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<br />.,t. <br /> <br />3 <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />Colorado River Basin Issues <br /> <br />Upper Colorado River Recovery Program Management Committee: The Management <br />Committee met on March 15th. The major issue remains development of recovery goals for the. <br />endangered fish species of the Colorado River Basin. The latest draft of the goals was released <br />just two days prior to the meeting. A meeting of Colorado's recovery team is scheduled for the <br />afternoon of April 2nd. Comments are due to the USF&WS on April 11th. We continue to strive <br />to make sure the recovery goals are acceptabie to the states water users. <br /> <br />Contract with National Fish and Wildlife Foundation: With the passage of the Long Term <br />Funding Legislation for the Upper Colorado aJld San Juan Recovery Programs it is necessary for <br />the States to find an appropriate way to provide their cost share funds to the programs. Colorado <br />has been meeting with our cost share partners and federal agencies and concluded that having the <br />National Fish and Wildlife Foundation receive and manage the cost share funds for the program <br />is the most workable solution. Staff has been working with the Attorney General and EDO to <br />develop a contract to meet this need. A draft of this contract is very near completion and will be <br />shared with the Foundation prior to the Board meeting. Given the advance discussions that have <br />occurred, it is hoped that negotiations with the Foundation can go fairly quickly and a contract in <br />place as soon as authority to commit the funds can be obtained from the Legislature. <br /> <br />EIS Scoping on Colorado River Agreement and Inadvertent Overrun Policy: On Mar. 8 <br />Reclamation announced it would prepare an ElS on activities to allow the Interior Secretary to <br />execute an Implementation Agreement (IA) with California water agencies holding contracts <br />with the Secretary for delivery of lower Colorado River water. The EIS will describe the <br />potential environmental impacts of: . <br /> <br />I) Secretarial execution of an IA which would result in the approval of water transfers that <br />change the point of delivery of up to apprOldmately 400,000 acre-feet oflower Colorado <br />River water per year; <br /> <br />2) the implementation of biological conservation measures reiated to the water transfers; and, <br /> <br />3) implementation of a 30-year lower ColoradO River inadvertent overrun accounting and <br />payback policy. <br /> <br />The project area of the EIS will include the lower Colorado River and its 100-year floodplain <br />between Lake Mead and the southerly international boundary between the U.S. and Mexico. A <br />meeting of the basin States is scheduled for Mar. 22 to review and discuss these issues. <br /> <br />Reclamation Awards Contract To Construct 900-Foot Pipeline Near Palisade: On Feb. 23 <br />Reclamation announced the award ofa $548,000 contract to R. W. Jones Construction of Fruita <br />to construct a 900-foot pipeline from the GoverJllllent Highline Canal to the Colorado River. The <br />pipeline will let the Grand Valley Water Users Association "fine tune" the canal flow rate before <br />it enters their service area. The pipeline, in conjunction with the recently constructed check <br />structures (small dams in the Government Highline Canal) will help the Association maintain <br />higher water elevations in the canal during the August, September and early October irrigation <br />season. This will resuit in less water being diverted from the Colorado River. The saved water <br />will remain in the river to improve habitat conditions of the endangered Colorado pikeminnow <br />and the razorback sucker. Construction will be completed by July 15. <br /> <br />II <br />