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<br />Formal consultation on the operations of Navajo Dam was requested by Reclamation in a <br />July 30, 1991, memorandum to the Service, In that memorandum, Reclamation committed to <br />operate Navajo Dam in concert with ongoing research to determine hydrologic conditions for the fish <br />and to operate Navajo Dam in a manner most consistent with endangered fish recovery, for the life <br />of Navajo Dam, It was also recognized that Reclamation would produce the necessary documents to <br />comply with NEP A on any recommended changes to the operating criteria for Navajo Dam, In it's <br />August 19, 1991, memorandum responding to Reclamation, the Service concurred with <br />Reclamation's request that the consultation process be initiated and that the overall consultation <br />period for the operations of the dam be extended while planned research on the San Juan River was <br />conducted, <br /> <br />In subsequent Section 7 consultation on the ALP, an RPA was was included in the October <br />25,1991 Biological Opinion that incorporated the earlier commitment by Reclamation to operate <br />Navajo Dam so as to mimic the natural hydrograph, for the life of the ALP Project. Since the <br />specifics of how to mimic a natural hydrograph were not quantilied for the San Juan River, the RPA <br />included a commitment to contribute funding for approximately seven years of research, under the <br />direction of the San Juan River Basin Recovery Implementation Program( SJRBRIP) Biology <br />Committee, to determine the flow requirements of the endangered Colorado Pikeminnow and the <br />razorback sucker (a candidate species that had only just achieved endangered status as of October 23, <br />1991), In exchange for this commitment, the ALP Project was given an initial average annual <br />depletion allowance of 57,100 acre-feet. <br /> <br />On February 26, 1996, a second biological opinion was issued for ALP, in relation to critical <br />habitat, and placed further restrictions on the allowable depletions, The opinion concluded that the <br />depletion of 57,1 00 acre-feet per year could not be exceeded in anyone year until all the elements of <br />the RPA were completed and/or implemented, This limitation was waived in the event that <br />Reclamation lowered winter releases from Navajo Dam to 300 cts, to provide the extra flexibility in <br />releases described in the hydrology section of the 1991 biological opinion, If that condition existed, <br />then the project could maintain an average annual depletion of 57,100 acre-feet. <br /> <br />A new opinion on ALP is being prepared that will supercede previous opinions, This opinion <br />should be completed in June 2000 and draft versions include the following conservation measure, <br />Operation of Navajo Reservoir to mimic the natural hydrograph of the San Juan River to benefit <br />endangered fish species and their critical habitat. Mimicry of the natural hydrograph will be <br />achieved by following the San Juan flow recommendations (Holden 1999) and subject to completion <br />of the Navajo Reservoir Operations environmental impact statement and record of decision, <br /> <br />Under the direction of the SJRBRIP Biology Committee, test releases were conducted and <br />evaluated during the 1992-98 research period, resulting in the flow recommendations that <br />Reclamation is proposing to meet by modifYing the operations decision criteria for Navajo Dam, <br /> <br />5 <br /> <br />1\'1;<' ;<f 1& <br />~..;;.(~\1 <br />