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Listed below are primary documents that have made a significant contribution to understanding the science and history on the Colorado. The main subjects are listed in alphabetical order and by the year the documents were written. For geographic areas, the subjects are listed from the river's headwaters to the delta.

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AIDS FOR RESEARCH

Click here for data, conversion tables, calculations, maps, graphics and interpretation aids.

ANNUAL OPERATING PLANS

Click here for documents on dam operations.

Click here to read article about the history of operations at Glen Canyon Dam.

Click here to determine your own analysis of what the Colorado River system of reservoirs will look like in a future.

AQUIFER RECHARGE MANAGEMENT PROGRAMS

Click here to read article about aquifer recharge and recovery programs.

2004 - Analysis of Water Banks in the Western States. Washington Dept. of Ecology.

2005 - The One-Dam Solution. Living Rivers.

2007 - Artificial Recharge: A Multi-purpose Water Management Tool. Arroyo. Water Resources Research Center.

2007 - Semitropic Stored Water and Recovery Unit. Bureau of Reclamation.

2008 - Prospects for Managed Underground Storage of Recoverable Water. National Research Council.

2008 - Aquifer Recharge, Storage and Recovery. Southwest Hydrology.

2008 - Conjunctive Use Technical Memo. Southern Nevada Water Authority.

ARCHEOLOGY

Dolores River Project

Grand Canyon Project

BIOLOGICAL OPINIONS Click here

Click here to read article about endangered fish

COLORADO RIVER AND ITS TRIBUTARIES

Click here to read a summary of early Colorado River surveys.

Click here to read historical testimony from the Colorado Riverbed Case.

1861 - Report Upon the Colorado River of the West in 1858. Joseph C. Ives and John S. Newberry.

1875 - Exploration of the Colorado River & Its Tributaries. John Wesley Powel.

1876 - Expedition from Santa Fe to the Junction of the Grand and Green Rivers in 1859. John Macomb and John S. Newberry.

1876 - Geology of Eastern Uinta Mountains. John Wesley Powell.

1877 - Geology of the Henry Mountains. Grove K. Gilbert.

1879 - Lands of the Arid Region. John Wesley Powell.

1880 - Geology of the High Plateaus of Utah. Clarence E. Dutton.

1956 - Cenozoic Geology of the Colorado Plateau. Charles Hunt.

2002 - History of the Bureau of Reclamation

Upper Colorado River

1916 - Colorado River utilization. LaRue. US Geological Survey.

1925 - Colorado River below the Green River. LaRue. US Geological Survey.

1929 - Upper Colorado River utilization. Follansbee. US Geological Survey.

1946 - A national menace becomes a natural resource. Bureau of Reclamation.

1950 - A Survey of the Recreational Resources of the Colorado River Basin. National Park Service.

1969 - Dam site investigations for the upper basin. Bureau of Reclamation.

1971 - Upper Colorado River comprehensive framework study. Water Resources Council.

1984 - History of Northeast Colorado. Bureau of Land Management.

Gunnison River

Dolores River

Dolores River & San Juan Framework. Colorado Water Conservation Board.

Green River

Click here to read article about Desolation Canyon.

1930 - Green River utilization. Woolley. US Geological Survey.

1959 - History of the Flaming Gorge Area. University of Utah.

1960 - Ecological Studies of Flaming Gorge Basin. Flowers.

1969 - Desolation River Log. Powell Society.

1985 - Beyond the Wasatch: The history of irrigation in the Uinta Basin and Upper Provo River area of Utah. Department of Interior.

2007 - Uinta/Green River Conceptual Water Development Projects.CH2MHill.

2010 - Selling the Nation's Helium Reserve. National Research Council.

1982 - Impact of reservoir development in the Yampa River Basin. Veenhuis and Hillier. US Geological Survey.

Dinosaur National Monument

1976 - Water Resources of Dinosaur NM. USGS.

Duschene River

2008 - Lower Dushene River Wetlands Mitigation Project.

Canyonlands (Southeast Utah Group)

History of Canyonlands National Park and Region

Chronology of Canyonlands Region

1985 - Four Corners: A National Sacrifice Area?

1999 - Water Resources Management Plan

2009 - Economic influence of Southeast Utah National Parks. National Parks Conservation Association.

Glen Canyon National Recreation Area (Lake Powell)

Click here to read article about protecting southeast Utah as a National Monument during The Great Depression.

Click here to read an article about Rainbow Bridge and Navajo Mountain.

1965 - Lake Powell: Jewel of the Colorado. Department of the Interior.

1974 - Lake Powell Research Project Bulletins

1987 - Glen Canyon Water Resources Management Plan

1993 - Rainbow Bridge Management Plan

2001 - Administrative History: Rainbow Bridge

2008 - History to protect Glen Canyon as a national monument

San Juan River

1924 - San Juan River utilization. Miser. US Geological Survey.

1980 - History of Southwest Colorado. Bureau of Land Management.

Grand Canyon

Celebrating Grand Canyon. Jeff Ingram.

Archive of Colorado River Management Plans

1967 - Congressional testimony of Sierra Club (David Brower, Hugh Nash, Jeffrey Ingram) and Stephen Jett of the Navajo Nation.

1974 - Colorado River Research Program. National Park Service.

1977 - Grand Canyon synthesis and management implications. National Park Service.

1995 - 1998 - Adaptive Management Program documents not posted on Reclamation's web page.

1999 - 2008 - Adaptive Management Program documents. Bureau of Reclamation.
A cache is currently under construction here at On The Colorado.

1998 - Report to Congress (draft): Grand Canyon Protection Act. Secretary, Department of the Interior.

2000 - Administrative History of Grand Canyon National Park.

2002 - Report to Congress: Grand Canyon Protection Act. Secretary, Department of the Interior.

2005 - State of the Colorado River in Grand Canyon. US Geological Survey.

2008 - Dysfunction in the Adaptive Management Program

2008 - Legal History of Glen Canyon Dam Operations

2008 - Is There Enough Sand: Evaluating the fate of Grand Canyon sandbars. Wright et al. Geological Society of America.

2009 - List of extirpated species in Grand Canyon

2009 - NPS Memo: Impairment from operations of Glen Canyon Dam.

2010 - List of US Geological Survey Publications for Adaptive Managment Program

2010 - Report to Congress. Glen Canyon Dam Adaptive Management Program.

2010 - 2008 Coming Together: Coordination of Science and Restoration Activities for the Colorado River Ecosystem Symposium. USGS. 

2010 - State of the Grand Canyon. NPCA.

Lower Colorado River

Bureau of Reclamation digital library

1916 - Colorado River utilization. LaRue. US Geological Survey.

1920 - Problems of the Imperial Valley. Davis. Bureau of Reclamation.

1964 - Precipitation, Runoff and Water Loss in the Lower Colorado River - Salton Sea Area. US Geological Survey.

1969 - Lower Colorado River Water Supply: Its Magnitude and Distribution. US Geological Survey.

1971 - Salinity of Surface Water in the Lower Colorado River - Salton Sea Area. US Geological Survey.

1971 - Water Resources of the Lower Colorado River - Salton Sea Area Summary Report). US Geological Survey.

Lower Colorado River Studies. US Geological Survey resource web page.

1971 - Lower Colorado River comprehensive framework study. Water Resources Council.

Delta and Limitrophe

Tijuana Aqueduct and Water Supply

2001 - Water Balance at Colorado River Delta. Cohen et al. Pacific Institute.

2005 - Understanding Streamflow through Colorado River Delta. Cohen. Pacific Institute.

2010 - Yuma Clapper Rail Recovery Plan. US Fish and Wildlife Service.

COLORADO RIVER CONTROVERSIES

1965 - Statement of attorney Northcutt Ely regarding Arizona v California

1990 - Agency recalcitrance and evasion regarding compliance with NEPA relating to Glen Canyon Dam operations: A documented need for congressional intervention. Lippman.

1997 - Congressional hearing on Sierra Club's proposal to drain Lake Powell.

1997 - The Colorado River: Utah's Perspective. Anderson.

1998 - Joint hearing on the Sierra Club's proposal to drain Lake Powell or reduce its water storage capability.

2000 - Undamming Glen Canyon: Lunacy, Rationality, or Prophecy? Miller.

2000 - Looking toward the future: The time has come to restore Glen Canyon. Wegner.

2000 - Decommissing Glen Canyon Dam: The key to Colorado River ecosystem restoration and recovery of endangered species. Carothers andd House.

2000 - The proposed draining of Lake Powell an inequitable taking of upper Colorado River basin states rights. Christensen.

2003 - Conflict and Cooperation: A case study of Metropolitan Water District. Zetland.

2004 - The dam controversy: Does the Endangered Species Act apply internationally to protect foreign species harmed by dams on the Colorado River? Kellogg.

2007 - The Colorado River: The story of a quest for certainty on a diminishing river. Kuhn.

2008 - Beyond conjecture: Learning about ecosystem management from Glen Canyon Dam experiment. Camacho.

2008 - Collaborative management of Glen Canyon Dam: The elevation of social engineering over law. Feller.

2009 - End of Abundance. Zetland

CONSUMPTIVE USE AND LOSS REPORTS

1971-1995; 1971-1975; 1976-1980; 1981-1985; 1986-1990; 1991-1995; 1996-2000; 2001-2005; 2006 -2010; Consumptive Use Statistics;

Consumptive Use Determination

2004 - Report of the Upper Colorado River Commission

2005 - Report of the Upper Colorado River Commission

2009 - Estimated use of water in the United States in 2005. USGS.

DAM STUDIES

Glen Canyon Dam

1961 - Design features of Glen Canyon Dam. Bureau of Reclamation.

1970 - Glen Canyon Dam technical record of design and construction. Bureau of Reclamation.

1975 - Scientific information in the decisicion to dam Glen Canyon. Lake Powell Research Project Bulletin #9.

1990 - Colorado River ecology and dam management. National Research Council.

1994 - Review: Glen Canyon Dam long-term monitoring plan. National Research Council.

1996 - Review: River Resource Management in the Grand Canyon. National Research Council.

1999 - Review: Glen Canyon Dam adaptive management program. National Research Council.

Hoover Dam

1929 - Weymouth Report. Technical record of Hoover Dam. Bureau of Reclamation.

1936 - Construction of Boulder (Hoover) Dam. Bureau of Reclamation.

2006 - Hoover Dam. Bureau of Reclamation.

ENERGY

Click here to read article about hydropower

Colorado River Storage Project (CRSP)

1960 - Audit of CRSP. Government Accountibility Office.

1997 - CRSP hydropower under environmental constraints. Bureau of Reclamation.

Western Area Power Administration

1998 - CRSP Replacement Resources and Methods Report

Upper Colorador River Commission

2004 - Impact evaluation of Lake Powell falling below minimum power pool

Non-Governmental Organizations

2008 - Energy Down the Drain. National Resource Defense Council.

2009 - Oil Shale Report. University of Colorado at Boulder.

2009 - America's Biggest Polluters: Carbon Dioxide Emmissions from Power Plants in 2007. Arizona Environment.

2009 - Hydropower study of Glen Canyon Dam by David Marcus. Table 1. Tables 2 and 3.

2010 - Lifeline: How climate and clean energy can safeguard water. WRA & EDF.

Other

Office of Electricity Delivery & Energy Reliability

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENTS & ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENTS

Ongoing Assessments

Lake Powell Pipeline

Regional Watershed Supply Project (Million Pipeline). Army Corps.

Green River Pumping Project EA. Reclamation.

Long Term Experimental Plan (LTEP)
(cached before suspension of EIS)
Glen Canyon Dam Adaptive Management Program
1995 FEIS; GAO Audit; LTEP Scoping; Experimental Plan 2008-2012;

2007 - Sediment Augmentation Feasibility Report. Randle. Bureau of Reclamation.

2007 - Risk Assessment: Temperature Control Device. Valdez et al.

2007 - LTEP workshop. US Geological Survey.

2008 - Comments on BHBF (experimental flood). National Park Service.

2009 - Development of high test flow protocols. Federal Notice.

2010 - Work Plan and Budget for 2010 & 2011. GCMRC.

Lower Colorado
Lower Colorado Reports and Publications

SNWA Lake Mead Intake EA & FONSI

Upper Colorado
Upper Colorado Reports and Publications

NGS Intake EA & FONSI. Navajo Generation Station @ Lake Powell

Multiple-Species Conservation Program

Volume 1; Volume II; Volume III; Volume IV; ROD;

Shortage Criteria

Scoping; DEIS; DEIS Comments; FEIS; RoD; Federal Register;

Shortage Criteria chronology of events

FLOODING: studies about historic regional floods and forecasting probable maximum floods and their impacts in the Colorado Basin.

1946 - Cloudburst floods in Utah. Woolley. US Geological Survey.

1983 - Colorado River Flooding. Government Accountibility Office.

1990 - Probable maximum floods on the Colorado River. Bureau of Reclamation.

1994 - Paleofloods in Grand Canyon. O'Conner and Baker.

1998 - Dam failure inundation study. Bureau of Reclamation.

2001 - Floods and riparian vegetation on the San Juan River. Webb et al. US Geological Survey.

2004 - Initial-Phase Investigation of Multi-Dimensional Streamflow Simulations in the Colorado River, Moab Valley, Grand County, Utah. Terry A. Kenney. US Geological Survey.

2005 - Paleofloods near Moab, Utah. Dohrenwend and Greenbaum.

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