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. , ",}J~r ! i ,. address complex biological and hydrologic issues. From this lengthy and intense fact-finding effort, a concept evolved of recov- ering the fish and protect- iug their habitat while allowing for water devel- opment. The following organizations and agencies participate in the recovery program: Fish and Wildlife Service US. Bureau of Reclamation Western Area Power Administration States of Colorado, Utah and Wyoming National Audubon Society Environmental Defense Fund Colorado Wildlife Federation Wyoming Wildlife Federation Colorado Water Congress Utah Water Users Association Wyoming Water Dev'elopment Assn. Colorado River Energy . Distributors Assn. ' The recovery program includes five elements: (1) habitat management (2) habitat development' and maintenance, (3) native fish stocking, (4) controlled non-native and sport fish . management andeS) research, data manage~ ment and monitoring. . Water development pro- Jects still are subject to Endangered Species Act Section 7 consultation. Indirect (depletion) impacts are offset by a one-time contribution of approxi- mately $11 per acre-foot of depletion (adjusted annual- ly for inflation. Direct impacts to occupied habitat are addressed on a case by case basis. Where possible, reasonable and prudent alternatives are recom- mende~ to .avoid a jeopardy determmatlOn. A permit is denied only if reasonable and prudent alternatives cannot be developed. Importantly, under this program, the federal gov- ernment has conurlitted to work within state water law :vhen seeking to protect lDstream flows. FUNDING Success of the program depends on full funding. Sources of funding include the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Bureau of Reclamation, contributions . fro~ water and power users, and the states of COlorado Utah and Wyommg. ' Additionally, the depletion charges contribute to the program. Tight budgets and competing interests make annual appropriations a continuing struggle. RECOVERY ACTION PLAN The recovery action plan outlines actions to recover endangered Colorado River fish in the upper basin. * A related suffi- cient-progress agreement clarifies how the Endangered Species Act will be applied. to new and existing water development projects in t~e npper basin. Comple- tIon of activities in the plan will be considered by the . U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as progress toward recovery'of the endangered fish in conducting its section 7 consultations on existing and proposed water projects th~t require a federal per- mit or renewal. The service will use the recovery action plan to measure recovery program accomplishments and to determine if suffi- cient progress has been made by the program to allow it to continue to serve as the reasonable and prudent alternative to avoid the likelihood of jeopardy being caused by water project operation and development. Without the sufficient-progress agreement, operators of CRWUA existing and developers of new water projects would have sole responsibility to offset the impacts their projects may have on the endangered fish. * N'?te: Though in the upper ~asm, San Juan River activi- ties are approached through a separate program. SAN JUAN RIVER A recovery and implemen- tation program for the endangered fish oithe. San Juan River is now in place. As on the rest of the upper Colorado, the goal oithis joint effort between the Department of.the Interior and the states of Colorado New Mexico and Utah is t~ protect the fish while allowing water develop- ment to proceed. The pro- gram is a condition of the reasonable and prudent alternative for the biologi- cal opinions under the Endangered Species Act . for the Animas:La Plata . . and Navajo Indian irriga- tion projects. IN THE LOWER COLORADO RIVER BASIN . A program initiated by' the . Bureau of Reclamation's Lo:ver Colorado Region is glVlng the razorback suck- er in that region a ohance at survival and recovery. In 1990, Reclamation formed the Colorado River Native Fish Work Group-the U.S. Fish and Wildlife SerVice, National Park Service, Nevada Department of Wildlife, Arizona Game and Fish Department and Arizona State University - to conduct a program to stop the decline of the endangered fish species. . This fish had adapted to the natural environment of the Colorado that had existed before the develop- ment of large-scale water management projects. The fluctuating flows of the river and alternating sea- sonal wet and dry periods were ideal to the d~velop- me~t of the native fish pop- ulatIon." . However, with the con- struction of Hoover and Davis dams on the Colorado the razorback sucker was ' threatened by the new envi- ronment that had devel- oped. The Warm, muddy nver was replaced by cool clear l~kes.. Native plants' and ammals that provided food died out and non-native predatory game fish thrived. The, specieshad difficiilty adaptIng to these new con- ditionsand their popula- . tIons soon were depleted. The hatchings of the few fish !hat remain struggle to snrvlve to .adulthood in the predatory environment. Lake Mcihave behind. Davis Dam now is home to about 60,000 of these . endangered fish. To main- tain the present population of razorback suckers, biolo- gists from the Lower COloraqo Regionai Office have captured adult razor- backs and placed them in rearing facilities on the lake to spawn. The growth and behavior of th~ razorback young are momtored and recorded. So . fat, the growth rate .of the'" . young razor1;>acles raised in the protected facilities has .been twice the size .of those living in tlie lake. Safe from game fish in these protected. . . ~ves, sever31 have grown big. enough to betransplant-' ed mto the lake. More than 300 have been placed in the natural environment. of Lake Mohave where they continue to be tracked and studied. The information gained and techniques used in this , , ~.! .i '. 1 i . ." '.( >-';