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<br />. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />Colorado Congressional Delegation/Maynes <br />Page 5 <br />May 4, 1990 <br /> <br /> <br />U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado in 1978 to remove the Endan- <br />gered Species Act as an obstacle to the construction of water resource devel- <br />opment projects on Colorado's western slope. The Districts filed the following <br />claims: <br /> <br />1) that squawfish and humpback chub were not legally determined to <br />be endangered species; <br /> <br />2) that the determinations that the squawfish and chub were endan- <br />gered were not made on adequate biological data; <br /> <br />3) that the Department of the Interior had wrongfully concluded that <br />water impoundment structures adversely affect the squawfish and <br />chub and, therefore, the Districts' projects were being wrongfully <br />impeded or, in the alternative, assuming the water impoundment <br />facilities do harm the fish, the federal government is itself violating <br />the ESA with its dam operations; <br /> <br />4) that the adverse impacts on the squawfish and chub result from <br />stocking of non-native fishes in the Colorado River system; <br /> <br />5) that the listing of the totoaba was invalid for failure to designate <br />critical habitat; and <br /> <br />6) that the federal operation of dams on the Colorado River system has <br />adversely affected the totoaba by virtually eliminating the flow of <br />water in the Colorado River at its mouth. <br /> <br />The parties settled this case by Stipulation. The Stipulation is attached as <br />Exhibit "D." In the Stipulation, the Department of the Interior stated at <br />Paragraph 5: <br /> <br />Interior agrees that it will provide notice before it intro- <br />duces any federally listed threatened or endangered <br />species into any Project area. <br /> <br />The Project areas include the Animas-La Plata, Dolores and San Miguel Proj- <br />ects. <br /> <br />On October 7, 1983, the Service notified the Southwestern Water Conservation <br />District that pursuant to Paragraph 5 of the Stipulated Settlement, the Ser- <br />vice "plans to introduce approximately 100,000 Colorado River squawfish into <br />the Colorado River in the vicinity of Grand Junction, Colorado on or about <br />October 13, 1983, as part of ou r research effort on this species. . . ." This <br />letter is attached hereto as Exhibit "E." The Department of the I nterior has <br />failed in its duty under the Stipulation settling this case. The Service failed <br />to notify the Southwestern Water Conservation District of any additional <br />