Memorandum: April 27 2009 Formal Section 7 Consultation for 2009 Projects

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or United States Department of the Interior FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE CH 3 1�A9 Ecological Services Colorado Field Office P.O. Box 25486, DFC (65412) Denver, Colorado 80225 -0486 IN REPLY REFER TO: ES /CO: ES/LK- 6- CO -09 -F -013 TAILS: 65412- 2009 -F -0279 APR 2 7 2009 Memorandum To: David Stout, Field Manager, Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Kremmling Field Office, Kremmling, Colorado RECEIVED 200 •" Y'i 3 4 CA )s ✓.ii•: _ i �Ul fy }i i�f llQn doffo From: Zn,Susan Linner, Field Supervisor, Colorado Ecological Services Office U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Region 6, Denver, Colorado Subject: Formal Section 7 Consultation for 2009 Projects, Jackson County This final biological opinion is provided in response to your written request, which was received on March 12, 2009, to initiate formal consultation pursuant to section 7(a) (2) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (ESA). Your Biological Assessment (BA) described the potential effects of four proposed projects on federally listed species and designated critical habitat associated with the Platte River in Nebraska. Your letter made no determination on the effects the proposed action may have on listed species /critical habitat in Colorado; therefore, this opinion will not address any listed species in Colorado. The Federal Action reviewed in this biological opinion is the operation of two livestock ponds, one livestock well, and one livestock spring development located in the North Platte River Basin in Jackson County, Colorado. The BLM, as both the applicant and the authorizing federal agency for these ponds, would authorize these Federal projects through cooperative range improvement permits. BACKGROUND On June 16, 2006, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) issued a programmatic biological opinion (PBO) for the Platte River Recovery Implementation Program (PRRIP) and water - related activities' affecting flow volume and timing in the central and lower reaches of 1 The term "water- related activities" means activities and aspects of activities which (1) occur in the Platte River basin upstream of the confluence of the Loup River with the Platte River; and (2) may affect Platte River flow quantity or timing, including, but not limited to, water diversion, storage and use activities, and land use activities. Changes in temperature and sediment transport will be considered impacts of a "water related activity" to the extent that such changes are caused by activities affecting flow quantity or timing. Impacts of "water related activities" do not include those components of land use activities or discharges of pollutants that do not