ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, April 12, 1996 TAG: 9604120072
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-3 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: WASHINGTON
SOURCE: NATALIE P. McNEAL COX NEWS SERVICE
THE GRAND CANYON'S natural habitat is springing back with a little help from humankind.
The first-ever artificial flooding of the Grand Canyon worke ``brilliantly'' to improve the canyon's environment, Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt said Thursday.
``The beaches and species habitat through the Grand Canyon appear to have been significantly restored,'' Babbitt said at a news conference.
In an effort to restore the canyon's natural environment - degraded by years without annual spring flooding because of huge dams built upstream - as much as 45,000 cubic feet of water per second was discharged from Glen Canyon dam.
The flooding, which lasted seven days beginning March 26, was designed to agitate and disperse rich sediments in order to restore beaches and promote the growth of plants and wildlife, Babbitt said.
The secretary said numerous large backwater channels created by the flood waters would become habitat for the humpback chub fish and other endangered fish species. Also, a one-third increase in sand beaches along the river's course was noted.
``Our science is now such that we can recreate more natural river flows without real sacrifices of power or water capture,'' Babbitt said.
Babbitt said the success of the experiment can serve as a model for other natural sites threatened by development, such as the Florida Everglades and the Mississippi River delta.
``After so many years of concentrating on water capture and power generation, this test is a symbol of our new commitment to making environmental restoration an equal part of water equation,'' Babbitt said.
LENGTH: Short : 47 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: AP. 1. & 2. The Interior Department's satellite photosby CNBshow the Lower Saddle Beach on the Colorado River near Page, Ariz.,
before and after the flood. Years without annual spring flooding
because of huge dams built upstream had degraded the canyon's
natural environment.