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<br />EXECUTIVE SUMMARY <br /> <br />I. INTRODUCTION <br /> <br />It is the purpose of this Feasibility Assessment to idemify regulatory options related to <br />endangered species management that might be applied on the Lower Colorado River, and [0 <br />discuss their relative merits and estimated costs, <br /> <br />In recent years, the D.S, Fish and Wildlife Service (hereinafter referred to as the Service) has <br />taken several actions under the authority of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA)' relative <br />to the Lower Colorado River corridor. At least thirty-five animal species that inhabit (or once <br />inhabited) the Lower Colorado River, riparian corridor, or reservoir edges have been listed, or <br />have become candidates for listing, as threatened or endangered, In July 1989, the Secretary <br />of the Department of the Interior (Secretary) ordered an environmental impact statement (EIS) <br />to be prepared for the operation of Glen Canyon Dam, This EIS required a Section 7 <br />consultation with the Service that resulted in a jeopardy opinion and a reasonable and prudem <br />alternative (RP A) for two endangered fish, the humpback chub and the razorback sucker. 2 In <br />March 1994, the Service designated critical habitat' for the four endangered big river fish <br />(razorback sucker, humpback chub, bony tail, and Colorado squawfish), an action that affects the <br />entire Colorado River Basin, particularly the Lower Basin, In 1994, the Western Area Power <br />Administration (Western) announced changes in the releases into and out of Lake Mohave due <br />to efforts to sustain the razorback sucker population (Western, I 994a), Currently, the Bureau <br />of Reclamation (Reclamation) is conducting a "biological assessment" (BA), pursuant to Section <br />7(c) of the ESA, regarding the potential impact of reservoir and river operations on listed species <br />throughout the Lower Colorado River Basin. This is being done at the request of the Service, <br />which informed Reclamation that" ", current dam operations could have an effect on either the <br /> <br />16 U.s.e. SS 1531, ef seq" as amended, (See Appendi. A for a copy of the ESA) <br /> <br />2 See Appendi. B for a eopy of the draft biological opinion on the operation of Glen Canyon Dam and a <br />revised RPA, dated September 19, 1994, <br /> <br />See Appendi. C for the Determination of Critical Habitat; Final Rule (50 e.F.R, 17), <br /> <br />FINAL REPORT <br /> <br />December 20, 1994 <br />Poge ,. <br />