Briefing Paper to Accompany the Proposed Upper Colorado River and San Juan River Endangered Fish Recovery Act of 1997

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Briefing paper to accompany the proposed Upper Colorado River and San Juan River Endangered Fish Recovery Act of 1997 Background The Colorado River Basin is home to 14 native fish species; eight of these have seriously declined; and four species -- the Colorado squawfish, razorback sucker, bonytail chub and humpback chub -- are listed as endangered under the federal Endangered Species Act. The endangered fish are protected by state and federal laws. The federal Endangered Species Act declares that endangered and threatened species of fish, wildlife and plants are of aesthetic, ecological, educational, historical, recreational and scientific value to the nation and its people. In passing this Act, Congress expressed its intent that endangered species should be protected and recovered. In order to comply with the federal Endangered Species Act two cooperative intergovernmental programs have been established: • the Cooperative Agreement to implement the Recovery Implementation Program for Endangered Fish Species in the Upper Colorado River dated September 29, 1987; and • the 1992 Cooperative Agreement to implement the San Juan River Recovery Implementation Program dated October 21,4992. The state of Colorado, the state of Utah, the state of Wyoming, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Region 6), the Western Area Power Administration, environmental organizations such as the Nature Conservancy and the Environmental Defense Fund, water development interests, and federal power customers are the main participants in the Upper Colorado River Program. The state of Colorado, the state of New Mexico, the Colorado Ute Indian Tribes, the Jicarilla- Apache Indian Tribe, the Navajo Nation, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Region 2 and 6), the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the Bureau of Land Management and water development interests are the main participants in the San Juan River Program. Through these recovery programs, government agencies, Indian tribes and private organizations are working to achieve recovery of endangered fish while balancing the continuing demands for water in the and West. The participants are equal partners in the recovery programs and decisions are made by consensus. The recovery programs work within state laws and support water development under interstate water compacts. The