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SUMMARY Description of Alternatives The Bureau of Reclamation anticipates a second round of water sales from Ruedi Reservoir based on current requests for such sales from municipal and industrial interests. Sales of water from Ruedi Reservoir meet several objectives of the Operating Principles (OP) for the Fryingpan-Arkansas Project (House Document No. 130). The primary purpose of Ruedi Reservoir is to furnish water required for the protection of western Colorado water users, including present water rights and prospective uses of water (paragraph 7, OP). Receipts from the sale of water from Ruedi Reservoir are applied to pay for operation and maintenance costs and to reimburse construction costs in excess of $7.6 million (paragraph 3, OP). Public recreation on Ruedi Reservoir and the Fryingpan River is also recognized under the Operating Principles for the Fryingpan -Arkansas Project. Protection of recreational values on the Fryingpan River (paragraph 10, OP) is made through a provision of minimum flows below the junction of the Fryingpan River and Rocky Fork. Also, the lands and surface waters of Ruedi Reservoir are open for public recreation (paragraph 12, OP). This Supplemental Environmental Statement is a program-level document which analyzes three alternatives of water delivery and one mitigation scenario. The first alternative is the No Action Alternative. Under this condition, the present level of water sales and reservoir operations would be maintained. The second alternative, called the Preferred Alternative, would yield a marketable supply of up to 51,500 acre-feet (including both Round I and Round II sales). On June 15, 1987 the United States Fish and Wildlife Service issued a Biological Opinion on proposed combined water sales from both Green Mountain and Ruedi Reservoirs. The Biological Opinion recommended releases from Ruedi Reservoir for the conservation of Colorado River endangered species. A third alternative, called the Preferred with Conservation Measures Alternative, was formulated to meet the Fish and Wildlife Service recommendations for Colorado River endangered species. This alternative is similar to the Preferred Alternative except that 5,000 acre-feet of water would be withheld from sale and delivered to the Colorado River to offset impacts to the endangered fish species. An additional 5,000 acre-feet would be made available for conservation measures through revised operating procedures in rule curve releases from Ruedi Reservoir. In order to lessen the effects on Ruedi Reservoir stages and Fryingpan River flows resulting from the conservation measure releases, a mitigation scenario is proposed in which a portion of the conservation measures is provided by Green Mountain Reservoir. Under this scenario, the exact proportion of conservation releases provided by each reservoir would be decided each year through consultation between Reclamation, the Fish and Wildlife Service, and the public. Alternatives Eliminated from Detailed Study Several alternatives not analyzed in detail herein were considered at some length in the Environmental Assessment. Eleven different alternatives were initially looked at in detail and the No Action and Preferred Alternatives were carried forward. i i i