BOARD00507

• Board Meeting Date: 1/26/2000
• Description: WSP Section - Colorado River Basin Issues - San Juan Recovery Program - Section 7 Agreement
• Board Meetings - Doc Type: Memo

Agenda item 23 i
January 26-27, 2000 Board Meeting
Page 4 of 13

endangered species conservation in the San Juan River Basin, the Coordination
Committee supports the Service in its commitment to notify the tribes when it receives
any request for consultation that might affect tribal assets. Additionally the Coordination
Committee urges the Service, within its applicable regulations, to address the Section 7
consultation needs of the tribes. Moreover, the Coordination Committee recognizes that
the Department of the Interior intends to use its authority to the fullest extent possible to
preserve and protect the water resources of the tribes in the Basin. The role of the
Department vis a vis the four San Juan River Basin Tribes will be explained more fully in
a memorandum of understanding separate from these principles.

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3.0 Animas-La Plata Project Baseline.

A final biological opinion on the Animas-La Plata Project was issued on October 25,
1991. The reasonable and prudent altematives specified were I) an Animas-La Plata
Project that results in an initial depletion of 57,100 acre-feet, 2) seven years of research to
determine endangered fish habitat needs, 3) operation of Navajo Dam to provide a wide
range of flow conditions for the endangered fish during the seven year research period, 4)
a guarantee that Navajo Reservoir will be operated for the life of the Animas-La Plata
Project to mimic a natural hydrograph based on research, and 5) legal protection for
reservoir releases to and through the endangered fish habitat and a commitment to
develop and implement a recovery implementation program for the San Juan River. A
Memorandum of Understanding to implement the reasonable and prudent alternative was
executed on October 24,1991. The reasonable and prudent alternatives for the Animas-
La Plata Project also provide the reasonable and prudent alternatives for Endangered
Species Act compliance purposes for the depletion impacts of all water depletions in the
San Juan River Basin existing as of October 25, 1991 (existing depletions), the date of
the Animas-La Plata biological opinion.

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Following designation of critical habitat for the Colorado squawfish and razorback sucker
in 1994, consultation on the effects of Animas-La Plata was reinitiated. The 1996
Biological Opinion resulting from that consultation provided an amended summary of
baseline depletions that reflected readjustment of depletions resulting from projects of the
Navajo Nation that were necessary in the intervening consultation on the Navajo Indian
Irrigation Project Blocks I through 8. The 1996 Animas-La Plata opinion refined the
reasonable and prudent alternative of the original opinion to: I) limitation of the proposed
project to only those features that would result in an annual maximum depletion of
57,100 acre-feet until all elements of the reasonable and prudent alternative are
completed and/or implemented, changing to an annual average depletion of 57,100 AF/yr
upon the finding that 300,000 acre-feet of water for spring releases for endangered fishes
96 percent of the time; 2) continuation of Reclamation financial support of and
participation in the San Juan River Basin Recovery Implementation Program and the
seven-year research program; 3) continuation of Reclamation's operation of Navajo Dam
under study guidelines developed through the research on various flows in the San Juan
River; 4) foliowing formulation of year-round flow recommendations, operation of
Navajo Dam to mimic a natural hydrograph for the life of the Animas-La Plata Project;

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