BOARD00543

• Board Meeting Date: 7/28/2003
• Description: CWCB Director's Report
• Board Meetings - Doc Type: Memo

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address that issue, for missing other statutory deadlines. In addition, there have been challenges
to the merits of the critical habitat designations made pursuant to these court orders.

Mark Limbaugh and William Rinne Named Deputy Reclamation Commissioners:
Reclamation Commissioner John W. Keys III has named two Deputy Commissioners. Mark A.
Limbaugh, current Director, External and Intergovernmental Affairs, and William E. Rinne,
current Director, Operations. Both executives' positions will be expanded to include larger
responsibilities as part of an overall reorganization of the bureau's executive leadership.

Limbaugh will serve as acting commissioner when Keys is traveling outside of Washington,
D.C. He joined the Bush Administration and was named Reclamation's Director of External and
Intergovernmental Affairs in January, 2002, to oversee Reclamation's Congressional and
Legislative and Public Affairs activities. Limbaugh previously was President of the Family Farm
Alliance, Watermaster ofIdaho's Payette River Basin, and Executive Director of the Payette
River Water Users Association.

William E. Rinne, who has more than 25 years of federal service, will serve as acting
commissioner behind Limbaugh. He moved to his current position within Reclamation in
September, 2002. He previously served as Deputy Regional Director of Reclamation's Lower
Colorado Region in Boulder City, Nev., where he was actively involved in the agency's lower
Colorado River programs.

Other leadership changes included the geographical transfer of the Director of Policy,
Management and Technical Services, the Director of Program and Policy Services (formerly the
Director of Policy), and the Director of Research and Development (formerly the Director of
Research and Natural Resources) to Denver in order to have these managers closer to their
customers and the m~ority of staff and programs they direct.

USFWS Finds Lynx Should Remain Listed As Threatened: The USFWS has determined that
the Canada lynx should not be classified as an endangered species. The finding clarifies a finding
made when the contiguous U.S. population ofthe Canada lynx was listed as a threatened species
in March of2000. Subsequent to the final listing, Defenders of Wildlife et al filed suit asserting
that the listing of the Canada lynx as threatened, rather than endangered, was arbitrary and
capricious and challenging the Service's finding regarding threats to the species, identification of
a single distinct population segment (a distinct population segment is a portion of a species' or
subspecies' population or range), and failure to designate critical habitat for the species. By court
order, the Service was directed to reconsider its determination regarding the status ofthe lynx.

USFWS Issues Guidance for Conservation of Candidate Species: The USFWS has released a
draft handbook that will guide implementation of the Candidate Conservation Agreements with
Assurances (CCAA) permit program. The program is designed to encourage landowners to
manage their land to benefit declining species, The handbook is available on the Internet at
hUp:/ / endangered. fws. gOV / candidates/ ccaahandbook.html.

Reserved Rights Legislation: Rep. Stevan Pearce (R-NM) has introduced legislation, HR 2603,
to limit the authority ofthe Secretary ofthe Interior to claim title or other rights to water absent
specific direction of law, or to abrogate, injure or otherwise impair any right to the use of any
quantity of water.

Ground Water Conference: The Western States Water Council, in cooperation with the
Ogallala Aquifer Institute, Texas Commission on Environmental Quality and Texas Water