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I I I I I I I I I I ,I I I I I I I I , BIOLOGICAL OPINION Proposed Action DESCRIPTION OF PROPOSED ACTION Introduction The following is a summary of the proposed action description in the document entitled Description and Assessment of Operations, Maintenance, and Sensitive Species of the Lower Colorado River, August 1996, Final Biological Assessment Preparedfor U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Lower Colorado River Multi-Species Conservation Program by U. S. Bureau of Reclamation, Lower Colorado Region (hereinafter, the Biological Assessment, or BA). The full BA should be referenced for additional detail and explanation regarding the Proposed Action and the extent of Reclamation's discretion involved in it. Scope of the Proposed Action This biological and conference opinion (BO) addresses Reclamation's discretionary program of continuing operations of Lower Colorado River (LCR) darn facilities, maintenance of river control features, and other activities such as endangered species conservation for the next five years. Table 1, at the end of this section, summarizes the extent of Reclamation's discretion during this period. The geographic area of the proposed action is generally in the mainstream of the LCR and its 100-year floodplain from the upper end of Lake Mead at Pierce Ferry over a distance of 412 river miles to the Southerly International Boundary (SIB) with Mexico (Fig. 1). Additionally, some of Reclamation's facilities under consultation, such as the Senator Wash pump storage, the 242 wellfield, and ancillary facilities near Yuma, lie outside the 100-year floodplain. The temporal scope of the proposed action, and of this BO, is for a period of up to five years from the date of issuance of this BO, which is projected to occur on or before May 15, 1997, or until the LCR long-term Multi-Species Conservation Program (MSCP) is developed, whichever comes first. The projected ending date for the consultation period is on or before May 15, 2002. Due to the complexity of issues involved, this time frame is necessary to formulate and begin to implement a comprehensive, effective MSCP, which will address broader and longer-term issues including, but extending beyond, those issues covered in this BO. The MSCP's development, and Reclamation's involvement in it, are integral parts of this proposed action. Under the "reinitiatio n of formal consultation" provisions of 50 CFR 402.16, Reclamation would need to reinitiate consultation on Reclamation's implementation of its portion of the MSCP (assuming the latter is developed) prior to the end of the five year period. Alternatively, if for some reason no MSCP is developed prior to the end of the five year period, Reclamation also would need to reinitiate consultation in order to continue its operations and maintenance program described herein. 4