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UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR BUREAU OF RECLAMATION WASHINGTON MAR 24 1938 OFFICE OF THE COMMISSIONER ADDRESS ALL COMMUNICATIONS TO THE COMMISSIONER Memorandum for the Secretary: Senator Hayden has introduced a bill, 8. 3362, which proposes to extend the boundary of the Grand Canyon National Park approximately 43 miles downstream. The Department has been requested to make a report on the bill, and the Bureau of Reclamation here with suggests an amendment to be recommended in your report. The request for report has been assigned to the National Park Service. The Bureau of Reclamation and other parties interested in the development of the Colorado River have long planned the construction of a the river's resources. The Bridge Canyon site is located about 78 miles downstream from the boundary of Grand Canyon National Park or 35 miles downstream from the boundary of the proposed extension. The Bridge Canyon dam as planned would raise the water surface 563 feet, forming a reservoir which would extend nearly to the present park boundary and would have a capacity in excess of 2,000,000 acre-feet. If it were not permissible to develop the reservoir in the additional park area which is proposed in 8. 3362, the water surface could only be raised 303 feet, and the capacity of the reservoir would be only 300,000 acre-feet. The effect of restricting the reservoir to an area outside of the proposed park extension would be to nullify feasibility of the dam. The principal purposes for building the dam would be to protect Lake Mead by storing silt and to generate cheap electrical energy to assist in repayment of the costs of construction. A 563-foot dam at Bridge Canyon would by itself prolong the life of Lake Mead for a great many years. Your attention is also called to the fact that a dam at Bridge Canyon is the key structure in the so-called Arizona Highland plan for irrigating lands in west-central Arizona. The State of Arizona has forEpson Perfection 4870 Photo, 400 dpi, 8 bit, 14,155,776 byte