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Published online 5 March 2008 | Nature | doi:10.1038/news.2008.644
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Flooding the Grand Canyon
Waters set to be unleashed to recreate spring floods.
A flood of water is set to be released today down the Grand Canyon, in an attempt to improve the Colorado River’s environment and study how best to maintain that.
This is the third time in the past dozen years that water has been dumped from Glen Canyon Dam in northern Arizona to improve habitats downstream in the monumental gorge.
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It seems to me that the flooding of the Grand Canyon should be anannual event. Wasn't it that way befor dams were built ?
Speaking as a former Grand Canyon Park Ranger and research assistant for a project measuring human impact on beaches throughout the Canyon, I can tell you that this is an immeasurably complex issue with many passionate stakeholders. A friend of mine is running the river right now and I can only imagine how insane it must be to run it during flooding!