BOARD02096

• Board Meeting Date: 9/21/1998
• Description: WSP Section - Colorado River Basin Issues - Ruedi Reservoir Round II Contracts and Annual Contract for Endangered Fish - Informational Item
• Board Meetings - Doc Type: Memo

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United States Department of the Interior

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FISH At'\lD WILDLIFE SERVICE
Mountain.Prairie Region

I~ REPLY REFER TO:

MNLING ADDRESS:

Post Office Box 25486
Denver Federal Ceo ter
Denver, Colorado 80225

STREET LOCATIO:->:
134 Union Blvd.
Lakewood. Colorado 80228

ES/GJ-6-CO-95-F-009
COIKS!NEIUT

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DRAFT

Memorandum

To:

Regional Director, Bureau of Reclamation, Great Plains Region, Billings, Montana
(Attention: Area Manager--Loveland, Colorado)

From:

Regional Director, Region 6, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Denver, Colorado

Subject:

Draft Amendment to the Final Biological Opinion for Round II Water Sale from
Ruedi Reservoir

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This responds to your June 3, memorandum regarding section 7 consultation for the continuance
ofRuedi Round II water sales. Your memorandum of July 1997 states that Bureau of
Reclamation has been unable to implement all the elements of the reasonable and prudent
alternative presented in the May 26, 1995, biological opinion on the subject project. Reclamation
has been unable to implement element 2 of the alternatives which requires an interim agreement
between Rechimation, the Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Colorado Water Conservation Board
to make the remaining uncommitted yield (21,650 acre-feet) ofRuedi Reservoir available for
release and delivery through the IS-Mile Reach, for the benefit of the Colorado River endangered
fishes. Therefore, in February 1997, the Service asked Reclamation to refrain from issuing further
Round II water contracts. The Service understands that Reclamation currently has requests for
6,135 af of water from Ruedi Reservoir.

As an amendment to the 1995 biological opinion, the Service has developed the following
reasonable and prudent alternative and reinitiation language to replace language presented in the
1995 opinion.

REASONABLE AND PRUDENT ALTERNATIVE

Regulations (50 CFR 402.02) implementing section 7 of the Act define reasonable and prudent
alternatives as alternative actions, identified during fonnal consultation, that: 1) can be
implemented in a manner consistent with the intended purpose of the action; 2) can be
implemented consistent with the scope of the action agency's legal authority and jurisdiction;

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