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I I I I I I I I I I I I I. I I I I~ OD2531 DtPAR1MENT Of THE INTERIOR u.s. Fish and Wildlife Service P. o. Box 1306 A lbuquerque I New Mex ico 87103 "... .. ....:.::;-......::.... News Release ::.-:--::;.:.."<:-.:-:.:-:;";:<:";:::<":..- . . -:";' ,"-: -: .~: .:.: '- >: :: >'", . -.'. . . . .:::&:~:>::;., . ':':';/.:.::.:::" ::::::::;:;; :/:::::;:::;:;;:,:;: ....................... September 1 5, 1995 Tom Bauer; U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Robert Walsh, Bureau of Reclamation FEDERAL, STATE INTERESTS COOPERATE IN DEVELOPINJil/ilfll.j!;,{i HABITAT CONSERVATION PLAN FOR LOWER COLORADO RI\tER A partnership of government agencies, water users, power interests, Indian Tribes,and other interested parties has agreed to work together to develop a long-range plan for the lower Colorado River that seeks to accommodate current and future water uses along the river and also conserve habitat for the recovery of endangered, threatened, and sensitiv.e plants and animals. Water and wildlife entities from Arizona, California, and Nevada are developing a Habitat Conservation Plan that addresses state and private uses on the river. At the same time, the Bureau of Reclamation, with assistance from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, is preparing a biological document on federal uses of the river, which will be released for public comment this fall. The two documents will be combined"into an overall plan for managing the lower river. "This agreement allows all parties to work toward a common management solution for the lower Colorado River, instead of having parallel processes for federal and non-federal users," -- said Bob Johnson, Acting Director of Reclamation's Lower Colorado Region. lilt will allow basin states and other interested parties to have an equal role in detennining the future of operations on the lower Colorado River, eliminate duplication, reduce costs, and avoid potentially conflicting management and conservation measures that might be generated by the separate processes. n The lower Colorado River provides water for fISh, wildlife, plants, and the livelihood of people in a three-state area. In 1994, water and power interests and state natural resource agencies created the 'Lower Division StateslTribes Endangered Species Steering Committee' to evaluate various water resource use and endangered species options along the river. The Steering Committee, with input from Reclamation and the Service, decided in August 1995 to develop an overall plan with broader public participation to bettercoordinate planning and management efforts. -More- Appendix A - 2