Memorandum: July 8 1994 Critical Habitat Designation

• Description: Memorandum: July 8 1994 Critical Habitat Designation RIPRAP revision and reinitation of section 7 consultations status report
• State: CO
• Date: 7/8/1994
• Author: Evans, Peter
• Title: Memorandum: July 8 1994 Critical Habitat Designation
• Water Supply Pro - Doc Type: Board Memo

S
STATE OF COLORADO
a
,-olorado Water Conservation Board
Department of Natural Resources
721 State Centennial Building
1313 Sherman Street MEMORANDUM Roy Rome: ,
Denver, Colorado 80203 Governor
Phone [phone]
FAX [phone]
TO:
FROM:
DATE:
SUBJECT:
Colorado Water Conservation Board Members
Peter Evans
July 8, 1994
James S. Lochhead
Executive Diector, D.NR
Daries C. Lile, P.E.
Director, CwCB
Agenda Item 18d.5, July 8, 1994, Board Meeting- -
Critical Habitat Designation, Recovery Action Plan (RIPRAP) Revision, and
Reinitiation of Section 7 Consultations - Status Report
On March 21, 1994 the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) published its final rule
determining the extent of "critical habitat" for the four endangered fish species in the Colorado
River Basin. That rule became effective on April 20, 1994. The purpose of this memo is to
provide you with a status report concerning recent developments related to this federal action.
On Friday May 20, 1994 Jim Lochhead and FWS Regional Director Ralph Morgenweck
co- hosted a meeting with water users, local government officials, environmental interests and
others in Denver to discuss the implications of this action. A copy of the agenda and hand -outs
is attached. The most significant implications of the critical habitat designation fall into two
categories: first, we are advised that the FWS believes the critical habitat designation will
trigger regulatory requirements to reinitiate the Section 7 consultation for many water
development projects, and second, the FWS has proposed revisions to the Recovery Action Plan
(RIPRAP) which it believes are necessary to assure that the Recovery Implementation Program
for Endangered Fishes of the Upper Colorado River Basin (Recovery Program) can continue to
serve as a fully effective "reasonable and prudent alternative" for satisfying the Endangered
Species Act (ESA) regulatory requirements.
Reinitiation of Section 7 Consultations. Before the critical habitat rule went into effect
on April 20, 1994, the Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) formally requested that Section 7
consultations for its projects be reinitiated. The FWS subsequently advised other federal
agencies about the reinitiation requirements for projects or activities where "discretionary federal
involvement or control over the action has been retained or is authorized by law. " 50 CFR
Section 402.16 (1986). The full scope of these reinitiated consultations is still very difficult to
predict. Since there are many intricacies in the regulatory requirements, I will not attempt to
summarize them here; instead, I have attached a copy of a recent article from the ABA Journal
Natural Resources and Environment, entitled "Reinitiation of ESA Section 7 Consultations Over