BOARD00038 ‎(2)‎

• Board Meeting Date: 9/20/2006
• Description: WSP Section - San Juan River Recovery Implementation Program Document Revisions
• Board Meetings - Doc Type: Memo

that actions undertaken by a federal agency are not likely to jeopardize the continued existence of .
listed species.

Critical Habitat Designation

Critical habitat is defined as the areas that provide physical or biological features that are
essential for the recovery of a specie~. Critical habitat was designated for the Colorado
pikeminnow and razorback sucker in 1994. Both species critical habitat designation is within the
100-year floodplain of the species' historical range. Colorado pikeminnow critical habitat was
designated in the following section of the San Juan River Basin (59 FR 13374):
New Mexico, San Juan County; and Utah, San Juan County. The San Juan River from the
State Route 371 Bridge in T. 29 N., R. 13 W., section 17, to the full pool elevation at the
mouth of Neskahai Canyon on the San Juan arm of Lake Powell in T. 41 S., R. 11 E., section
26.

Razorback sucker critical habitat was designated in the following section of the San Juan River
Basin (59 FR 13374):
New Mexico, San Juan County; and Utah, San Juan County. The San Juan River from the
Hogback Diversion in T. 29 N., R. 16 W., section 9, to the full pool elevation at the mouth of
Neskahai Canyon on the San Juan arm of Lake Powell in T. 41 S., R. 11 E., section 26.

The Service identified water, physical habitat and the biological environment as primary
constituent elements of critical habitat for both Colorado pikeminnow and razorback sucker. This
includes a quantity of water of sufficient quality that is delivered to specific habitats in
accordance with a hydrologic regime that is required for the particular life stages of the species.
The physical habitat includes areas of the Colorado River system that are inhabited or potentially
habitable for use in spawning and feeding or as a nursery, or that serve as corridors between these
areas. In addition, oxbows, backwaters and other areas in the 100-year floodplain, which when
inundated provide access to spawning, nursery, feeding and rearing habitats, are included. Food
supply, predation and competition are also considered important elements of the biological
environment.

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Pre-Program Consultations

Since 1977, various federal agencies have initiated actions within the upper Colorado River
Basin that have required consultation with the Service. Many of these consultations were on
actions initiated by the Bureau of Reclamation and the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Consultations in
the late 1970's and early 1980's resulted in no jeopardy biological opinions.

Since the early 1980's two major projects have gone through section 7 consultation with the
Service. These were the Animas-La Plata Project (ALP) and Navajo Indian Irrigation Project
(NIIP). At the time of these consultations, a small reproducing population of Colorado
pikeminnow persisted and a population of razorback sucker was documented in the river. During
the section 7 consultation for ALP, the importance of the San Juan River population of
endangered fish species was reevaluated and it was recognized that the current and cumulative
adverse impacts of water development projects were creating conditions in the San Juan River
that jeopardized the continued existence of the species. The impacts discussed in the biological
opinions for the ALP and the NIlP primarily focused on water depletion and included an analysis

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