Briefing Paper to Accompany the Proposed Upper CO River and San Juan Endangered Fish Recovery Act

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w 0 The Upper Colorado River Program has provided the reasonable and prudent alternative to avoid "jeopardy" Endangered Species Act Section 7 biological opinions on more than 180 water supply construction projects located in Colorado, Utah and Wyoming with an aggregate capability to deplete more than 225,000 acre -feet of water per year (about 28,000 acre -feet were historic or "pre- Program" projects that required ESA consultation). The San Juan River Program has served as a part of the reasonable an prudent alternatives for the Animas -La Plata Project (57,100 acre feet of future depletion) in Colorado and New Mexico and the Navajo Indian Irrigation project (133,000 acre feet of pre - program depletion) in New Mexico and will provide reasonable and prudent alternatives for future development as "sufficient" progress is made in the recovery of the endangered fish. The protection and development of Indian Trust Assets and the success of key water rights settlements in the San Juan River depend upon the success of the San Juan Recovery Implementation Plan. Secure funding for the capital projects and the continued research necessary for the recovery of the species is critical to the protection of these assets and honoring the provisions of the water rights settlements While the San Juan Program is not as far along as the Upper Colorado River Program, substantial progress has been made in the identification of limiting factors for the species through the cooperation of program participants and recovery efforts are just beginning. Nevertheless, the initial phase of the Animas -La Plata Project and construction of Blocks 1 -8 of the Navajo Indian Irrigation Project have been able to proceed because of the program. Requests for funding for the recovery programs have received considerable support in Congress because the programs serve as a dispute resolution mechanism and provide a means to solve a very complex set of problems in the Upper Colorado River and San Juan River Basins. Since 1988, the programs have been relied primarily on the good will of Congressional appropriators and the Department of the Interior for adequate funding because, while the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has clear authority to undertake capital projects under the federal Endangered Species Act, no such clear authority exists for the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, the Bureau of Indian Affairs or the U.S. Bureau of Land Management to participate in the recovery programs. However, as the amount of funding required is increasing because capital construction projects are finally underway, program participants believe these recovery programs may begin competing with other federal priorities. As a result, the program participants want clear and recent Congressional authority to help ensure that needed funds continue to be appropriated by Congress. The escalation in program costs has also led the Bureau of Reclamation to conclude that it must seek greater cost sharing from the participating states to ensure the continued viability of these 2