8001

• UCREFRP Catalog Number: 8001
• Author: Western Regional Instream Flow Conference.
• Title: Proceedings, Western Regional Instream Flow Conference.
• USFW Year: 1992.
• USFW - Doc Type: Oct. 2-3, 1992.
• Copyright Material: NO

throughout the upper basin. Several states and water-
development groups responded that the Service's position
on water depletions and minimum streamflows was a direct
conflict with state water right systems and interstate
compacts. The result was that a major controversy threat-
ened to develop and embroil the various state, federal, and
private interests in a confrontation over endangered-species
protection and water development. However, these parties
ultimately recognized that such a confrontation would do
little to enhance progress toward recovery of the listed fish
or provide greater certainty that new water projects could
be developed in the upper basin. As a result, in August
1984, the Service formed the Upper Colorado River Basin
Coordinating Committee (Coordinating Committee) to
provide a forum for discussions. Active participants in the
Coordinating Committee included the Service; Bureau of
Reclamation; states of Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming;
private water-development interests; and environmental
groups.
After nearly four years of intense discussions, data
analyses, and negotiations, the Coordinating Committee
produced a plan for recovering the endangered fish,
entitled the "The Recovery Implementation Program for
Endangered Fish Species in the Upper Colorado River
Basin" (Recovery Program) (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
1987). The plan was formally agreed to by the Secretary of
the Interior (on behalf of the Service and Reclamation); the
governors of the states of Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming;
and the Administrator of the Western Area Power Adminis-
tration in January, 1988. Several private water-development
groups (Colorado Water Congress, Utah Water Users
Association, and Wyoming Water Users Association) and
environmental groups (National Audubon Society, Envi-
ronmental Defense Fund, Wyoming Wildlife Federation,
and Colorado Wildlife Federation) passed formal resolu-
tions in support of the Recovery Program and are now full
partners in the process. In addition, the Colorado River
Energy Distributors Association is a non-voting member of
the Recovery Program.
The purpose of the Recovery Program is to recover the
endangered fish in the Upper Colorado River Basin while
allowing for new water development to continue, consistent
with the Endangered Species Act. Geographically, the
Recovery Program includes the Upper Colorado River
Basin, excluding the San Juan River (Figure 1). The goal is
to recover the four endangered-fish species in the upper
basin by establishing self-sustaining populations and
protecting the natural habitat upon which those popula-
tions depend. The Recovery Program contains five principal
elements or strategies for achieving this goal: habitat
management (provision of instream flow), habitat develop-
ment and maintenance, stocking of native fish, non-native
species and sport fishing, and research, monitoring, and
data management. The program provides for a budget of
approximately $60 million over a 15-year timeframe. It is
important to note that the success of the Recovery Program
will not be achieved solely by the provision of instream
flows, but rather on the successful implementation and
integration of all five of the recovery elements.
The Recovery Program outlines a four-step process for
acquiring and/or restoring adequate instream flows to
support self-sustaining populations of the endangered fish:
1. Priority areas for acquisition of water rights are
defined.
2. The instream flows necessary for recovery of the fish
are defined by the Service.
3. The operation of several federal reservoirs, including
Flaming Gorge, Blue Mesa, and Ruedi reservoirs is adjusted
to meet the instream-flow requirements of the fish.
4. Water and water rights are acquired and/or appropri-
ated to provide flows for the endangered fish in a manner
consistent with state water law and interstate compacts.
Following is a discussion of the progress and issues that
have emerged in each of these areas since the inception of
the Recovery Program in 1988. (See Figure 1 page 51)
Priority Area for Acquisition of Water Rights
In March 1988, priority areas were identified for investi-
gating acquisition of water rights in the Upper Colorado
River Basin based on two criteria: the biological importance
of a river reach to the recovery of the endangered fish, and
the timing of water development that may alter the quantity
or quality of habitat. Three priority reaches were
identified: the lower 140 miles of the Yampa River, a 15-
mile reach of the Colorado River immediately upstream of
the confluence of the Gunnison River and the lower 109
miles of the White River. This prioritization contemplated
that the instream-flow requirements of the endangered fish
in other parts of the upper basin (i.e., the Green River, the
Gunnison River, and the Colorado River below the
confluence of the Gunnison River) can be provided through
refinement in the operation of Flaming Gorge Dam and the
Aspinall Units. (See Figure 2 Page 52)
Instream-Flow Determinations
Service efforts to define the flow needs of the endangered
fish date back to the early 1980s. Early efforts focused
heavily on the application of the instream-Flow Incremen-
tal Methodology (IFIM) and the Physical Habitat Simula-
tion (PHABSIM) System in the upper basin. However, the
broad application of PHABSIM has been judged inappro-
priate by most native fish biologists because certain habitats
used by the fish were not easily simulated, microhabitat
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