undoubtedly add to our knowledge.
In closing, I believe we share a common bond and a commitment to bring water and power to the southwest while protecting and preserving these vitally important natural resources that were so brilliantly created by the forces of nature.
Thanks again for your attendance at the event today. It is our pleasure to be the host for this great event. And now, I would like to call upon Mark Myers, the director of the USGS to deliver a few remarks.
Mark Myers: Thank you, Bob. In the Grand Canyon, scientists and managers face a tremendous challenge of trying to achieve major environmental restoration goals in a greatly altered system.
Glen Canyon Dam traps more than 90% of the sand that was once available to maintain sandbars and the important habitat they provide. Science is called to help maximize the use of limited sand available to tributaries enabling managers to improve the Grand Canyon’s natural and cultural resources while balancing water and power concerns.
Today we have an exceptional opportunity to build on the learning that occurred as a result of similar high flow tests in 1996 and 2004. For example, as a result of the 1996 test, we learned that sand did not accumulate on the riverbed over time; that had been hypothesized in the 1995 environmental impact statement. And through that understanding caused scientists and managers to focus on the need to time high flow releases to coincide with the flooding of tributaries like the Paria River that enter the Colorado river below the dam which was the case in 2004.
Today’s test involves over a hundred scientists along 225 miles of river. These scientists come not only from the USGS and other Federal agencies but from leading research universities around the world. I am excited that the research that take will take place in conjunction with the high flow test is being conducted using an ecosystems based approached. In order to understand the ecosystem we must understand the linkage between physical processes such as the movement of sand and biological community that exists within the Grand Canyon Basin. We must understand scales of processes and time, for example when we want to understand the detailed processes, the movement of individual grains of sands to the health of the entire ecosystem; we must understand the conditions that are existent before the flow test. What is happening during the flow test, what is happening immediately after and long term modeling after the test to see that maximum benefit is achieved from the test.
Our research will not only focus on sandbar restoration but also ecosystem components including native fishes such as the endangered humpbacked chub, impacts to Lees Ferries fisheries, vegetation and archeological resources. For example, a major focus of the experiment will look at how high flow releases may benefit the endangered humpbacked chub by creating and maintaining backwater habitats. Another study will examine the increased wind-borne sand derived from restored sandbars to see whether we can reduce erosion and increase preservation at some potential archeological sites. Other studies will examine how experimental release will affect Lees Ferries trout fishery, the production of food for trout and native fisheries and the effects to riparian vegetation that is used by a variety of wildlife and is important to Native American tribes.
In summary, the suite of studies included in science plan will provide a broad understanding of the role of the high flows in conservation of many of the important resources of the Grand Canyon.
With that I would like to introduce my colleague and good friend Mary Bomar who is head of the National Park Service.
Mary Bomar: I am the one who has the best job in the government today. Out of the three I’ve got the best job. How nice to see so many of the gray and green. And good morning to all of you, it is an honor to be here today. You know, I have been to many countries, you can tell there is an accent with this voice, but I have got to say to you, this is one of the most magnificent parts in America. To come to this area, many years ago I came to Lake Powell, so I am very honored to be here. But the Grand Canyon and the Glen Canyon are truly some of the most magnificent places on earth.
The National Park Service is proud to care for these special places, and to use good science to preserve them for our children and our grandchildren. Our descendants five hundred years ago from now should be able to enjoy the same awesome vista that you and I are enjoying here today, and the same wildlife and the same recreational opportunities that we are enjoying today.
In 1916, Congress passed the National Park Service Organic Act. That act created the national park system to conserve unimpaired many of our world’s most magnificent landscapes. Places that enshrine our nation’s enduring principles and places that remind us of the tremendous sacrifices that Americans have made on behalf of those principles. It is our commitment to the future that makes today so important.
The resources of the Grand Canyon are fragile and conservation of them for the future can only be achieved through wise management of our leaders today. I want to thank Superintendent Steve Martin in the front right here; the Superintendent of the Grand Canyon and his staff for their devotion to preserving this place and to using good science to help us in that effort. I would also like to recognize Stan Austin, where are you Stan Austin, who is the Superintendent at Glen Canyon National Area. And I would also like to recognize a dear friend, please stand up John Cook, who was a regional director and a mentor to me for many years. Nice to see you here sir, thank you.
We are faced with a challenge in managing the flows from the Glen Canyon Dam. Congress included in the Grand Canyon Protection Act a recognition that on-going research is necessary to ensure that we have the best information available in order to carry out the balancing act of water, of water storage, flood control and the power generation along with preservation. Through the application of good science, we know that the high flow experiment we are beginning today will benefit the resources of the park. The increased flow could help restore beaches, improve the environment for the native species and provide natural protection for archeological resources in the canyon.
The Grand Canyon National Park is a remarkable place, one of the Seven Wonders of the World, one of the seven natural wonders of the world. And is designated, as I am sure all of you know, as a National Heritage Area. Over nine thousand different animal species inhabit this landscape. Ten of which are either threatened or endangered species. One of these endangered species is important to the high flow experiment. The humpbacked chub, listed as an endangered species, is of critical importance to the Colorado River and the diversity of resources of the park. We hope that improved management of flows from Glen Canyon Dam will allow the chub to rebound to levels that will allow for its recovery. Say that with a gin and tonic [indiscernible], thank you. Got to get it right, got to get it right.
We also have thousands of documented archeological sites representing the ancestral footprints of eleven of today’s contemporary American Indian tribes. To many of tribal people, the canyon represents their emergence place into this world; with the river being the backbone of their lives and their cultures.
I always say there are special places that unite us all as Americans. The Grand Canyon is one of those special places. We must do all we can to preserve its grandeur and the ecology for future generations. Ensuring the integrity of this resource and this Canyon is our charge. And we trust that through the leadership of the Interior Department. The stewardship of the Grand Canyon will be fulfilled.
On behalf of the National Park Service and resources of the Grand Canyon National Park and Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, I would like to express my appreciation to Deputy Secretary Lynn Scarlett, who is enjoying a vacation after eight years, and well deserved. Who has been very instrumental in working with the group. Robert Johnson BOR Commissioner on my left, and Mark Myers from USGS, director for this extraordinary opportunity. They have shown, in making this high flow experiment possible today. Without their support, we would not be here today to participate in this remarkable event.
But there is one more person to acknowledge, it is said that action, not just position is essential to quality of leadership. And I am privileged to work for a man who clearly has a bias for action. As a Mayor, as a Senator and as a Governor, he did not sit on the sidelines but was actively involved in change and building for a better future. By any measure, he is the right person at the right time to head the federal agency that not only manages one-fifth of the land of our nation, but cares for the special places in this country, our national parks. I am very lucky to work for a man who supports the National Park Service so well and truly is an advocate for outdoors. He is an outdoorsman, a conservationist, an over-achiever in areas of the environment and the quality of life at the local and state, and federal levels. As Secretary he has made his stamp upon all aspects of the Department Of Interior. But none has been more dramatic than as the chief architect of the President’s National Centennial Initiative. As you all know, we will be celebrating our one hundred years in the National park Service in 2016. His legacy as a leader and as man of action will truly stand the test of time.
It is my privilege and pleasure to introduce to you today the 49th Secretary Of The Interior, Secretary Dirk Kempthorne. Thank you.
Dirk Kempthorne: All right. Thank you very much. There is a great lady of class and dignity and achievement. What an awe-inspiring backdrop we all have the great opportunity to see today. I have been watching the sun as it begins to move, I believe in this direction, I don’t believe that we will wait until the sun reaches you for the speech to conclude. We will move this right along.
So let me thank Mary and all of the National Park Service and Steve Martin, Stan Austin, all of the gray and green, I am very proud of you. I want to thank Bob Johnson of the Bureau of Reclamation; and Andrea Alpine, the southwest biological science director with USGS, with Mark Myers and all the people of USGS. Larry Walkoviak who is the Regional Director for the bureau and Ken who, with sixty-nine colleagues, are charged with the operational maintenance of this impressive, magnificent facility. It’s Ken’s birthday today, so Ken, Happy Birthday. Let me also acknowledge, Fish and Wildlife Service is represented by Southwest Regional Director Ben Tuttle; Ben, nice to see you again, and your staff. The Bureau of Indian Affairs is represented by Regional Environmental Protection Officer Amy Hughes-Lynn, where is Amy? Great, Amy, thank you very much. John Keys, nice to see you again my friend.
We’re here at Glen Canyon, and downstream the Grand Canyon National Park. We’re in the midst of not only one of the world’s great natural wonders but also the most notable intersection of two of the primal forces of our planet, water and rock. Over millions of years these two forces have met here; the water relentlessly flowing over, crashing into and molecule by molecule carving away the granite, the limestone and the other rock. The Colorado River twists its way for 277 miles through the canyon, the great rock walls towering thousands of feet above the rapids below. If the river continues to evolve because of the forces of nature, including man, it has changed because of the incredible ingenuity of humankind, who designed and constructed engineering marvels such as the Glen Canyon Dam.
No longer does the Colorado yield its greatest force against the rock, the powers of floodwaters roaring down the canyon. And because of this the canyon has changed, its wildlife is changed; the intricate tapestry of this remarkable ecosystem, formed over millions of years, has been altered. Today we’re here to set the river free once again. And through this experiment we hope to enhance the habitat in the canyon and its wildlife and learn more about these complex natural systems. The scientific experiment would be stunning, both visually and scientifically, as Mark and Bob pointed out.
The scientific experiment will in a moment begin this process. In just a minute I will push the button and I will pull the lever. It will open the giant valves to unleash a torrent of water down the Colorado River. This experiment has been timed to take advantage of the highest sediment deposits in a decade; and designed to better asses the ability of these releases to rebuild beaches and provide habitat for endangered wildlife and campsites for thousands of Grand Canyon National Park tourists.
The water will be released at a rate that would fill the Empire State building within twenty minutes. We will transport enough sediment to cover a football field that is 100 feet deep. As the water recedes, our scientists will be closely monitoring newly created backwater habitat to better understand the role of these backwaters in the lifecycle of endangered native fish.
This fall we will begin a second phase of this experiment by releasing steady flows from the dam for two months. And again we will closely monitor the effect on endangered fish in these waters.
This experiment and associated research is being undertaken cooperatively by scientists and research managers from the Department Of The Interior, Bureau Of Reclamation, National Park Service, US fish and Wildlife Service, US Geological Survey in consultation with the Bureau of Indian Affairs and State, Tribal and private partners. All of whom make up the Glen Canyon Dam Adaptive Management Workgroup. The Adaptive Management Workgroup has been in place for eleven years, and I thank you for all the work that you have done over that period of time. We’re working together because all share a common goal of learning from today’s test and using that knowledge in the future. We are the stewards. It is our turn to do our part.
Brenda Burman is my designee to the Glen Canyon Adaptive Management Workgroup, has worked with our Interior Agencies and external stakeholders to get us where we are today. And I appreciate that Brenda.
Many of you are aware that in 1996, the Department conducted a week-long high flow release. Since that time we have learned to shorten the length of the experiment and to better synchronize these high flow releases to the amount of available sediment. That is what today is all about. To put it simply, we want to redeposit the sand that has been carried into the canyon by storms and moved it across the high plateaus over the past few years.
What exactly do we hope to accomplish with this experiment? In a moment when I open the jet tubes, the Glen Canyon Dam will release over three hundred thousand gallons of water per second for sixty hours; the equivalent of turning on 1.8 million garden hoses at the exact same time. And as that water flows downstream USGS scientists will begin to study whether we are successfully rebuilding beaches throughout the 277 miles of the Grand Canyon National Park. USGS and the Fish and Wildlife Service will monitor backwaters and observe the effects on endangered species like the endangered humpback that Mary so articulately discussed. The Park Service will monitor how the released sediment collects through the canyon, enhancing recreational opportunities. The Department of the Interior will assist various American Indian tribes in monitoring culturally significant resources along the river. And most importantly, we will demonstrate our commitment to preserving the unique treasures of the Grand Canyon and the Colorado River while we fulfill our responsibility to provide water and power to the people of the southwest United States. With that I will turn it back to Bob and we will begin the experiment.
Bob Johnson: Okay. Thank you Mister Secretary. I think that we are about ready to go ahead and open the tubes and watch those 1.3 million garden hoses open up into the Colorado River. So Mister Secretary if we could step on over here and get it started--