forest fire management. The canyon's ecosystem was permanently changed after the construction of the Glen Canyon Dam in 1963. Average flood levels dropped from 85,000 to 8,000 cubic ft/sec. In the absence of natural flooding, sandbars and beaches eroded and invasive species began to displace native species. Federal officials started releasing floods in the Grand Canyon in hopes of restoring its ecosystem beginning with 1996, 2004, and 2008. In 2018, the Department of Interior started experimenting with “adaptive management” of the Glen Canyon Dam, using a High-Flow Experiment (HFE) water release to shift volumes of sand and monitoring effects such as the dispersal of invasive tamarisk seeds. However, as of 2022, extreme drought has caused water levels in Lake Powell to drop so much that a planned release of water has been delayed, to ensure that the Glen Canyon Dam can continue to generate hydropower. Between 2003 and 2011, 2,215 mining claims had been requested that are adjacent to the canyon, including claims for uranium mines. Critics of uranium mining are concerned that uranium will leach into the aquifers feeding the Colorado River and contaminate the water supply for up to 18 million people. In 2009, U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar published a Notice of Intent to suspend approvals for new uranium mining in the area. In 2012, Salazar established a 20-year moratorium (known as the "Northern Arizona Withdrawal") withdrawing from the permitting process for uranium and hardrock mining, stating "People from all over the country and around the world come to visit the Grand Canyon. Numerous American Indian tribes regard this magnificent icon as a sacred place and millions of people in the Colorado River Basin depend on the river for drinking water, irrigation, industrial and environmental use." However, Salazar's 20-year moratorium on new mines still allows mines with previous authorization to operate. Multiple challenges have been brought into court both against the moratorium and against the operation of uranium mines in the area. The federal government's 2012 moratorium was upheld by the U.S. District Court for Arizona in 2014, but appealed in November 2014 as National Mining Association v. Jewell (No. 14-17350). The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals again upheld the moratorium in 2017, stating that the Secretary of the Interior held valid withdrawal authority. Havasupai Tribe v. Provencio was also argued at multiple court levels based on multiple grounds. The Havasupai people and the Grand Canyon Trust