BOARD02617

• Board Meeting Date: 3/24/2003
• Description: CWCB Director's Report
• Board Meetings - Doc Type: Memo

Our easement for the bridge and our waiver of the usualieasement fee was recognized as an important
step toward completing the project. .

The next step will be the construction of a rest area with landscaping, trees, benches, and maps and
other information for trail users. .

The next path to be constructed will link Progress Park to the High Line Canal, followed by a link from
Progress Park to Lehow Avenue (construction in 2003);,then Broadway and the High Line Canal
(2006).

An east-to-west connection eventually will provide tens. of thousands of south metro residents with
access to the Greenway system and a 14-mile trail loop,: following the Big Dry Creek, the High Line
Canal, Lee Gulch, and the Mary Carter Greenway.

Rio Grande Basin

Critical Habitat Desiguated for Rio Grande Silvery Minuow: On Feb. 19 the USFWS designated 157 river
miles as critical habitat for the endangered Rio Grande silvery minnow. This area was designated
because the Service found it contained the physical and!biological features essential to conservation of
the Rio Grande silvery minnow.

Critical habitat identifies geographic areas that are esserttial to the conservation of a threatened or
endangered species and that may require special management considerations or protection.

The middle reach of the Rio Grande - from Cochiti Dam to the utility line in Socorro County -- is
considered crucial habitat to the small fish's survival. The 300-foot riparian zone on each side of the
river is included except when the river is bounded by le;vees; then the designation includes the levee. A
portion of the tributary Jemez River that runs from Jem!'lz Canyon Reservoir to its confluence with the
Rio Grande is also designated. '

The economic cost of making the designation - includil,1g the projected price of maintaining minimum .
instream flows, consulting on federal projects and making modifications to them - is estimated to be
between $1.9 million and $16.2 million annually. This assumes that enough water would flow during
95 of every 100 years. The cost estimate varies widely because of the annual fluctuation in snow and
rainfall.

The Pueblo Indian lands of Santo Domingo, Santa Ana; Sandia, and Isleta were originally included but
have been deleted from the final designation. The Puebjos developed voluntary conservation plans that
provide greater conservation benefits than does the critical habitat designation.
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River flows have been maintained in collaboration witn the Bureau of Reclamation's voluntary
supplemental water program. Supplemental flows to avoid destroying or harming critical habitat will
likely be similar, if not identical, to those now required'to avoid jeopardizing the existence ofthe Rio
Grande silvery minnow, which was declared endanger~d in 1994.

This species was historically one of the most abundant ~d widespread fishes in the Rio Grande Basin,
occurring from Espafiola, New Mexico, to the Gulf of Mexico. It was also found in the Pecos River - a
major tributary of the Rio Grande - from Santa Rosa, New Mexico, downstream to its confluence with
the Rio Grande. The silvery minnow is completely extij:pated from the Pecos River. In the Rio Grande,
it is extirpated downstream of Elephant Butte Reservoir and upstream ofCochiti Reservoir.

This is the second time that the Service has worked on Ii critical habitat designation for the silvery
minnow. The previous designation, done in 1999, was set-aside in March 2001 by a court order. A
Recovery Plan for the species was also completed in 1 ~99.

The documents are posted on the Internet at htto://soutnwest.fws.gov under Hot Topics. .

Conservation Groups Sue to Protect Rio Grande Cutthroat Trout: The Center for Biological
Diversity, Biodiversity Conservation Alliance, Carson Forest Watch, Center for Native Ecosystems,
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