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

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,a 41 Bill Richardson State of New Mexico - Qffice of the Cyga-emior February 27, 2006 The Honorable David L. Hobson, Chairman The Honorable Peter J. Visclosky, Ranking Member Energy and Water development Subcommittee Committee on Appropriations United States-House of Representatives 2362 Rayburn House Office Building Washington, D.C. 20515 Dear Chairman Hobson and Senator Visclosky: I am writing this letter to 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 Prograrn"for the Upper Color-ado Region. The President's reoommended 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 forthe 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. New Mexico, in conjunction and agreement with the other participating states, requests your support for appropriation.of these amounts. These recovery programs have bec6me national models for collaboratively working to recover 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 1988, these programs have facilitated ESA Section 7 consultation (without litigation) for over 1,000 federal, tribal, state and privately rnanaged water projects depleting approximately 2.9 million acre -feet of water per year_ The requested FY 2007 appropriation will alloW 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 Efkhead Project to provide low flow augmentation water on the Yampa River. S"t"'P'tol - ROOM 400 • . Santa 17e-1 Nr-WAl"exicO 87501 • 505-476-2200