Paleontological Resources of the Lower Colorado Region, Lake Mead NRA

A. The goal of this project is to better understand the scope and extent of paleontological resources on U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (USBR) lands along the lower Colorado River in California, Arizona, and Nevada, including National Park Service (NPS) lands within Lake Mead National Recreation Area. This understanding will further both USBR and NPS compliance with the Paleontological Resources Preservation Act (PRPA) (PL 111-11), which requires bureaus to preserve, manage, and protect paleontological resources as well as develop inventory and monitoring programs using scientific principles and expertise (Secretaryâ¿¿s Top 10 Priorities: 1.a.). Additionally, this understanding will help streamline the environmental review process under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) while maintaining environmental standards (Secretaryâ¿¿s Top 10 Priorities: 1.c.). Paleontological resource maps and information developed from this project will allow land managers to more efficiently review proposed projects under NEPA for potential impacts on paleontological resources and to more quickly approve projects that will have no known impacts (Secretaryâ¿¿s Top 10 Priorities: 7.a.).