Laserfiche WebLink
<br />. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />. Twentynine Palms City Hall at 7:00 PM on December 15, 1999, at 6136 Adobe Road, <br />Twentynine Palms, California; and <br /> <br />. Needles City Council Chambers at 7:00 PM on Decemberl6, 1999, at I11I Bailey Avenue, <br />Needles, California. <br /> <br />Colorado River Endangered StJecies <br /> <br />The Lower Colorado River Multi-Species Conservation Program Steering Committee (Steering <br />Committee) met in Las Vegas, Nevada, on December 3,1999. <br /> <br />Requests for membership on the Steering Committee have been received from the Western Area <br />Power Administration (Western) and Mohave County of Arizona. Western was granted membership <br />status, however, Mohave County's request was tabled because the available number of vacancies for <br />membership are limited and the Steering Committee was concerned that consideration should be given to <br />the other six counties bordering the River, e.g. Arizona - Yuma and LaPaz Counties; Nevada - Clark <br />County; and California - Imperial, Riverside and San Bernardino Counties. A representative from the <br />Quad State County Govemment Association will meet with the subject counties regarding how they can <br />best be represented and present its findings to the Steering Committee. <br /> <br />At the November 17'" Board meeting, Mr. Worthley reported that the completion date for the multi- <br />species conservation plan had been extended to July 2001 from its previous date of December 2000 with <br />the understanding that time saving suggestions would be considered. The Steering Committee received <br />a recommendation from several of its members that an initial MSCP Habitat Plan should be started within <br />the next month in order to be completed by April. The plan would be developed concurrently with the <br />Conservation Area Analysis and the Conservation Alternative Report. The initial plan would be used to <br />guide development of the alternatives, provide information for future scoping meetings and provide a <br />starting point for discussion regarding implementation and funding of the final plan. The Steering <br />Committee will consider the proposal at its January 13, 2000 meeting, and if approved, the plan contractor, <br />Ogden, will be requested to subcontract the work in order to complete the initial plan by April 2000. <br /> <br />The Steering Committee is considering augmentation of the $4.5 million initial funding designated <br />to complete the plan. Since the plan completion date has been extended, both the facilitator contract and <br />the plan development contract also needs to be extended in order to complete the plan. The initial estimate <br />of additional funds needed is approximately $1.2 million and would include additional funds for both <br />contractors, additional interim conservation measures, and restoration of the contingency fund. It is <br />proposed that the cost sharing remain at 50% Federal and 50% non-federal (states), with the three states' <br />shares allocated 50% to California, 30% to Arizona, and 20% to Nevada. A final supplemental fund <br />recommendation will be considered at the January 13,2000, Steering Committee meeting. <br /> <br />On November 17, 1999, a 60 day notice of intent to sue the Secretary of the Interior and <br />Reclamation's Regional Director was sent to Reclamation by the Center for Biological Diversity for <br />allegedly violating Sections 7 and 9 of the Endangered Species Act for failure to consult over the operation <br />of Hoover Dam and its impact on the Virgin River Delta and the southwestern willow flycatcher. The 60 <br />day notice requests that Reclamation initiate or re-initiate consultation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife <br /> <br />4 <br />