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. . . 4 a periodic basis. It became apparent to the Service that water user support for the filing would only be obtained if the rights were further compromised. Failure to reach a compromise that satisfied the water users would almost certainly result in many years of costly and time consuming litigation. Finally. the controversy surrounding the rights was impeding progress in other parts of the Program, including the development of a programmatic biological opinion for the Colorado River and the introduction of legislation to authorize funding for the Recovery Program. Based on all this. the Service concluded that the benefits of moving forward was not worth the cost. Furthermore, the Service is unwilling to continue to debate issues that have been thoroughly debated and settled or entertain further compromises to rights that have already been significantly compromised. The RIPRAP currently outlines a process and schedule for adjudicating instream flow rights for the Yampa. Gunnison. and White Rivers and other reaches of the Colorado River. The Service continues to believe that protecting instream flows is critical to meeting the objective of the Recovery Program to recover and delist the endangered fishes. Consequently, the Service supports leaving these action items in the RIPRAP in hope that the Board will successfully adjudicate instream water rights that provide meaningful flow protection in these river reaches. With respect to the Yampa'River, the Service believes that the current filings should be evaluated during the ongoing project to develop a water management plan for the Yampa River. The Service will reserve its judgement on those filings based on the contributions of rights to protecting the flows needed by the endangered fishes in the Yampa and Green rivers. Several other water supply and flow protection activities identified in the RIPRAP are currently being pursued for the Colorado River, including: protection of water releases from Green Mountain Reservoir that are being made available by the Orchard Mesa Settlement and the Grand Valley Water Management Project: the permanent dedication of an additional 10,800 acre feet of water for release to the 15-mile reach: enhancement of peak spring flows by coordinating the operation of reservoirs in the headwaters of the Colorado River: and a detailed analysis of other alternatives for enhancing peak spring flows. Completion of these items is critical to the success of the Recovery Program both in terms of its ability to recover the endangered fishes and to serve as the reasonable and prudent alternative for existing and new water development.