Editing Colorado River (section)

===Colorado River Storage Project===
{{main|Colorado River Storage Project}}
In the first half of the 20th century, the Upper Basin states, with the exception of Colorado, had developed very little of their water allocations from the Colorado River Compact. By the 1950s, however, water demand was rapidly increasing in Utah's [[Wasatch Front]] ([[Salt Lake City]] metro area) and the [[Rio Grande Valley (landform)|Rio Grande Valley]] of New Mexico, which both began exploring ways to divert water from the Colorado Basin.{{sfn|Fradkin|p=191|1996}} The Upper Basin states were concerned that they would not be able to use their full Compact allocations due to increasing water demands in the Lower Basin. The Compact requires the Upper Basin to deliver a minimum annual flow of {{convert|7.5|e6acre.ft}} past Lee's Ferry (measured on a 10-year rolling average). Without additional reservoir storage, the Upper Basin states could not utilize their allocations without impacting water deliveries to the Lower Basin in dry years.<ref name="CRSP"/>

[[Image:Glen_Canyon_Dam_AZ.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Glen Canyon Dam, the largest dam of the Colorado River Storage Project]]
In 1956 Congress authorized the USBR to construct the Colorado River Storage Project (CRSP), which planned several large reservoirs on the upper Colorado, Green, Gunnison and San Juan Rivers.<ref name="CRSP">{{cite web |url=https://www.usbr.gov/uc/rm/crsp/index.html |title=Colorado River Storage Project |publisher=U.S. Bureau of Reclamation |date= |access-date=May 18, 2022 |archive-date=November 8, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191108020419/https://www.usbr.gov/uc/rm/crsp/index.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The initial blueprints for the CRSP included two dams on the Green River within [[Echo Park (Colorado)|Echo Park Canyon]] in [[Dinosaur National Monument]] – a move criticized by both the [[U.S. National Park Service|National Park Service]] and environmental groups such as the [[Sierra Club]]. The controversy received nationwide media attention, and the USBR dropped its plans for the Dinosaur dams in exchange for increasing the size of a proposed dam at Glen Canyon.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nps.gov/history/history/online_books/colorado/chap9.htm |title=Chapter IX: Dinosaur National Monument |publisher=U.S. National Park Service |work=A Survey of the Recreational Resources of the Colorado River Basin |date=September 6, 2004 |access-date=February 20, 2012 |archive-date=November 3, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131103155731/http://www.nps.gov/history/history/online_books/colorado/chap9.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>

The controversy associated with Glen Canyon Dam did not build momentum until construction was well underway. Due to Glen Canyon's remote location, most of the American public did not even know of its existence; the few who did contended that it had much greater scenic value than Echo Park. The [[environmental movement]] in the American Southwest has opposed the damming and diversion of the Colorado River system due to negative effects on the ecology and natural beauty of the river and its tributaries. During the construction of [[Glen Canyon Dam]] (1956–66), environmental organizations{{which|date=September 2022}} vowed{{clarify|date=September 2022}} to block any further development of the river, and a number of later dam and aqueduct proposals were defeated by citizen opposition. Sierra Club leader [[David Brower]] fought the dam both during the construction and for many years afterwards until his death in 2000. Brower believed that he was personally responsible for the failure to prevent Glen Canyon's flooding, calling it his "greatest mistake, greatest sin".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.drainit.org/campaigns/drought/facts3.cfm |title=Historic Opposition to Glen Canyon Dam |publisher=Colorado Riverkeeper |work=The End of Lake Powell Campaign |date=July 20, 2004 |access-date=November 2, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131228020203/http://www.drainit.org/campaigns/drought/facts3.cfm |archive-date=December 28, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://archive.audubonmagazine.org/fieldnotes/fieldnotes0607.html |title=Resurrection: Buried Treasure |publisher=National Audubon Society |year=2006 |access-date=February 20, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130120034155/http://archive.audubonmagazine.org/fieldnotes/fieldnotes0607.html |archive-date=January 20, 2013}}</ref>

In addition to Glen Canyon Dam, the CRSP includes the [[Flaming Gorge Dam]] on the Green River, the [[Blue Mesa Dam|Blue Mesa]], [[Morrow Point Dam|Morrow Point]] and [[Crystal Dam]]s on the Gunnison River, and the [[Navajo Dam]] on the San Juan River. A total of 22 "participating projects" (of which 16 have been constructed) were later authorized in order to develop local water supplies at various locations across the Upper Basin states.<ref name="CRSP"/> These include the [[Central Utah Project]], which delivers {{convert|102000|acre feet|m3}} per year from the Green River basin to the Wasatch Front, and the [[San Juan–Chama Project]], which diverts {{convert|110000|acre feet|m3}} per year from the San Juan River to the Rio Grande Valley. Both are multi-purpose projects serving a variety of agricultural, municipal and industrial uses.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.doi.gov/cupcao/Overview |title=The Central Utah Project - An Overview |publisher=U.S. Department of the Interior |date= April 3, 2019|access-date=May 18, 2022 |archive-date=May 20, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220520093204/https://www.doi.gov/cupcao/Overview |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.usbr.gov/projects/pdf.php?id=186 |title=San Juan-Chama Project |publisher=U.S. Bureau of Reclamation |author=Glaser, Leah S. |date= |access-date=May 18, 2022 |archive-date=March 8, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220308132051/https://www.usbr.gov/projects/pdf.php?id=186 |url-status=live }}</ref>