WSP11889

• File Number: 8240.200.10.F.1
• Description: UCRBRIP Fish & Wildlife Evaulation of Program
• Basin: Colorado Mainstem
• Date: 9/27/1993
• Author: John Hamill
• Title: The Upper Colorado River Basin Endangered Fish Recovery Initiative
• Water Supply Pro - Doc Type: Publication

14- INTRACTABLE CONFLICT/
CONSTRUCTIVE CONFRONT A TION
PROJECT

Developing Constructive Approaches for
Confronting Seemingly Intractable Conflicts

CONFLICT RESOLUTION CONSORTIUM

University of Colorado

Working Paper 93-12, September 27, 19931

THE UPPER COWRADO RIVER BASIN ENDANGERED
FISH RECOVERY INITIATIVE

By John Hamill
Program Director
Recovery Program for the Endangered Fish of the Upper Colorado
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

I'm going to talk about a fairly unique model within the
country today undertaken by the Fish and Wildlife Service in an
attempt to apply the Endangered Species Act. The model
involves a recovery program for endangered fish in the Upper
Colorado River Basin.
First, I'll describe the nature of the problem and how it
came about. A lot of the conflict relates to what Larrltalked
about in terms of property rights. Then I will describe the
process that we are trying to use to resolve these conflicts, Our
effort feeds into what Curt3 described as "adaptive management."
Finally, I will give you my perspective..after four or five years in
this process,-of the positive and negative factors that are
influencing its success or failure. It's hardly a done deal at this
point--you can't yet characterize it as a success, but it hasn't
failed either.
First, let me give you some background. There are four
endangered species of fish that live in the Colorado River system.
They are the Colorado squaw fish, the razorhack sucker, the
humpback chub, and the boneytail chub. Those four fish
represent about one,third of the native fish fauna in the entire

Colorado River ecosystem. There are only thirteen fish that
are native to the upper basinnfour of those are now on the
verge of extinction. All of these fish have been listed as
endangered under the Endangered Species Act of 1973
Some of them were grandfathered in when the Endangered
Species Act came about in 1973, and the razurback sucker
was listed in 1991. The program that I have been invofved
with encompasses the Upper Colorado River Basin, which
includes parts of three states: southwest Wyoming, western
Colorado, and eastern Utah, all the way down to Lake
Powell. We are working on about BOO miles of river which
has recently been proposed as critical habitat for the survival
and recovery of these fish.
The reason these fish are endangered is largely becau"
of the construction of water projects throughout th,
Colorado River Basin, not just in Colorado. Utah, ane
Wyoming, but also in Arizona, California, and Nevada a;
well. Those projects dammed up the river, prevented th,
migration of fish, changed the flows and temperatures inth,
river from what they used to be historically, and inundatec

1 77,is paper is all ediled Irallscript of a talk gi"ClI by Johll Hamill for the Jlllractoble COlljlict/Constnrctive COllfronratiOll Projec:
all April 10, 1993. Funding for this Project was prO\'ided by Ihe William alld Flora Hewlett FouIldarioll alld the UIliversity 0.'
Colorado. All ideas prese1lted afe those of the author and do not necessarily represem the views of the COllsonium, the UlIi\'ersir:..
or Hewlett Foulldatioll. For more illfon71alion, contact tire COllflict Resolution C01lsonju11I, Campus Box 327, University of Colorade,
Boulder, Colorado 80309,0327. PllOne: [phone], Nllail: [e-mail],edu.

'" 1993. Conflict Resolution Consortium. Do not reprint without permission.