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r . . .1 4 I 2. A San Juan River Basin Endangered Fishes Recovery Program would be initiated. This Program would be fashioned after the one developed for the Green and Colorado Rivers. The goal of the program would be to protect and recover the endangered fish in the San Juan River instituting five basic recovery elements: (1) habitat management including legally protected instream flows, (2) habitat development and maintenance, (3) stocking of native fish species, (4) non-native species and sportfish management, and (5) research, long-term monitoring and data management. The Program would be developed cooperatively and signed by all appropriate parties necessary to ensure its successful implementation. The Program would be developed in the fall of 1990 and implemented in 1991 to insure recovery activities are initiated. The implementation of the San Juan Basin Recovery Implementation Program would function as a reasonable and prudent alternative for existing and future actions that would deplete water from the river. Inherent to the Program would be the assurance that sufficient progress would be made towards improving instream flow conditions (i.e., migration barriers eliminated or passage made possible, water quality conditions improved, stocking of competing species eliminated, and seasonal flow needs of the native species fine tuned and legally protected, and maintained) before existing and future projects (such as the remainder of the Animas-La Plata project features) could rely on the Program as a reasonable and prudent alternative to avoid the likelihood of jeopardy. These positive endangered fish recovery activities would be the basis of the program while providing a mechanism for considering water development interests. 3. The opinion will be issued on all features of the Animas-La Plata project. However, the proposed reasonable and prudent alternative wouuld only include construction of Ridges Basin Reservoir, Durango Pumping Plant, and inlet pipeline. Approximately 80,000 AF of water for municipal and industrial purposes would be developed with a net depletion of 50,000 AF. Recommendations We recommend that the Service and Reclamation biologists and hydrologists begin immediately to analyze the feasibility of the concept we have laid out for a proposed reasonable and prudent alternative. This effort should include discussions with species experts, including experts from the States, tribes, environmental interests and water users, regarding the biological feasibility of the proposed alternative and discussions with various interests on aspects of the proposed Program for the San Juan River Basin. This effort should.be completed within 60 days following receipt of this memorandum. If the Service determines that the proposed reasonable and prudent alternative is biologically supportable and will offset the likelihood of jeopardy, then the Service would prepare a final draft opinion by December 1, 1990. The Service and Reclamation would provide ample opportunity for involvement by various interests in developing the Program for the endangered fishes in the San Juan River Basin. Such interests include the States, water interests, Federal agencies, the environmental community, and the tribes. The Program must comply with the National Environmental Policy Act and should be completed by April I, 1991. The States, Department of the Interior, environmental community, and possibly the tribes would be party to an agreement to implement the Program. The final opinion will be issued after such agreement is executed.