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<br />-Director's message <br /> <br />By John Hamill <br />Recovery Program Director <br />U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service <br /> <br />Recovery Program action plan <br />Over the past year, Recovery <br />Program participants have woIked to <br />develop a Recovery Action Plan and an <br />agreement on how the U.S. Fish and <br />Wildlife Servk:e will conduct Section 7 <br />consultations under the Endangered <br />Species Act on water projects in the <br />upper Colorado River Basin. <br />A basic premise of the agreement is <br />that activities and accomplislunents of <br />the Recovery Program will serve as <br />the "reasonable and prudent alterna- <br />tiye" that avoids jeopardy to endan- <br />gered fish from water development. <br />The Management Committee <br />approved the agreement March 12. It <br />becomes effective when the <br />Implementation Committee adopts <br />the Recovery Action Plan, which is <br />expected in September. Until then the <br />Service will use the agreement and <br />draft plan as its basis for identifying <br />reasonable and prudent alternatives <br />for new and existing water projects <br />undergoing Section 7 consultation <br />Also, program participants have <br />agreed to begin shifting emphasis <br />from research activities to more sub- <br />stantive measures to improve the fish- <br />es' habitat and status. <br />The plan will identify top priority <br /> <br />... . .... .. . . <br /> <br />..J~~~~~i <br />~Y.t <br /> <br />'COlorado sqti<i wfisKbufupbiiCk <br /> <br />.'.'...~~i~~~r~i~?ri <br /> <br />" ,,'..thisn~wsletterispilbiished <br /> <br />~\;ir~~; <br /> <br />recovery activities:set schedules and -from- the Yampa-and 'GreciCriver.nind - <br /> <br /> <br />identify necessary funds. <br />The draft plan already has substan- <br />tially influenced program activities. <br />The Management Committee <br />approyed $600,000 of work on six <br />capital projects in fiscal year 1993 to <br />improve endangered fish habitat. <br />Projects include: building passage- <br />ways to allow endangered fish to <br />return to historic habitats such as the <br />Gunnison River aboye Red1ands <br />Diversion Dam and the Colorado <br />River aboye the PricelStubb Diversion <br />Dam; restoring fish access to histori- <br />cally flooded bottom lands; and <br />enhancing flows in the" 15-mile <br />reach" of the Colorado River near <br />Grand Junction. <br />The Recovery Program is asking <br />Congress for an additional $1.5 mil- <br />lion for these initiatives in 1994. <br />(Project descriptions, the Section T <br />agreement and the draft Recoyery <br />Action Plan are available from my <br />office by calling 303-236-2985.) <br /> <br />'Refuge' pond collSlructlon continues <br />Construction has begun on addition- <br />al "refuge" ponds for endangered fish <br />at the Ouray National Wildlife Refuge, <br />near Vernal, Utal1. In 1991, the Bureau <br />of Reclamation received $860,000 for <br />this pUllJOse through a federal drought <br />assistance program. <br />A new water supply system and 10 <br />ponds will be built this summer. The <br />ponds will hold razorback suckers <br />" <br /> <br />Upper Colorado <br />River Basin <br /> <br />~ <br />'- <br />I <br /> <br />ttt.._ <br /> <br />Lake Powell. <br />These ponds and those completed <br />last summer at Horsethief State <br />Wildlife Area near Grand Junction, <br />Colo., will boost efforts to develop <br />refuge populations and brood stocks <br />for razorbacks and other critically <br />endangered fish populations. <br /> <br />Genetic sample collections complete <br />In 1992, biologists finished collect- <br />ing tissue samples for analyzing genet- <br />ic makeup of endangered fish. The <br />analyses, to be completed in ] 994, will <br />show if fish from different areas are <br />genetically distinct and will help biolo- <br />gists determine what stocks to use in <br />reintroduction and augmentation. <br />Biologists are evaluating the <br />Gunnison and Colorado rivers for sites <br />where razorback suckers can be rein- <br />troduced. <br /> <br />COlorado River flows may Increase <br />The Colorado Water Consel"lalion <br />Board has applied to water court for a <br />581 cubic-feet-per-second in-stream <br />flow appropriation from July through <br />September for endangered fish in the <br />IS-mile reach. The board anticipates <br />the appropriation will be made in 1993. <br />Though additional flows still are <br />needed to meet the 700 to 1,200 CFS <br />recommended for this period, this <br />appropriation will help maintain <br />important habitat for adult Colorado <br />squawfish, <br /> <br />~ <br /> <br />WATER RIGHTS: The Recovery Program covers the upper Colorado <br />River Basin upstream of Lake Powell. Priority areas for acquiring <br />water rights are the Vampa River, White River and the '15-mlle reach' <br />of the Colorado River near Grand Junction, Colo. <br /> <br />3 <br />