Upper Colorado Endangered Fish Recovery Program and San Juan River Basin Recovery Implementation Program 2005-2006

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s tom_. State of New Mexico gffimgfthe Gn)erwr Fill Richardson Gm,ern r February 27, 2006 The Honorable Pete V. Domenici, Chairman The Honorable Harry Reid; Ranking Member Energy and Water Development Subcommittee Committee on Appropriations United: States Senate 127 Dirksen Senate Office Building Washington, D.C. 20510 Dear Chairman Domenici and Senator Reid: I am writing this letterto request your support for an appropriation of $4,594,000 in Fiscal Year 2007 to the Bureau of Reclamation within the budget line item entitled "Endangered Species Recovery Implementation Programs for the Upper Colorado Region, The President's recommended budget for FY 2007 includes this line item amount for the Upper Colorado. River Endangered. Fish Recovery Program and the San Juan River Basin Recovery Implementation Program. The funding designations I request are as follows: $3,104,000 for construction activities. for the Upper Colorado River Endangered Fish Recovery Program; $1,090,000 for the San Juan River Basin Recovery Implementation Program; and $400,000 for activities to avoid jeopardy of the endangered .fish species. These two successful ongoing cooperative partnership programs involve the States of Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming, Indian tribes, federal agencies and. water, power and environmental interests. Near Mexico, in conjunction and agreement with the other participating states, requests: your support for appropriation of these amounts. These recovery programs have become national models for collaboratively working to re-cover endangered species while meeting water use and water development demands in compliance with the Endangered Species Act, state law, and interstate compacts in the Upper Colorado River Basin region of the Intermountain West: Since 193.8, these programs have facilitated ESA Section 7 consultation (without litigation) for over 1,000 federal, tribal, state and. privately managed water projects depleting approximately 2,9 million acre -feet of water per year. The requested FY 2007 appropriation will allover the Upper Colorado River Endangered Fish Program to proceed with construction of additional fish passage structures on the Colorado River to provide access to historic habitat upstream of existing diversion dams, a fish screen on a major diversion on the Green River to avoid entrainment of endangered fish, and construction of the Elkhead Project to provide low flow augmentation water on the Yampa River. State aplt'(ri ' R.Cx(yRl pCY • Santa "'e, N ?4'�r1 \I� --*C O t 8-1501 • 5,05-.0 - 2a r1 \i^:SwgCYvC.fflt;7r.�r:?Tt. rim. llE