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Fulfillment of this joint request is intended to satisfy Reclamation's and the Service's ESA <br />formal consultation requirements for: (1) the participation of Interior, through Reclamation and <br />the Service, in funding and implementing the Program to improve and maintain habitat for the <br />target species as it affects all Federally-listed species and designated critical habitat in the Basin <br />and (2) the continued operation of existing and certain new Federal water-related activities <br />during the first increment, including Reclamation and Service projects in the Basin insofar as <br />they affect the target species and critical habitat in the Basin and other Federally-Iisted species <br />associated with the central and lower Platte River. Reclamation and the Service believe that non- <br />Federal components of the proposed Program, such as the States' new depletion plans and certain <br />existing and new non-Federal water-related activities (e.g., those that are likely to have a Federal <br />nexus in the future but with no current Federal nexus), should also be included in this <br />consultation as interrelated with the Federal action(s). <br />In addition to requesting initiation of formal consultation, the July 6, 2004, memorandum <br />transmitted the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for the Program that was intended <br />to serve as the biological assessment (BA). New and updated information required for the BA is <br />incorporated in the enclosed Draft Final Environmental Impact Statement (DFEIS) that <br />supersedes the previous BA. <br />Reclamation and the Service have agreed that the timeline for completing this consultation will <br />be extended pursuant to 50 CFR §402.14(e). We request a final programmatic BO be completed <br />within 60 days following filing of the Final Environmental Impact Statement for the proposed <br />Program with the Environmental Protection Agency. Reclamation and the Service request the <br />opportunity to review a draft BO. We believe a programmatic BO is appropriate for this action <br />because certain site-specific elements and features of the Program have not yet been identified <br />but would be subject to future, site-specific analysis and consultation at the time they are <br />proposed. <br />Bio{ogical Assessment, Negotiation, and Other Supporting Documents <br />The enclosed DFEIS serves as the BA for the Federal action(s). The DFEISBA and <br />memorandum dated July 6, 2004, describe the action area, provide a list of threatened or <br />hydrologicatly-connected groundwater activiiies including both new projects and expansion of existing <br />projects, both those subject to and not subject to section 7(a)(2) of the ESA, that may affect the quantity or <br />timing of water reaching the associated habitats and that were implemented after July l, 1997. <br />Existing water-related activities for Reclamation refer to water projects in the Basin upsueam of the Loup <br />River confluence neaz Columbus, Nebraska and include the Colorado-Big Thompson, North Platte, and <br />Kendrick projects and the Kortes and Glendo units of the Pick-Sloan Missouri Basin Program. ExistinL <br />SCrvice water-related activities or projects include various Federal Aid projects, Partners for Wildlife Program <br />projects, and water-related activities at Arapaho National Wildlife Refu?e.