9388

• UCREFRP Catalog Number: 9388
• Author: Maddux, H. R., W. R. Noonan and L. A. Fitzpatrick.
• Title: Overview of the Proposed Critical Habitat Designation for the Four Colorado River Endangered Fishes.
• USFW Year: 1993.
• USFW - Doc Type: Salt Lake City.
• Copyright Material: NO

Agricultural.lmpacts

To assess whether current and future planned agricultural depletions could be met with
existing water resources in the relevant scenario, existing State agricultural data and the
biological flow recommendations were determined. In cases where adequate flows could not
be achieved, the purchase of Upper Basin agricultural water rights was assumed.

Municipal and Industrial Impacts

The flow recommendations may, in isolated cases, affect future municipal water acquisitions.
However, it was assumed that municipalities would, in fact, acquire the needed water through
the acquisition of agricultural water rights. Thus, the impacts appear as foregone agricultural
production.

Nonflow Related Activities

Nonflow activity related changes from the without fish scenario are those that stem from
activities generated by oil and gas operations, mining operations (sand and gravel),
construction (recreation and/or private dwellings), and the stocking of nonnative fishes. These
are activities that might well impinge upon the recovery of the endangered fishes.

Oil. Gas. and Other Drilling Activities

Significant amounts of oil and gas have been developed in the Colorado River Basin. Little,
however, is known regarding the effects of proposed critical habitat designation on this
production. The impacts to society of the additional cost of production resulting from listing
or critical habitat designation would be measured by a permanent loss of production. A
marginal production facility that is closed due to increased monitoring costs represents a loss
of production in the short term. Thus, the critical determination for well-related impacts
resulting from contaminants is what percentage of producing wells will be capped and what
percentage of the actual production will truly be lost to society. For purposes of this report,
given the lack of available information, oil and gas impacts were assumed to be zero in the
seven-State region.

Nonnative Fish Stocking and Fish Program

A questionnaire was designed to determine the effects of critical habitat designation on the
stocking and fishing programs in the seven-States area. Nonflow effects on these programs
were determined through the use of personal interviews with State game and fish personnel. 1

I There was a section of the survey that focused upon flow effects of the stocking program and these results were
incorporated into the recreation analysis.

26