Memorandum: May 3 1994 Recovery Program and Critical Habitat

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FACT SHEET GUIDANCE FOR APPLYING THE CRITICAL HABITAT RULE FOR ENDANGERED FISHES IN THE COLORADO RIVER BASIN As required by 50 CFR 402.14 a Federal Agency must consult with the Service if one of its actions "may affect" either a listed species or its-critical habitat. Federal action agencies are responsible for determining whether or not to consult with the Service. Destruction or adverse modification of critical habitat (CH) is defined at 50 CFR 402.02 as a direct or indirect alteration that appreciably diminishes the value of CH for both the survival' and recovery of a listed species. Section 7 consultation is initiated by a Federal agency when its action may affect critical habitat by impacting any of the primary constituent elements2 or reduce the potential of critical habitat to develop these elements. Consultation also would take into consideration Federal actions outside of CH ' Survival: the species' persistence, beyond the conditions leading to its endangerment, with sufficient resilience to recover from endangerment. Said another way, survival is the condition in which a species continues to exist into the future while retaining the potential for recovery. This condition is characterized by a species with a sufficiently large population, represented by all age classes, genetic heterogeneity, and number of sexually mature individuals producing viable offspring, that exists in an environment providing all requirements for completion of the species' entire life cycle, including reproduction, sustenance, and shelter. 2 The primary constituent elements determined necessary for survival and recovery of the four Colorado River endangered fishes include, but are not limited to: water, physical habitat and biological environment as defined in the FINAL RULE (Fed. Reg. /Vol. 59, No. 54 /Monday, March 21, 1994)