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, .... ~ .... 0' r'", 1 " - '~ LOWER COLORADO RIVER MANAGEMENT PROGRAM AND RELATED ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS In the lower Colorado River between Da- vis Dam and the international boundary with Mexico, the Bureau of Reclamation con- structs and maintains levees, channels, and recreational facilities, and performs work re- quired for water salvage and mitigation and enhancement of fish and wildlife resources. These construction, maintenance, and relat- ed environmental activities are collectively known as the Lower Colorado River Man- agement Program, It is authorized by the 1927 Colorado River Front Work and Levee System Act and subsequent amendments, and by Section 306 of the Colorado River Basin Project Act, P.L. 90-537. Lower Colorado River Management Program Coordinating Committee The multiplicity of river use objectives on the Lower Colorado River has resulted in a multipurpose approach to river develop- ment, The Board's 1970 Annual Report de- scribed the formation of a California Lower Colorado River Coordinating Group (LCRCG) and the completion of its report entitled "State Policy on the Lower Colorado River Management Program and Associated Environmental Factors." Copies of the re- port were forwarded to the Secretary of the Interior and to the Regional Director, Re- gion 3, Bureau of Reclamation, at the close of 1970 with a request for an early meeting with regard to implementing the action program. On February 9, 1971, California and Ari- zona agencies met with the Bureau of Recla- mation to discuss the program. The Regional Director of the Bureau agreed with Cali- fornia's recommendation that a permanent federal-state group be formed to coordinate all Lower Colorado River Management Pro- gram activities, The Lower Colorado River Management Program Coordinating Com- \ mittee (LCRMPCC) was created, including the federal Bureaus of Reclamation, Sport Fisheries and Wildlife, Land Management, and Indian Affairs; the Colorado River Com- mission of Nevada; the Arizona Water Com- mission; the Arizona Game and Fish Depart- ment; and the three agencies comprising California's LCRCG: Colorado River Board, Department of Water Resources, and De- partment of Fish and Game. The purpose of the LCRMPCC is to study problem areas, reach decisions on courses of action to be followed, and make recommen- dations to the Bureau of Reclamation. However, final decisions concerning the Pro- gram will be made by the Bureau of Reclama- tion. At its first meeting on May 3, 1971, the LCRMPCC decided that staff work would be performed by a subcommittee designated as the Work Group, which utilizes the expertise of member agency operating staffs, The Su- pervising Hydraulic Engineer was designat- ed as the Board's representative on the Work Group. During 1971, the LCRMPCC met three times and the Work Group met five times, The issues considered in these meet- ings included some of those that are dis- cussed in the following sections, Bureau of Reclomation Task Force A Task Force, consisting of experts in vari- ous disciplines, was appointed by Commis- sioner Armstrong in 1971 to take a new look at the Lower Colorado River Management Program problems. The Task Force met with California's LCRCG and with repre- sentatives of other federal, state, and local agencies involved in the Program. The Task Force completed a draft of its "Report of Task Force-Colorado River Front Work and Levee System" in July and 33