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

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United iftus esm.te WASHINGTON, DC 20610 April 8, 2005 Tlic Honorable Pete V. Domenici, Chairman Ibe 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: We are requesting your support for an appropriation in fiscal year 2006 of $2,529,000 to the Bureau of Reclamation within the budget line item entitled "Endangered Species Recovery Implementation Program" for the Upper Colorado Region. The President's recommended budget for FY 2006 includes this amount. Consistent with the President's request, the funding we seek will be used as follows: $1,401,000 for construction activities for the Upper Colorado River Endangered Fish Recovery Program; $572,000 for the San Juan River Basin Recovery Implementation Program and $556,000 for Fish and Wildlife Management and Development. 'these highly successful, cooperative programs are ongoing partnerships among the States of 1�ew Mexico, Colorado, Utah and Wyoming, Indian tribes, fcdcrat agencies and water, power and environmental interests. The programs' objectives are to recover endangered .fish species while water use and development proceeds in compliance with the Endangered Species Act. These recovery programs have become national models for collaboratively working to recover endangered species while addressing water needs to support growing .western communities 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 800 federal, tribal, state and privately managed water projects depleting approximately 2.5 million acre -feet of water per year. The requested FY 2006 appropriation will allow the Upper Colorado River Endangered Fish Program to proceed with construction of additional fish passage structures on the Green and Colorado Rivers to provide access to'historic habitat upstream of existing diversion dams. The requested funding for the San Juan River Recovery Program will be used for contracts for construction and cooperative agreements with the State of New Mexico to provide and protect instream flows, fish ladders, flooded bottom land restoration, propagation facilities, stocking efforts, nonnative and sportfish management.acti vi ties.