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<br />. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />o The Recovery Program will operate consistent with State and <br />Federal law. <br /> <br />2. It is intended that all participants in the Recovery Program will <br />endorse the Procedures. <br /> <br />3. It is intended that these Procedures will be implemented by a <br />Memorandum of Understanding among the State wildlife agencies and <br />the Service. <br /> <br />4. The Service and the States each have statutory responsibilities <br />which can not be abrogated. The States have the responsibility for <br />managing the States fish and wildlife resources, which includes <br />threatened and endangered species occurring within its boundaries <br />and decisions related to fish stocking. The Service has certain <br />legislative responsibilities for conserving fish and wildlife <br />resources including administering the Endangered Species Act. <br /> <br />5. The goal of the Service and the States is to reach consensus on <br />issues related to stocking of nonnative fishes so that neither <br />agency has to independently assert its authority. The Service and <br />the States will make a concerted effort to resolve any disagreements <br />that may arise over a stocking proposal. <br /> <br />6. The Procedures should provide adequate opportunity for review and <br />input by participants in the Recovery Program and other interested <br />parties. <br /> <br />7. The Procedures should as specifically as possible identify those <br />species and circumstances where (a) stocking would be acceptable on <br />a routine basis, (b) stocking would be unacceptable, and (c) <br />stocking would be determined through a case-by-case evaluation <br />process. With respect to 7(c), above: <br /> <br />o Proposals to stock nonnative fishes will be founded on sound <br />biological evaluations and contain sufficient information to <br />allow for an objective and complete evaluation. <br /> <br />o Reviews, recommendations, and decisions related to a stocking <br />proposal will be based on biological considerations that will <br />be specifically identified. <br /> <br />o If an agency objects to a stocking proposal, that agency will <br />make a concerted effort to identify reasonable alternatives. <br /> <br />8. Habitat and biological communities have been severely altered in the <br />Upper Basin. While it is difficult to fully assess and quantify, <br />the loss of habitat and the effects of nonnative species are both <br />responsible for the decline of the endangered Colorado River fishes. <br />It is not possible to definitively identify the relative <br />contribution that each of these factors had to the endangerment of <br />the fishes. In many cases, the proliferation of nonnatives was made <br /> <br />2 <br />