hile we are not exactly experiencing the dead of winter in the Southwest, there seems to be a good chance that the upper basin areas will continue to receive the lion’s share of the basin’s snowpack. La Niña seems to be alive and standing up for herself quite nicely against the wishes of all of the would-be skiers in Northern Arizona. Let’s hope that the undammed rivers flow for resource and recreation use come this Spring. The 2006 forecast for our stretch of the Colorado seems to once again be for minimal release totals and headway is being made on developing drought management procedures for dam operations. For basin hydrology information, check out Tom Ryan’s info at www.usbr.gov/uc/water/crsp/cs/gcd .html or check your email from gcrg. Lynn does a great job at keeping us posted of expected flow conditions for the Canyon run. If you are interested in a snowpack map, go to the bqr’s upper basin website www.usbr.gov/ uc/water/notice/snowpack.html.

I hope you enjoy reading the bqr. I had the occasion to leaf through some of the “News” that gcrg put out over ten years ago. While the scope and the format have changed, the basic information about what concerns us as river runners and lovers of all things Grand Canyon is still here. And, yes, while zealous intensity of young groups is exciting and often eye-catching, the persistent plodding of dedicated, if a bit staid, organizations can form the backbone of change from working within. I could not imagine getting much done without both types. So, whatever your type, if something strikes your fancy and you want to share it, or something else has been giving you a dull ache and you want to work on it, let us know.

Joe Pollock