8012

• UCREFRP Catalog Number: 8012
• Author: Grand Canyon Trust.
• Title: Colorado River Workshop, issues, ideas, and directions ‎(February 26-28, 1996 Phoenix, Arizona)‎ An open forum for discussion of management issues between managers, water users, and stakeholders of the Colorado River basin.
• USFW Year: 1996.
• USFW - Doc Type: 1996.
• Copyright Material: NO

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The prospectus does not clearly explain how the exist-
ing range-wide recovery plans for the squawfish and
the two chubs should be implemented in the Lower
Basin, and does not relate its goal of maintaining self-
perpetuating populations of all four fishes in the Lower
Basin to the populations that should be maintained
throughout their geographic ranges. It does, however,
offer a different approach to recovery planning at least
for the bonytail and razorback in the Lower Basin,
which could complement the Upper Basin and San
Juan Programs and which should be reconciled with
the planning for the recovery of these fishes across
their range in both basins. The status of the prospec-
tus is now unclear and it appears to have been dis-
placed by the proposal to develop a multi-species
conservation program for the lower Colorado River
mainstem, discussed below.

BIOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT BY BOR OF
PROJECT OPERATIONS

Following informal consultations through September
1994, the FWS advised the BOR that the operation of
existing water and power projects in the Lower Basin,
individually or cumulatively, would trigger formal con-
sultation under Section 7 of the ESA if listed species
were affected or their designated critical habitat could
be adversely modified. Most of these projects were
authorized under federal reclamation law, or have a
strong federal nexus, and are located in the midst of
the designated critical habitat for the bonytail and
razorback on the lower mainstem of the Colorado
River. The operation of Glen Canyon Dam had already
been the subject of a Section 7 consultation before crit-
ical habitat for the humpback chub was designated
downstream in the Grand Canyon.

The BOR then began the preparation of a biological
assessment to determine if existing project operations

on the Colorado River's lower mainstem were likely to
affect any listed species or designated critical habitat.
The BOR held several scoping workshops to obtain input
from stakeholders on this assessment, but then deferred
completion of the biological assessment until 1998 to
consider the development of a multi-species conserva-
tion program for the lower Colorado River mainstem,
discussed next. The BOR has since decided to complete
a draft biological assessment by March 1996.

LOWER COLORADO RIVER PROGRAM

Concerned about the potential impacts of project re-
operation under Section 7, the Lower Basin states
formed a Steering Committee in October 1993 to
assess the alternatives and inquired about DOl's inter-
est in the development of a multi-species management
plan for the lower Colorado River mainstem under
Section 10 of the ESA. After encouraging meetings
with the FWS, the water management agencies for the
Lower Basin states commissioned a feasibility study on
the alternatives in July 1994.

Feasibility study
SWCA, Inc., a private consulting firm, was retained to
conduct this feasibility study, which was completed in
December 1994. The SWCA report notes that 35 listed
or candidate species presently occur in the corridor of
the lower Colorado River, and assumes that the applic-
able ESA provisions regarding the protection and
recovery of listed species would survive Congressional
re-authorization, that the Law of the River would not
change, and that the FWS would eventually conclude
that existing water and power operations would
adversely affect the listed species or their critical habi-
tat on the lower Colorado River. The report maintains
that management of the listed fishes at least below the
Grand Canyon should focus on population augmenta-
tion of the razorback and bonytail with artificially

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