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<br />(Hi '~ 7"' 5 <br />o u ~_ " <br /> <br />Initial Summary of Findings <br /> <br />FClllowing the July 9-15, 2001, Summer Low Flow Test (Test) on <br />the San Juan River, the Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) <br />bE~lieves that, over the period of the Test, few major negative <br />impacts occurred to the fishery, recreation, diversion structures, or <br />other resources that Reclamation monitored. However, for a <br />number of reasons, these findings may not hold entirely true over <br />the long term for some resources. Accordingly, a full analysis of <br />impacts will be presented in the Navajo Reservoir Operations <br />Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), which will use the Test <br />rE~sults as well as other data. <br /> <br />This report presents major findings for the various resources <br />studied and was prepared as a response to public concerns about <br />the effects of low releases (250 cubic feet/second [cfs]) from <br />Navajo Dam, as outlined in the Flow Recommendations for the San <br />JlIan River (May 1999) 1 (Flow Recommendations). <br /> <br />lUnder the direction ofthe San Juan River Basin Recover Implementation Program's (SJRBRIP) Biology <br />Committee, test releases from Navajo Dam were conducted and evaluated from 1992-1998. At the completion of the <br />research period, the Biology Committee completed a report, Flow Recommendations for the San Juan River (Flow <br />Recommendations) (Holden 1999), which provides recommended flows for the endangered fish in the San Juan <br />River below Farmington. The recommendations define the conditions for mimicking a natural hydrograph,in terms <br />of magnitude, duration, and frequency of flows in the river below Farmington. It is these recommendations that <br />Reclamation is proposing to meet by modifying the operations of Navajo Dam. <br />