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it <br />i <br />► RECOVE L PROGRAM RECOVERY ACTION PLAN -o <br />The Colorado River Recovery Program announced on October 15, 1994, its 5 -year Recovery <br />Action Plan outlining all steps to be taken to recover the fish. <br />Along with the Recovery Action Plan is a &A agreement clarifying how the Endangered <br />Species Act will be applied to new and existing water development projects in the Upper <br />Colorado River Basin. Since its inception in 1988, the Recovery Program has served as the <br />primary means of complying with Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act as it pertains to these <br />fish in the Upper Colorado River Basin. (Section 7 prohibits Federal Agencies from taking <br />actions likely to harm endangered species.) <br />The Service will use the Recovery Action Plan to measure Recovery Program accomplishments <br />and to determine if enough progress has been made to allow water projects to proceed in <br />compliance with Section 7. Without the new Section 7 agreement, operators of existing water <br />projects would have sole responsibility to offset any harm their projects could cause endangered <br />fish. <br />Recovery Priorities by River Basin <br />(Figure 1 shows the rivers and locations that will be the focus of recovery activities over the <br />next five years.) <br />Green River <br />Operation of Flaming Gorge Dam is being changed to improve habitat for endangered fish. In <br />1991, a biological opinion was issued on the operation of Flaming Gorge Dam, giving flow <br />recommendations for the Green River at Jensen, Utah, for July through October and a range of <br />experimental flows for the remainder of the year. These experimental flows will be evaluated <br />through 1997, at which time a final biological opinion will be issued. In general, <br />recommendations for flows are to mimic historic high spring flows, which biologists believe the <br />fish need to spawn, and low, relatively stable flows the rest of the year. <br />Razorback suckers collected from the Green River will be spawned and their offspring <br />maintained at the hatchery in Ouray, Utah. A plan for stocking these fish in the Green River <br />will be developed in 1994 and implemented in 1995 through 1998. <br />Other Green River activities involve restoring wetlands or bottomlands adjacent to the river for <br />use by young endangered fish. Young native that use these nutrient -rich areas grow rapidly and <br />become large enough to fend for themselves in the river. <br />