biodiversity – the building blocks of evolution, also called biological capital, pertaining specifically to the number and variety of species in existence

biomass – similar to biodiversity, describes the physical mass of the various species of plants and animals

cfs – cubic feet per second

CRSP - Colorado River Storage Project

ecosystem – a habitat or community of organisms which are interconnected and interdependent, this includes the food chain, the nutrient cycle, and the hydrological cycle

endangered species – a species in danger of extinction throughout all or a significant portion of its range. Category 1: a species which there is substantial information to support listing as threatened or endangered. Category 2: a species for which some information indicates that listing is possibly appropriate, but biological data on vulnerability and threat are not currently available.

EIS - Environmental Impact Statement

GCES - Glen Canyon Environmental Studies

million-acre-feet (maf) – measurement of volume of water, an acre-foot is the volume of water to cover an acre, a foot deep.

NPS - National Park Service

NHWZ - New High Water Zone

Non-Use Value (NUV) – the monetary or market value placed on a species or landscape or ecosystem which is not traditionally considered part of the market economy; often related to public goods which are non-rivaled and non-excludable but not devoid of value just because they are not part of a transaction

riparian –the wetlands, shore line habitat surrounding the river or body of water which is specifically adapted to wet conditions and provides havrious types of habitat for land-based species.

USDOI - United States Department of Interior

USGS - United States Geological Survey

willingness-to-pay (WTP) –a valuation made in Contingent Valuation Surveys in which an individual will be asked for example their willingness to pay to clean up the Exxon Valdez oil spill or to restore Glen Canyon; the higher the willingness to pay, the higher the potential social benefit of the proposed project

Lower Basin-Nevada, California, New Mexico and Arizona

Upper Basin- Wyoming, Colorado and Utah