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<br />. I <br /> <br />News Release <br /> <br />May 6, 1998 <br />For Immediate Release <br /> <br />News Contact: Jim Lochhead <br />(303) 866-3311 <br /> <br />NEW PROPOSAL TO EXPEDITE ENDANGERED <br />FISH RECOVERY IN THE COLORADO RIVER <br /> <br />At a May 4 meeting in Dillon hosted by Colorado Department of Natural <br />Resources Executive Director Jim Lochhead, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, <br />Colorado River water users and environmentalists took a major step toward resolving <br />many complex issues regarding the Upper Colorado River Endangered Fish Recovery <br />Program. The group discussed a proposal to expedite the process of defining mitigation <br />measures for endangered fish that will be required of the state and water users as water <br />development continues upstream from the "IS-Mile Reach" of the Colorado River near <br />Grand Junction. The meeting was one of a series convened by Lochhead since October <br />1997 to reconcile future Colorado River water development with habitat protection for <br />four endangered fish species. <br />The Service outlined the elements of a biological opinion containing measures <br />that would satisfy the requirements of the federal Endangered Species Act. Before a <br />federal agency approves an activity that takes water from the Colorado River, it must <br />ensure that the activity will not adversely impact the endangered fish. <br />"This proposal represents a whole new direction, focusing the resources of the <br />recovery program toward on-the-ground habitat restoration and away from <br />philosophical debate," said Lochhead. <br />The proposal re-focuses components of the recovery program in the Colorado <br />River upstream from Grand Junction. If certain specified mitigation measures are <br />implemented, existing and future users of the Colorado River water in Colorado would <br />