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<br />002525 <br /> <br />THE <br />IN <br /> <br />RESOLVING THE <br />ENDANGERED SPECIES <br />THE UPPER COLORADO <br /> <br />CONFLICT BETWEEN <br />ACT AND WATER DEVELOPMENT <br />RIVER BASIN: A PROPOSAL <br />By <br />Colorado Water Congress Special proj ~ <br />on Threatened and Endangered Species <br /> <br />r..\l G 1. 5 '986 <br /> <br />R"OO WA1ER <br />COLa :nON BOARD <br />CONSE.RV" <br />Following passage of the Federal Endangered Species Act in <br /> <br />Tom Pitts, P.E. <br />Project Coordinator <br /> <br /> <br />The <br /> <br />1973, three native fishes in the Upper Colorado River Basin <br /> <br /> <br />--the Colorado squawfish, bony tail chub, and humpback chub-- <br /> <br /> <br />were listed as endangered. In the mid- to late-70's, the <br /> <br />U.S. Fish and Wildlife Servic~ conducted consultations on <br /> <br />several Federally sponsored water projects under Section 7 of <br /> <br />the Endangered Species Act. This section of the Act states <br /> <br />that Federal agencies may take no action which might further <br /> <br /> <br />jeopardize the continued existence of endangered species. <br /> <br /> <br />"Actions" include construction, funding of projects, and <br /> <br />issuance of 404 or right-of-way permits by Federal agencies. <br /> <br />In 1981, the Windy Gap Project was subjected to Section 7 <br /> <br /> <br />consultation. The project sponsor, the Municipal <br /> <br />Subdistrict, Northern Colorado I/ater Conservancy District, <br /> <br />negotiated a settlement in which it would fund conservation <br /> <br /> <br />measures to offset any rotential adverse effect project <br /> <br />depletions might have on endangered species habitat. The "Windy <br /> <br /> <br />Gap approach" was used in forty subsequent Section 7 <br /> <br />consultations by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Water <br /> <br /> <br />project sponsors provide funding, based on a depletion formula, <br /> <br /> <br />for conservation measures to offset project impacts. The <br /> <br /> <br />approach provided a means for generating the funding necessary <br /> <br />to conduct studies to define the needs of the species, and at <br /> <br /> <br />the same time allowed water development to proceed. <br /> <br />;1 t: G f:: I V 1:::1J <br /> <br />r.u G 1 3 '1~&6 <br /> <br />L;:PER COLORADO RIVER COMMISSION <br />~^I T lAKE CITY IITA~ <br />