BOARD02286

• Board Meeting Date: 5/11/1998
• Description: Colorado River Basin Issues - Endangered Species Issues - 15-Mile Reach Section 7 Consultation - Status Report
• Board Meetings - Doc Type: Memo

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HAY-01-98 FRI 04:24 PH CO RIVER RECOVERY

FAX NO, 3032365262

P. 03/11

reviewed and updated annually.

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

This programmatic consultation examines both historic and future depletions associated with
federal, State, and private projects. The consultation is on the determination by the Regional
Director, Region 6, Fish and Wildlife Service, that the implementation/completion of activities
contained within or added (as discussed below) to the Program's Recovcry Action Plan are
sufficient to avoid the likelihood of jeopardizing the continued existence of the endangered fishes
and avoiding destruction or adverse modification of critical habitats within the Colorado River
[Tom Rifle, CO to the ColoradolUtah State line, for approximately X,XX million acre fcct of
existing depletions and 120,000 acre feet of new depletions (Preliminary draft Reg10nal Director
Policy undergoing internal review), The purpose of the Recovery Program and it's Recovery
Action Plan are to recover the four listed fish species while providing reasonable assurance that
watcr proj eets, bath new and historic, can contin.ue,

The Service has detemuned, based on the analy~is of the hydrological and biological information
that currently exists, that if Program participan~, in cooperation with responsible Federal
agencies, carry out all the fallowing elements then these actions will avoid the likelihood of
jeopardizing the continued existence of endang.;:red fishes and avoid destruction or adverse
modification of critical habitats, It is the Recovery Program's and each of its' participants
responsibility to ensure that all elements of this reasonable and prudent alternative are completed
and/or implemented consistent with Recovery Program schedules (contained in March 6,1998
"Section 7 Consultation, Sufficient Progress, and Historic Projects Agreement and Recovery
Action Plan (RlPRAP)" or in subsequent revisions.

For purposes of reinitiation of consultation and assigning RP A elements to existing versus future
water use, depletions have been divided into two categories, Catcgory 1 includes existing
depictions from the Colorado River subbasin that had actually occurred on or before September
30, 1995 (XXXX acre-feet), depletions from uncontracted water in Green Mountain Reservoir
(8,337 acre-feet plus 1,137 acre-feet contracted since 1995), and depletions from Rucdi Reservoir
including Round I water sales, Round II water sales of 520 acre-feet, and future Round II sales of
6,135 acre-feet. Category 2 includes all new depletions up to 120,000 acre-feet, regardless of any
requirement for Section 7 consultation, This category is further divided into two 60,000 acre-feet
blocks of depletions. The Reasonable and Prudent Alternative is intended to avoid jeopardy for
both blacks of depletions, However, prior to depletions occurring in the second block, the
Service will review the Program's progress and adequacy of the species response to the RIPRAP
actions. This review will begin when actual d~letion levels from the first depletion black reach
50,000 acre-feet or 2015 whichever comes first. Tracking of actual depletions will be
accomplished using Cameo gage records and modeling using CROSS, The review will include a
determination if all the RP A clements have been satisfactorily completed, that all ongoing
recovery actions are continuing, and the s~ of the endangered fish. (the process and details
of evaluating fL~h status needs to be developed). If it is detennincd that the RP A elements

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