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, Mr. David Getches Page Four . We are convinced that the hydrology subcommittee's assign- ments should be designed to assist the Coordinating Committee in the execution of both its short-term and longer-term duties. Thus, we strongly urge that at its next meetinq the Coordinating Comm' subcommittee to assess the im acts on the system's flow regime of the d~letions encom assed by all pen ~ng consultations as well as those already completed. The resu that assessment are ~ndispensable to identification of the "base- line" upon which both future consultations and a recovery plan must be founded. 2. Section 7 Consultation for the Second Round of Water Sales from Ruedi Reservoir-- What is urgently needed at this time is a pause in the continued issuance of biolgical opinions that sanction further depletions, until a comprehensive conservation plan can be imple- mented. This would permit the agencies' biologists to gather the data that are needed to fully evaluate the effects of specific projects on the endangered fish species and the effectiveness of measures for offsetting those impacts. At the same time, the policymakers would have an unhindered opportunity to deliberately weigh alternative conservation strategies. . In our view federal agencies have a special responsibility in this regard, for two reasons. First, federal agencies have a duty to use their statutory authorities to promote the Act's purposes of conserving endangered species. Second, federal agencies such as the Bureau of Reclamation are represented on the Coordinating Committee and should ensure that their actions do not impede the Committee's ability to fashion a conservation plan. We fear that the Bureau's insistence upon completion of the section 7 consultation for the second round of water sales from Reudi reservoir will have precisely that effect. Commitment of that block of water to a consumptive use, no matter how specula- tive, will limit the Committee's latitude in formulating a conser- vation plan since the sale reduces still farther the small pool of unappropriated water that remains available for ensuring some level of minimum flows. On the other hand, the Bureau has not demonstrated there is any "need" for the immediate sale of this water. We believe the Bureau should have refrained from press- uring the Fish and Wildlife Service into completing the section 7 consultation, to give all of the affected agencies and the Commit- tee a chance to develop a long-range solution to this problem. Moreover, we are disturbed that the Bureau is insisting that the Fish and wildlife Service complete the section 7 consul- . tation without discussing this issue fully with the Committee.