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. . 002371 FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE . United States Department of the Interior .- - - . Mountain-Prairie Region ES/CR/Nonnative Mail Stop 65115 MMUNGADDRESS: Post Office &x 25486 Dmver Fedn'al Gmttr Denver, ColonuUJ 80225 STREET LOa TION: 134 Union Blvd. Lol<ewood, CoImodo 80228 IN REPLY REFER TO: f. ~,') ~... r.. " ;~S~ Dear Interested Party: Enclosed are the interim Procedures for Stocking Nonnative Fish Species in the Upper Colorado River Basin (Procedures). The purpose of the interim Procedures is to ensure that all future stocking of nonnative fish will be consistent with recovery of the endangered Colorado River fishes within the Upper Colorado River Basin, excluding the San Juan River Basin. The interim Procedures were developed over the past year as a cooperative effort between the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) and the States of Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming (States). Comments and concerns of a variety of interest groups (i.e., environmental groups, water user groups, sport fishing groups, and private aquaculture) were considered during the development of the interim Procedures. The States and the Service will implement the interim Procedures on a trial basis during the spring and summer of 1994 to assess whether they achieve their stated purpose and can be efficiently implemented from an operational standpoint. Various components of the interim Procedures will be tested during the trial period, such as the availability of floodplain maps for different parts of the basin, the criteria in Table 1 of the interim Procedures, and the process for conducting case-by-case reviews. A scope of work will be developed that will identify the full range of questions that will be addressed.and information that will be collected during the trial period. Nothing in the interim Procedures shall be considered as precedent setting, and any stocking proposals approved during the trial period will be reviewed pursuant to the provisions of the final Procedures. During the trial period, the Service will fully comply with section 7 of the Endangered Species Act on stocking activities that involve Federal funds or require Federal approval. The information gathered during the trial period will allow the Service to render a more complete and substantive biological opinion on the final Procedures. During the trial period, the States will evaluate and implement, as feasible, viable control options for nonnative fishes in occupied habitat (e.g., amending research permits to allow for removal of nonnatives and modifying harvest restrictions on nonnative sport fish). The States also will encourage the aquaculture industry to comply with these interim Procedures and participate in their evaluation.