Western States Water Council 2005 Report

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exists with no significant downward trend apparent. Still the state has spent $29 million dollars to purchase and retire water rights in the basin to maintain instream flows for the fish and Texas. Tom Davis, Manager, Carlsbad Irrigation District (CID), also addressed issues along the Pecos. He described the geography and hydrology, and well as flood control and water storage and diversion structures. CID diverts water at Avalon dam. CID operations are very water efficient. Historic flows are erratic. It is a small watershed and there is little snow pack. Infrequent but intense thunderstorms produce flood flows that are captured in the reservoir. In addition the Avalon the Bureau of Reclamation has the Sumner and Brantley Projects, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers operates the Santa Rosa Project. The bluntnose shiner prefers broad sandy plains, but spawns during spike flows. Natural flows can reach up to 15,000 cfs, washing shiners into Brantley Reservoir. FWS biological opinions constrain project operations, and a 1992 memorandum of understanding intiated a study of release scenarios to test the most efficient movement of water and any benefits to the shiner. FWS data has yet to be released. It is intended to be a transparent process for recommending future target flows. It is difficult to meet all existing needs, and every Monday a conference call among stakeholders is held to review the situation. Unfortunately, FWS and Forest Guardians, an environmental group that brought suit over project operations on the Pecos, often are not on that call. Hopefully, wisdom will prevail with mediation. We can't go back to predevelopment conditions. Other options need to be considered. Mike Gabaldon, Deputy Director of Operations for the Bureau of Reclamation, also discussed issues on the Rio Grande, Pecos and the Klamath Project in Oregon. On the Rio Grande, there is a conservation pool in upstream reservoirs, which a judge is considering as a source of water for the silvery minnow. That water is under contract to Albuquerque and others, and releases are under the control of the State Engineer. As described above, different parties are discussing an agreement to use some of this water for the benefit of the fish. Reclamation is also leasing water from willing sellers, mainly along the Rio Chama, and is also considering construction of some type of refugia for the fish. In April 1999, 26 miles of the Rio Grande above Elephant Butte Reservoir went dry for five days, and minnows were captured and moved to ensure their survival. Other measures to protect habitat include pumping water from a low flow channel that parallels the Rio Grande to keep river reaches with fish wet. The target flow is 50 cfs, but with no monsoon rains and high temperatures, it will be difficult to maintain. He noted that the drought was a significant reason for the "trainwreck" in the Klamath Basin. There isn't enough water for endangered suckers, salmon, farmers and fishermen, including tribes. Under an April 6 biological opinion, Reclamation had to shut off water to Klamath Project users, idling some 175,000 acres and reducing deliveries to 25,000 acres more. They are looking at other ways to provide water, including developing ground water. Bryan Arroyo, Assistant Regional Director for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service addressed the silver minnow concerns, noting due to a lack of resources data is lacking on the ecology and habitat needs. FWS fist priority is listings, followed by the designation of critical habitat and recovery plans. He emphasized negotiations as a new way of doing business, avoiding costly lawsuits that lead to decisions that limit flexibility. In the San Juan River Basin, FWS "tried to do it right," with the science first, flow models, and peer review to gather the information necessary to better manage fish recovery needs and the needs of the people. The ESA work group on the middle a