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<br />" <br /> <br />The middle Rio Grande is severely over-appropriated. To complicate matters, water . <br />rights on the river have not been adjudicated, which makes enforcement of water rights nearly <br />non-existent. Most of the water in this reach is claimed by the Middle Rio Grande Water <br />Conservancy District ("MRGCD"), which currently irrigates between 50,000 and 60,000 acres. <br />Albuquerque, Santa Fe, and several towns rely on Rio Grande water for municipal, domestic, and <br />industrial supply. In addition, six pueblos, who hold unquantified reserved rights claims, take <br />water for multiple uses. Many of these entities also contract for use of San Juan-Chama water. <br /> <br />There is significant controversy regarding the inefficiencies ofMRGCD's diversions. <br />For example, it has been estimated from MRGCD's accounting that the amount of water diverted <br />by the District averages 12 acre. feet per acre. Further, the water is diverted through antiquated <br />structures that take all the water from the river. MRGCD argues that it has the right to all the <br />water as it is being beneficially used for irrigation and water banking. <br /> <br />THE SILVERY MINNOW <br /> <br />The silvery minnow is one of 16 native fish species in the Rio Grande. It lives between <br />one and two years, and reaches 8 cm in length. The fish spawns in the spring, in response to the <br />run-off season. The minnow used to inhabit the Rio Grande from approximately Santa Fe to the <br />Gulf of Mexico, but now resides only in the stretch between Cochiti and Elephant Butte . <br />Reservoirs. The river channelization projects of the last 50 years, sedimentation and salt cedar <br />growth, and the extensive rerouting of the entire river into unlined canals have changed the <br />habitat significantly. About half the native fish are extinct, with the minnow being the latest <br />imperiled case. <br /> <br />Although the minnow can be found throughout the middle Rio Grande, approximately <br />95% of the population resides below San Acacia diversion dam, where the river is subject to <br />extensive dry-ups in the irrigation season. Experts note that the recent dry-ups have caused a <br />significant decline in the species and substantially reduced the reproductive rate. Although there <br />are no firm population estimates, the minnow is apparently in a much worse situation now than <br />in 1994, when it was added to the endangered species list. <br /> <br />Following the listing, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service ("the USFWS") <br />convened a recovery team to create a recovery program for the fish. Colorado is a member of <br />the team and is represented by Steve Vandiver, Division Engineer for Water Division 3. This <br />group met for nearly five years and produced a Recovery Plan, signed by the USFWS in June <br />1999. The plan, which has yet to be implemented, lays out the necessary research and practical <br />steps necessary to stabilize the fish. <br /> <br />Last summer, under court order, the USFWS issued a designation of critical habitat. The <br />USFWS chose not to designate critical habitat when it listed the fish in 1994, because of budget <br />constraints and the belief that the designation would not incrementally benefit the fish more than <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />2 <br />