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<br />Effective and continued progress will be dependent upon whether these <br />assumptions are being met through periodic assessment by each party. In <br />evaluating proposed water resource development projects during future <br />Section 7 consultations, the following approach will be used (2) (see Map 4-1 <br />for place names, locations, etc.): , <br />a. Obtaining, administering, and protecting instream flows are defined as <br />recovery activities under this program. Since this program sets in <br /> <br />place a mechanism and commitment to ensure that these instream flows , <br />are protected under State law, the Service will consider these <br />elements under Section 7 consultation as offsetting project depletion <br />impacts. Therefore, project-related depletion impacts in all river <br />reaches would not likely jeopardize endangered species. Depletion <br />impacts include flow reductions and corresponding changes in <br />temperature, salinity, and turbidity. This agreement is contingent <br />upon program implementation and project proponents contributing to the <br />recovery program. <br />As a means of avoiding jeopardy, a one-time contribution will be based <br />on the average annual depletion of a project, as determined in <br />Section 7 consultation, at the rate of $10 per acre-foot, to be <br />adjusted annually for inflation (see Section 5.3.4). This <br />contribution will be used to support any element of this recovery <br />program. <br />b. Section 7 consultations will be conducted to assess a proposed , <br />project's nondepletion impacts (i.e., direct impacts, such as <br />obstructions to migration routes, alteration of physical occupied <br />habitat, construction, inundation, or temperature modification from <br />reservoir releases, etc.), if any, to an endangered fish species or <br />its habitat. Where jeopardy is found, the Secretary will, whenever <br />possible, suggest reasonable and prudent alternatives. ' <br />1. There are certain river reaches that are known at this time to be <br />extremely important to the protection and recovery of these fish <br />(see Table 4-2) for which the recovery program does not offer any <br />offsetting mechanism to direct impacts under Section 7. Proposed <br />actions which would result in direct impacts to these areas would <br />likely result in a situation for which no reasonable and prudent <br />alternatives exist. <br />2. In the event that future findings and data confirm that other <br />river reaches are of high priority to the protection and recovery <br />of the endangered fish species, the Implementation Committee will <br />recommend whether those river reaches should be added to this list <br />per Section 4.1.2. <br />(2) Section 7 consultation does not apply to the razorback (unless or until it <br />becomes listed). , <br /> <br /> <br />4-6