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~~ <br />The regulatory definition of cumulative effects (50 CFR 402.02) are those <br />effects of future State or private actions, not involving Federal activities, <br />that are reasonably certain to occur within the action area of the Federal <br />action subject to consultation. The Service anticipates no cumulative effects <br />(i.e., from new non-Federal water projects) that are reasonably certain to <br />occur in the Duchesne River Basin. <br />The combination of all projects enumerated on Table 1 (447 KAF), plus State <br />and private actions (120 KAF) identified by the Utah State Engineers Office, <br />results in total depletions of 567,000 acre-feet from the virgin flow of the <br />Duchesne River. Pre-development hydrology, as modeled by the Bureau of <br />Reclamation, averaged about 768,000 acre-feet annually in the Duchesne River. <br />When compared to the total depletion anticipated, then only about 201,000 <br />acre-feet of water is available on an average annual basis to help meet the <br />flow needs of the listed fishes and protect critical habitats. Flow <br />reductions of this magnitude seriously diminish both the survival and recovery <br />potential for listed fishes that inhabit the Duchesne River. Therefore, it is <br />the Service's biological opinion that historic project operations and the <br />development and use of new project water contributes to the endangerment of <br />listed fishes and is likely to jeopardize the continued existence of the <br />Colorado squawfish, razorback sucker, humpback chub, and bonytail and is also <br />likely to adversely modify their critical habitats in the Duchesne, Green, and <br />Colorado Rivers. <br />Reasonable and Prudent Alternative <br />On January 21-22, 1988, the Secretary of the Interior; Governors of Wyoming, <br />Colorado, and Utah; and the Administrator of the Western Area Power <br />Administration were cosigners of a Cooperative Agreement to implement the <br />Recovery Implementation Program for Endangered Fish Species in the Upper <br />Colorado River Basin (Recovery Program-USFWS, 1987). An objective of the RIP <br />was to recover the listed species while providing for new water development in <br />the Upper Colorado River Basin. <br />In order to further define and clarify processes outlined in sections 4.1.5, <br />4.1.6, and 5.3.4 of the RIP, a section 7 agreement and a RIP RAP was developed <br />(USFWS 1993). The Agreement establishes a framework for conducting all future <br />section 7 consultations on depletion impacts related to new projects and all <br />impacts associated with historic projects in the Upper Basin. Procedures <br />outlined in the agreement will be used to determine if sufficient progress is <br />being accomplished in the recovery of endangered fishes to enable the RIP to <br />