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<br />2. Ground inspections of each easement have been conducted at least once within the <br />last year, and all landowners have been met with in person or contacted by telephone. <br /> <br />3. We have had one pre-construction meeting to date on the Grand Junction Pipe <br />parcel. <br /> <br />4. No permits were requested or issued in 2002. <br /> <br />5. The Refuge Operation Specialist (GS-9) position dedicated to the CRWMA became <br />vacant this year and, due to insufficient funds to cover a PCS move, the limited number of <br />easements in place and the instituted easement moratori urn, the Project Leader decided to <br />not refill the position and administer the CRWMA needs with Ouray NWR staff. Ouray <br />NWR staff time, travel, and associated expenditures spent on the CRWMA are closely <br />documented and charged to the allotted funds ofthe CRWMA. The salary savings from <br />not filling the dedicated position immediately will be used to cover the cost of the <br />incumbent's PCS move and/or salaries of Ouray Refuge staff used in managing the <br />easements. <br /> <br />6. The CR WMA is now playing a more active role in the easement acquisition process. <br />Staff conducted site assessments of 10 potential easement properties on the Colorado and <br />Gunnison rivers early in 2002. This review process is integral to the future functioning of <br />CRWMA as a cohesive unit, and serves to illuminate any potential future management <br />concerns or liabilities. <br /> <br />7. The Bureau of Reclamation's plan to transfer 5 fee-title wildlife properties totaling <br />2,200 acres of floodplain habitat on the Colorado River have been placed on hold. These <br />five parcels were established as mitigation for wildlife habitat loss resulting from the <br />Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Project. The areas are managed by Reclamation <br />under agreements with Colorado Division of Wildlife, Mesa County Land Trust, and <br />Colorado State Parks. Reclamation is committed to paying operation and maintenance <br />costs for these lands for fifty years (currently requested at $366,OOO/year). Those funds <br />would be transferred to the Service with the property, along with facilities and equipment. <br /> <br />8. Easements have been acquired on 830.2 acres (13 properties) as of December 2002. <br />This is a decrease in the number of acres from 2001 in that, the first three easements on the <br />Green River (Thompson, Sullivan and Rasmussen) were dissolved and funds returned due <br />to the discovery of an overlying easement. A moratorium on the acquisition of any <br />additional easements was instituted by the Management Committee, with a few exceptions. <br />The Thunder Ranch easement, on the Green River, is presently being pursued. Easements <br />acquired by the Recovery Program are transferred to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for <br />management as part of the CRWMA established in July 1998. <br /> <br />easement (-6 page 3 <br />