BOARD00607

• Board Meeting Date: 11/22/1999
• Description: Directors' Reports
• Board Meetings - Doc Type: Memo

and attempts to define the discretionary authority both agencies can use to benefit endangered species. ..
The agencies submitted a copy ofthe assessment to the FWS on October 29, 1999. ..

Reclamation and the Corps are also collaborating with other stakeholders to develop and
implement solutions to provide for the continued delivery of water for agricultural, municipal and
industrial uses, the river and the bosque, and the protection of threatened and endangered species.

Water Acquisition Language in Energy and Water Appropriations Act: Reclamation has
completed a review of provisions in the Fiscal Year 2000 Energy and Water Appropriations Act that
address Reclamation's efforts to lease or purchase water to provide Drought Emergency Assistance in
New Mexico. There is controversy about the language in the Act because it implies that Reclamation may
be constrained in its efforts to work with the state of New Mexico and other stakeholders in its efforts to
protect the Rio Grande silvery minnow and Pecos bluntnose shiner, both endangered species. In New
Mexico, the Bureau of Reclamation has been active in leasing water for use in conjunction with
endangered species' needs in both the Rio Grande and Pecos River basins.

Draft EIS for Elephant Butte & caballo Reservoirs: A Draft Environmental Impact Statement
(EIS) for the Resource Management Plan (RMP) for Elephant Butte and Caballo Reservoirs has been
released by Reclamation for a 60-day review. The RMP is intended to provide a framework for the
conservation, protection, development, use, enhancement, and management of resources, as weU as other
issues such as lease lots, grazing, and endangered species. The RMP will further provide a guide for
Reclamation and other agencies in managing, allocating, and appropriately using Elephant Butte and
CabaUo Reservoirs' land and water resources.

The draft EIS identifies four alternatives for the future management of resources within the Elephant ..
Butte and CabaUo Project Areas. Alternative A is the "no action" alternative. Alternative B emphasizes ..
conservation, protection, and enhancement of natural and cultural resources. Alternative C is a
multipurpose recommendation that includes recommendations for expanding recreation areas, improved
primitive recreation sites, and the establishment of wildlife management areas. Alternative D proposes
emphasizes even greater recreational development. Alternative C, identified as the preferred alternative,
allows the privatization of 378 lease lots and continued leasing of the remaining 25 lease lots, significant
alterations in grazing allotments, extended cultural resource protection, and other conservation and
enhancement measures. Public hearings were held on the draft EIS on Oct. 26 in. Las Cruces, New
Mexico and on Oct. 27 in Truth or Consequences, New Mexico. A summary ofthe draft EIS is available
to download or view at http://www.uc.usbr.gov. Comments should be sent to Reclamation by November
23, 1999.

Rio Grande Headwaters Restoration Project: In 1988 the residents of the Rio Grande valley
approached the CWCB to obtain funding for a multi-objective study. They had observed the river's
tendency toward erosion, deposition, and charmel migration, the damage being experienced by irrigation
structures, and the river's lessened conveyance capacity, especially after three consecutive years of high
flows (1985 - 1987). In January 1999, we approved $200,000 for a study. During that same year, the
General Assembly also approved funding for the Rio Grande Headwaters Restoration Project.

The Colorado water conservation board is hereby authorized to initiate a detailed
cooperative planning investigation of the Rio Grande river from the vicinity of the
southern boundary of Alamosa county to near South Fork, Rio Grande county, ..
Colorado. The purposes of the investigation will be to evaluate the feasibility of ..

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