Laserfiche WebLink
actions which protect or improve habitat conditions and result in more <br />immediate, positive population responses will be most important in <br />determining the extent to which the RIP provides the reasonable and <br />prudent alternatives for projects undergoing Section 7 consultation. In <br />general, these actions will be given highest priority in the RIPRAP. <br />The Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) will determine whether progress by <br />the RIP provides a reasonable and prudent alternative based on the <br />following factors: <br />a. Actions which result in a measurable population response, a <br />measurable improvement in habitat for the fishes, legal protection <br />of flows needed for recovery, or a reduction in the threat of <br />immediate extinction. <br />b. Status of fish population. <br />C. Adequacy of flows. <br />d. Magnitude of the impact of projects. <br />Therefore, these factors were considered in the development and <br />prioritization of the recovery actions in the RIPRAP. <br />III. Framework for Agreement <br />The following describes the agreement among RIP participants on a <br />framework for conducting Section 7 consultations on depletion impacts <br />related to new projects (as defined in Section 4.1.5 a. of the RIP) and <br />impacts' associated with historic projects in the Upper Colorado River <br />Basin. This agreement is meant to supplement and clarify the process <br />outlined in Sections 4.1.5, 4.1.6 and 5.3.4 of the RIP. This agreement <br />applies only to the four Colorado River endangered fishes in the Upper <br />Colorado River Basin, excluding the San Juan River, and is not a <br />precedent for other endangered species or locations. <br />1. Activities and accomplishments under the RIP are intended to provide <br />the reasonable and prudent alternatives which avoid the likelihood <br />of jeopardy to the continued existence of the endangered Colorado <br />River fishes (hereinafter the "reasonable and prudent alternative ") <br />resulting from depletion impacts of new projects and all existing or <br />past impacts related to historic projects with the exception of the <br />discharge by historic projects of pollutants such as trace elements, <br />heavy metals, and pesticides. <br />The RIP participants intend the RIP also to provide the reasonable <br />and prudent alternatives which avoid the likely destruction or <br />adverse modification of critical habitat, to the same extent as it <br />does to avoid the likelihood of jeopardy. Once critical habitat for <br />the endangered fishes is formally designated, the RIP participants <br />All impacts except the discharge of pollutants such as trace <br />elements, heavy metals, and pesticides. <br />N <br />