Developed by the Bureau of Reclamation's Upper Colorado and Lower Colorado Regions, in collaboration with the Boulder City Field Solicitor, this is the latest of four books published by the Bureau of Reclamation to address the management of the Colorado River since the early 1900s. It summarizes 30 years of updates to the "Law of the Colorado River," a compilation of compacts, federal laws, court decisions and decrees, contracts, and regulatory guidelines that have been implemented over nearly a century to guide the management and operation of the Colorado River. It details the statutes, policies, agreements, and court decisions related to river operations, environmental matters, Mexican treaty deliveries, water development, water entitlement actions, Native American water settlements, proceedings in Arizona v. California, and power generation and distribution issues. All four books are available on the DVD.

"This report presents the results of comprehensive investigations of water and related land resources of the Lower Colorado Region. It provides appraisals of natural resources and their geographic distribution, projections of future requirements, associated problems and needs, and presents a framework program for the development and management of the water and related land resources of the Region to the year 2020, with intermediate objectives to the years 1980 and 2000. A schedule of implementation is presented, together with a general estimate of costs, for the program"--Page vii.

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.

The study covers the period from 1965 (base year) to the year 2020. In order to identify and stage early, intermediate, and late action programs, this study was divided into three time frames: 1966-1980, 1981-2000, and 2001-2020. This study deals with the water and related land resources of the Lower Colorado Region and embraces all significant problems and beneficial uses associated with these resources. Consideration was given to various aspects of problems related to supplies of water for municipal and industrial purposes, water quality control, flood control, irrigation, electric power production, mining and mineral processing, watershed management and treatment, land resources and use, outdoor recreation, and fish and wildlife. Environmental aspects such as natural beauty, cultural and historic values, rare species of flora and fauna, wildlife in general, and water and air quality goals are considered to be integral parts of the fabric of an optimum framework program.

This comprehensive new book replaces and substantially expands upon the landmark Fishes of Arizona, which has been the authoritative source since it was first published in 1973. Inland Fishes of the Greater Southwest is a one-volume guide to native and non-native fishes of the lower Colorado River basin, downstream from the Grand Canyon, and of the northern tributaries of the Sea of Cortez in the United States and Mexico. In all, there are in-depth accounts of more than 165 species representing 30 families. The book is not limited to the fish. It provides insights into their aquatic world with information on topography, drainage relations, climate, geology, vegetational history, aquatic habitats, human-made water systems, and conservation. A section of the book is devoted to fish identification, with keys to native and non-native families as well as family keys to species. The book is illustrated with more than 120 black-and-white illustrations, 47 full-color plates of native fishes, and nearly 40 maps and figures. Many native fish species are unique to the Southwest. They possess interesting and unusual adaptations to the challenges of the region, able to survive silt-laden floods as well as extreme water temperatures and highly fluctuating water flows ranging from very low levels to flash floods. However, in spite of being well-adapted, many of the fish described here are threatened or endangered, often due to the acts of humans who have altered the natural habitat. For that reason, Inland Fishes of the Greater Southwest presents a vast amount of information about the ecological relationships between the fishes it describes and their environments, paying particular attention to the ways in which human interactions have modified aquatic ecosystemsÑand to how humans might work to ensure the survival of rapidly disappearing native species.