7805

• UCREFRP Catalog Number: 7805
• Author: Colorado River Wildlife Council.
• Title: Minutes, Colorado River Fish & Wildlife Council.
• USFW Year: 1988.
• USFW - Doc Type: July 9, 1988.
• Copyright Material: NO

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the Lower Colorado. It is felt there is tremendous value in having support
from the council. The council can make decisions that are unified and joint
and will be very positive in effecting cooperation.

Planning on this level presents a very complex set of issues. It means a
major workload to organize and orchestrate it. The reason it will work,
however, is because people who are responsible for carrying out actions on
the ground are developing those actions and pooling their ideas and resources
in a way they can meet their needs. The current plan now is to take this
from the site description status to town hall type meetings where people can .
share their concerns and ideas about the program and out of that will come a
draft coordinated resource plan. The plan will then start setting the stage
for moving and implementing on the ground. There is interest in a new
direction from the Bureau of Reclamation and the Bureau of Land Management
has supported this completely. California has committed some money to match
some of their funds for the next fiscal year to do onground enhancement work. .
An example of this identification and agreement to work on the California and
Arizona side where there is an opportunity by cooperatively planning to
enhance as much as three thousand acres in one area on both sides of the
river for backwater values. Perhaps part of the problem in not getting
council member interest in wildlife as opposed to fish issues on the Colorado
is maybe these people have a perception of 'What can we do? There's been so
much impact there and we really haven't taken the time to really look at what
the opportunities are and to explore those opportunities." With this
process, we are trying to get involved now. This plan may show not only how
but why it's of value for the council to continue to keep their foot in the
wildlife door.

Mr. Smith then presented the resolution which has the support of the
technical committee and requested its passage by the council. The resolution
is attached as Appendix K.
Questions were raised on distribution should the resolution pass. The
members of the planning group would like to make distribution to all those
they are involved with or hope to get involved. The council could send to
anyone they feel would be supportive of the proposal or needs to be involved
in some way. It was agreed that the motion would be taken up at the business
meeting and an assignment was made to let Mr. Smith and Ron Powell develop a
distribution list for the council. The assignment was expanded to provide
references to the council's secretary so that he can refer comments and
contacts after receiving questions on interest on the resolution.
Current Status of Mitigation in the Upper and Lower Basins
Chairman Geer presented Mr. Ron Powell, California Department of Fish & Game, 41
to provide a description of the current status of mitigation in the Basin.
Due to its length and specific project identification, it is not presented in
the minutes.
The Upper Basin is quite different from the Lower Basin in how mitigation is
handled. In the Upper Basin, most mitigation is handled as part of the .
Colorado River Storage Project Act within features that are constructed under
that Act. In the Lower Basin, things are handled on a mitigation project by
mitigation project basis so that each can be evaluated, its impacts
ascertained and measures developed. The Upper Basin may be in better shape
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