The State of the Colorado River Ecosystem in Grand Canyon
Author : Steven Gloss
Publisher :
Page : 234 pages
File Size : 21,13 MB
Release : 2005
Category : Stream ecology
ISBN :
The Colorado River Through Grand Canyon
Author : Steven Warren Carothers
Publisher :
Page : 280 pages
File Size : 28,28 MB
Release : 1991
Category : Nature
ISBN :
Book Description
Adjustment to the environmental alterations of the Glen Canyon Dam.
Restoring Colorado River Ecosystems
Author : Robert W. Adler
Publisher : Island Press
Page : 341 pages
File Size : 11,20 MB
Release : 2012-06-22
Category : Science
ISBN : 1597267783
Book Description
Over the past century, humans have molded the Colorado River to serve their own needs, resulting in significant impacts to the river and its ecosystems. Today, many scientists, public officials, and citizens hope to restore some of the lost resources in portions of the river and its surrounding lands. Environmental restoration on the scale of the Colorado River basin is immensely challenging; in addition to an almost overwhelming array of technical difficulties, it is fraught with perplexing questions about the appropriate goals of restoration and the extent to which environmental restoration must be balanced against environmental changes designed to promote and sustain human economic development. Restoring Colorado River Ecosystems explores the many questions and challenges surrounding the issue of large-scale restoration of the Colorado River basin, and of large-scale restoration in general. Robert W. Adler evaluates the relationships among the laws, policies, and institutions governing use and management of the Colorado River for human benefit and those designed to protect and restore the river and its environment. He examines and critiques the often challenging interactions among law, science, economics, and politics within which restoration efforts must operate. Ultimately, he suggests that a broad concept of “restoration” is needed to navigate those uncertain waters, and to strike an appropriate balance between human and environmental needs. While the book is primarily about restoration of Colorado River ecosystems, it is also about uncertainty, conflict, competing values, and the nature, pace, and implications of environmental change. It is about our place in the natural environment, and whether there are limits to that presence we ought to respect. And it is about our responsibility to the ecosystems we live in and use.
Downcanyon
Author : Ann Zwinger
Publisher : University of Arizona Press
Page : 334 pages
File Size : 10,44 MB
Release : 1995-07
Category : Biography & Autobiography
ISBN : 0816515565
Book Description
Describes the river, including ruins, small wildlife, and the experiences of early travelers
Colorado River Basin Water Management
Author : National Research Council
Publisher : National Academies Press
Page : 222 pages
File Size : 14,25 MB
Release : 2007-06-30
Category : Science
ISBN : 0309105242
Book Description
Recent studies of past climate and streamflow conditions have broadened understanding of long-term water availability in the Colorado River, revealing many periods when streamflow was lower than at any time in the past 100 years of recorded flows. That information, along with two important trends-a rapid increase in urban populations in the West and significant climate warming in the region-will require that water managers prepare for possible reductions in water supplies that cannot be fully averted through traditional means. Colorado River Basin Water Management assesses existing scientific information, including temperature and streamflow records, tree-ring based reconstructions, and climate model projections, and how it relates to Colorado River water supplies and demands, water management, and drought preparedness. The book concludes that successful adjustments to new conditions will entail strong and sustained cooperation among the seven Colorado River basin states and recommends conducting a comprehensive basinwide study of urban water practices that can be used to help improve planning for future droughts and water shortages.
Science Be Dammed
Author : Eric Kuhn
Publisher : University of Arizona Press
Page : 289 pages
File Size : 28,83 MB
Release : 2019-11-26
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 0816540055
Book Description
Science Be Dammed is an alarming reminder of the high stakes in the management—and perils in the mismanagement—of water in the western United States. It seems deceptively simple: even when clear evidence was available that the Colorado River could not sustain ambitious dreaming and planning by decision-makers throughout the twentieth century, river planners and political operatives irresponsibly made the least sustainable and most dangerous long-term decisions. Arguing that the science of the early twentieth century can shed new light on the mistakes at the heart of the over-allocation of the Colorado River, authors Eric Kuhn and John Fleck delve into rarely reported early studies, showing that scientists warned as early as the 1920s that there was not enough water for the farms and cities boosters wanted to build. Contrary to a common myth that the authors of the Colorado River Compact did the best they could with limited information, Kuhn and Fleck show that development boosters selectively chose the information needed to support their dreams, ignoring inconvenient science that suggested a more cautious approach. Today water managers are struggling to come to terms with the mistakes of the past. Focused on both science and policy, Kuhn and Fleck unravel the tangled web that has constructed the current crisis. With key decisions being made now, including negotiations for rules governing how the Colorado River water will be used after 2026, Science Be Dammed offers a clear-eyed path forward by looking back. Understanding how mistakes were made is crucial to understanding our contemporary problems. Science Be Dammed offers important lessons in the age of climate change about the necessity of seeking out the best science to support the decisions we make.
The Colorado Plateau VI
Author : Laura Foster Huenneke
Publisher : University of Arizona Press
Page : 404 pages
File Size : 37,60 MB
Release : 2015-06-18
Category : Nature
ISBN : 0816531595
Book Description
"With a plethora of updates and insights into land conservation and management questions on the Colorado Plateau, The Colorado Plateau VI shows how new technologies for monitoring, spatial analysis, restoration, and collaboration improve our understanding, management, and conservation of outcomes at the appropriate landscape scale for the Colorado Plateau"--Provided by publisher.
Colorado Plateau 3
Author : Charles Van Riper
Publisher : University of Arizona Press
Page : 432 pages
File Size : 18,16 MB
Release : 2008
Category : History
ISBN : 9780816527380
Book Description
Roughly centered on the Four Corners region of the southwestern United States, the Colorado Plateau covers an area of 130,000 square miles. The relatively high semi-arid province boasts nine national parks, sixteen national monuments, many state parks, and dozens of wilderness areas. With the highest concentration of parklands in North America and unique geological and ecological features, the area is of particular interest to researchers. Derived from the Eighth Biennial Conference of Research on the Colorado Plateau, this third volume in a series of research on the Colorado Plateau expands upon the previous two books. This volume focuses on the integration of science into resource management issues, summarizes what criteria make a successful collaborative effort, outlines land management concerns about drought, provides summaries of current biological, sociological, and archaeological research, and highlights current environmental issues in the Four Corner States of Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, and Utah. With broad coverage that touches on topics as diverse as historical aspects of pronghorn antelope movement patterns through calculating watershed prescriptions to the role of wind-blown sand in preserving archaeological sites on the Colorado River, this volume stands as a compendium of cuttingedge management-oriented research on the Colorado Plateau. The book also introduces, for the first time, tools that can be used to assist with collaboration efforts among landowners and managers who wish to work together toward preserving resources on the Colorado Plateau and offers a wealth of insights into land management questions for many readers, especially people interested in the natural history, biology, anthropology, wildlife, and cultural management issues of the region.
Water Policy and Planning in a Variable and Changing Climate
Author : Kathleen A. Miller
Publisher : CRC Press
Page : 535 pages
File Size : 12,52 MB
Release : 2017-12-19
Category : Nature
ISBN : 1315356007
Book Description
Water Policy and Planning in a Variable and Changing Climate addresses the current challenges facing western water planners and policy makers in the United States and considers strategies for managing water resources and related risks in the future. Written by highly-regarded experts in the industry, the book offers a wealth of experience, and explains the physical, socioeconomic, and institutional context for western water resource management. The authors discuss the complexities of water policy, describe the framework for water policy and planning, and identify many of the issues surrounding the subject. A provocative examination of policy issues surrounding western water resources, this book: Considers the implications of natural climate variability and anthropogenic climate change for the region’s water resources, and explains limitations on the predictability of local-scale changes Stresses linkages between climate patterns and weather events, and related hydrologic impacts Describes the environmental consequences of historical water system development and the challenges that climate change poses for protection of aquatic ecosystems Examines coordination of drought management by local, state and national government agencies Includes insights on planning for climate change adaptation from case studies across the western United States Discusses the challenges and opportunities in water/energy/land system management, and its prospects for developing climate change response strategies Presents evidence of changes in water scarcity and flooding potential in the region and identifies a set of adaptation strategies to support the long-term sustainability of irrigated agriculture and urban communities Draws upon Colorado’s experience in defining rights for surface and tributary groundwater use to explain potential conflicts and challenges in establishing fair and effective coordination of water rights for these resources Assesses the role of policy in driving flood losses Explores policy approaches for achieving equitable and environmentally responsible planning outcomes despite multiple sources of uncertainty Water Policy and Planning in a Variable and Changing Climate describes patterns of water availability, existing policy problems and the potential impacts of climate change in the western United States, and functions as a practical reference for the student or professional invested in water policy and management.
River Conservation and Management
Author : Philip Boon
Publisher : John Wiley & Sons
Page : 449 pages
File Size : 50,24 MB
Release : 2012-02-10
Category : Nature
ISBN : 1119961963
Book Description
This book is intended for those with an academic, scientific and practical interest in river conservation and management. It provides an overview of how changes in legislation, policies, institutional responsibilities, science, technology, practical techniques and public perception have influenced how rivers have been managed over the past 20 years and the challenges that lie ahead during the next 20 years. The book is based on the international conference River Conservation and Management:20 Years On held at York. Thirty-one chapters, with contributions from North and South America, Europe, Asia and Australasia provide a wide-ranging perspective on this complex but profoundly important subject. Following an introduction that chronicles the most important contextual changes, the book is organized into four broad topics: Catchment management, ecosystem integrity and the threats to river ecosystems – this covers progress on understanding and addressing the pressures affecting rivers, many of which will be amplified by climate change and increasing human demands for water; Methods and approaches – illustrating some recent techniques that have been developed to assess condition and conservation status across different types of river; Recovery and rehabilitation – providing an insight into the principles, practice, public involvement and institutional networks that support and make improvements to modified river reaches; Integrating nature conservation into wider river management –demonstrating the importance of integrated planning, involvement of local communities and the use of adaptive management in achieving multiple environmental and economic benefits along rivers used for different purposes. The final chapter discusses the challenges faced in dealing with an uncertain future. More than 1200 different references and numerous web-site citations provide the reader with an invaluable source of knowledge on the subject area.
