8031

• UCREFRP Catalog Number: 8031
• Author: U.S. Department of the Interior.
• Title: Fish and Wildlife Service Final Biological and Conference Opinion on Lower Colorado River Operations and Maintenance - Lake Mead to Southerly International Boundary.
• USFW Year: 1997.
• USFW - Doc Type: \
• Copyright Material: NO

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BIOLOGICAL OPINION

Proposed Action

the States of California, Nevada and Arizona, ranging from aquatic, wetland and riparian, to
upland areas.

The MSCP Steering Committee, Work Group and associated subcommittees have had considerable
discussion on the topic of what the word conservation means to the LCR. Within the context of
the ESA, the phrase "to conserve" means to use all methods and procedures which are necessary
to bring any endangered or threatened species to the point at which the measures provided pursuan t
to the ESA are no longer necessary.

To this end, the purpose of the LCR MSCP is to:

· conserve habitat and work toward the recovery of "included species" within the 100-year
floodplain of the LCR, pursuant to the ESA, and attempt to reduce the likelihood of
additional species listings under the ESA; and,

· accommodate current water diversions and power production and optimize opportunities
for future water and power development, to the extent consistent with law.

In addition, the Regional Director of the Service, Southwest Region, under the authorities set forth
in section 4(t)(2) of the ESA, has designated the LCR MSCP Steering Committee as the LCR
Ecosystem Conservation and Recovery Implementation Team (ECRIT). This ECRIT includes
representatives from Reclamation, the Service, other Department of the Interior agencies (Bureau
of Land Management, National Park Service, Bureau of Indian Affairs), Indian tribes (Colorado
River Indian Tribes, Hualapai Tribe), environmental groups (American Rivers, Defenders of
Wildlife), and State (California, Arizona, and Nevada) wildlife, water and power agencies,
committed to developing and implementing a 50 year plan for the LCR.

As part of MSCP development, Reclamation has dedicated resources to initiate the process and ha s
agreed, along with other DOl agencies, to pursue additional resources, subject to Congressional
authorization and allocations, in order to complete the cooperative development of the MSCP over
approximately the next three years. Reclamation has already provided funding for some
conservation measures for the razorback sucker and bony tail chub and is committed to providing
additional and substantial funding for LCR MSCP program development and interim conservation
measures, as specified in the June 26, 1996, cooperative funding agreement between DOl and the
Lower Basin States.

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