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<br />the states, and environmental organizations and would allow continued water <br />development while avoiding conflicts with the Endangered Species Act in the <br />Upper Colorado River Basin and the Platte River Basin (Pitts 1988). <br /> <br />Upper Colorado River Coordinating Committee. In March, 1984, the Service <br />initiated discussions between the Bureau of Reclamation (Lower and Upper <br />Colorado River Regions) and representatives of Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming that <br />led to the formation of the Upper Colorado River Coordinating Committee. By <br />August, 1984, the committee representatives recognized the state's water rights <br />and the Colorado River compacts and agreed to develop a program of reasonable <br />and prudent alternatives for recovery of the rare fishes. The committee <br />representatives invited development and conservation groups to participate on <br />the Steering Committee and on the Hydrology and Biology Subcommittees. This <br />action resulted in cooperation between conservation agencies (Service, <br />Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming), a water development agency (Bureau of <br />R~clamation), conservation group (National Audubon Society), and water users <br />(Colorado Water Congress). <br /> <br />Biological and hydrological data were summarized by the respective <br />Subcommittees that were used as reference in drafting a recovery implementation <br />program for the endangered fish. After nearly four years of intense <br />discussions, data analysis, and negotiations by Committee representatives and <br />review by other agencies and organizations, the recovery program was written <br />into final form in September, 1987. The program contained five recovery <br />elements: provision for instream flows, habitat development and maintenance, <br />native fish stocking, management of nonnative species and sportfishing, and <br /> <br />16 <br />