For decades, Glen Canyon lay submerged beneath the waters of Lake Powell. But as reservoir levels have fallen more than 170 feet over the past quarter century, a surprising transformation is taking place.
Eric Balken, executive director of the Glen Canyon Institute, discusses the rapid ecological recovery emerging in formerly flooded canyons. Native plants, wildlife, beavers and spring-fed streams are returning to landscapes that disappeared when Glen Canyon Dam was completed in 1963. Balken explains why these recovering ecosystems challenge long-held assumptions about the Colorado River Basin and why water managers are being forced to rethink the future of Lake Powell.
The conversation also explores a looming crisis as the reservoir approaches critical elevations that could threaten dam operations, proposals to re-engineer Glen Canyon Dam with bypass tunnels, and a new community science initiative that allows visitors to help document one of the fastest ecological recoveries in the American West.
