The incredible change of the Colorado ecosystem was due to, originally, the Colorado River Storage Project (CRSP) and Act (1956) which sought to provide water and energy to the rapidly growing desert area of the Four Corners and Las Vegas. The Glen Canyon Dam was considered to be the "crown jewel" (USBR & USDOI, 1996) of the project. In 1956 construction of the dam began and was completed a mere eight years later. It would take a little more than twice that time, 17 years, for the reservoir to reach its optimal capacity (NPS, 1998). However, this was a time before environmental movements and laws when little was understood or known about human impact on nature and ecosystems. Extensive geological research was completed on numerous canyons to find the perfect site sitting amid the shadows of other great Colorado dams, specifically the infamous and enormous Hoover Dam, and the few concerns of "possible" ecological impacts were quickly dismissed as "costs of progress" (PBS, 1997). No environmental assessments were implemented to study the possible impacts this enormous concrete plug would have on the river and the 186 miles of canyon it was scheduled to submerge (PBS, 1997). In fact, some say that it was the building of Glen Canyon Dam and the consequent destruction of the Glen Canyon/Colorado River ecosystem which kicked off the environmental movement with the emergence of leaders like David Brower, founder of the Sierra Club, and with the formation of private organizations like the Glen Canyon Institute (GCI) (GCI, 1998).