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<br />the test flow may be categorically excluded from futher NEPA compliance (EA or EIS), should
<br />the action be deemed acceptable under Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act, While
<br />Reclamation recognizes that there is value in voluntarily completing a more complete and fO!'Illal
<br />NEP A process. such as doing an EA or EIS, to serve as a means to more fonnally evaluate -
<br />potential affects to resources of concern and provide for input by interested publics beyond the
<br />AMWG, in this case, it appears that doing that would serve only to more elaborately document
<br />the lack of concern expressed by the various resource representatives at the AMWG and TWG
<br />meetings and also delay the proposed start date for the test, with the potential to lose the
<br />opportUnity to do it at all, If the action is acceptable under Section 7, the flow may proceed as
<br />planned and any potential impacts that may occur are either beneficial or within the range of
<br />acceptable consequences,
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<br />The Biological and Conference Opinions on Operations of Glen Canyon dam Controlled Release
<br />for Habitat and Beach Building, (FWS, Feb 16, 1996) calls for establishment or discovery ofa
<br />second population ofKanab ambersnail in Arizona prior to conducting another B-HB flow,
<br />Because the proposed test flow is somewhat similar to a beach/habitat-building flow, Reclamation
<br />decided that it is subject to the tenns and conditions of the reasonable and prudent measures of
<br />the opinions, Also, consultation has not yet taken place on the Southwestern willow flycatcher,
<br />nor has a method for detennining incidental take of humpback chub been identified, For these
<br />reasons, the potential effects of the proposed action on listed species are examined in this
<br />biological assessment.
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<br />SPECIES ACCOUNTS
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<br />KANAB AMBERSNAIL
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<br />Distribution and Abundance
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<br />Kanab ambersnail (KAS; Succineidae: OlIyloma haydeni kanabensis PiIsbry 1948), is a federally
<br />endangered landsnail that wu proposed for emergency listing (England 19911, 1991b) and
<br />officially listed in 1992 (England 1992), Fossil OlIyIoma shells have been recovered from
<br />sediments in Grand Gulch (lower San Juan River) that date to 9,200 years ago (Kerns 1993),
<br />Living KAS were first collected by J.H. Ferriss in 1909 near Kanab, Utah in seep vegetation
<br />(Ferriss 1910, PiIsbry andFerrlsa 1911, PiIsbry 1948), Extant populations ofKAS are presently
<br />known to occur at two southwestern springs: one at Three Lakes, near Kanab Utah, and the other
<br />at Vaseys Paradise. a spring at Colorado River Mile 31, SR, in Grand Canyon, Arizona (Spamer
<br />and Bogan 19931, 1993b), Two populations fonnerly occurred in the Kanab area, but one
<br />population was extirpated by desiccation of its habitat, The remaining Utah population at Three
<br />Lakes occurs at several, small spring-fed ponds on cattail ~ sp,; Clarke 1991), The Three
<br />Lakes site is privately-owned and the land owner is commercially developing the property,
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<br />KAS were first collected at Vaseys Paradise in 1991 (Blinn et ai" 1992, Spamer and Bogan,
<br />1993), and an interagency team lead by the Bureau of Reclamation examined KAS ecology there
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