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<br />,.., <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />Recovery Impl ementat i or. Program .; _r Endangered <br />Fish Species in the Upper Colorado River Basin <br /> <br />December 20, 1988 <br /> <br />On January 21-22, 1988, the Governors of Colorado, Wyoming, and Utah jOined Secretary <br />of the Interior Hodel and the Administrator of the Western Area Power Administration <br />in signing a cooperative agreement to implement a recovery program for rare and <br />endangered species of fish in the Upper Colorado River Basin. The recovery program <br />is a milestone effort that coordinates Federal, State, and private actions to <br />conserve the fish in a manner compatible with States' water rights systems and the <br />various interstate compacts that guide water allocation, development, and management <br />in the Upper Colorado River Basin. <br /> <br />Several native warmwater fishes that are endemic to the Colorado River Basin, <br />including the Colorado squawfish, humpback chub, bony tail chub, and razorback sucker, <br />have been unable to adjust to the modifications of their environment brought about by <br />the activities of man. Changes in streamflow and water temperature, direct loss of <br />habitat due to inundation by reservoirs, blockage of migration routes, and <br />interactions with introduced, nonnative fish species (predation and competition) are <br />primarily responsible for the decline of these native fish species that once ranged <br />throughout the Colorado River Basin. Due to their low numbers and inadequate <br />recruitment, the Colorado squawfish, humpback chub, and bony tail chub have been <br />federally listed as Endangered; the razorback sucker is a candidate for Federal <br />listing under the Endangered Species Act <br /> <br />Since 1978, the Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) has issued over 100 Biological <br />Opinions (pursuant to Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act) on the effects of <br />water development projects on the Colorado River endangered fishes. These opinions <br />have all concluded that the cumulative effects of water depletions from the Upper <br />Colorado River system are likely to jeopardize the survival of the endangered <br />Colorado River fishes. In 1984, the Service also produced a draft conservation plan <br />that specified minimum flows for the listed fishes throughout the Upper Basin. <br />Several States and water development organizations responded that the Service's <br />position on water depletions and minimum streamflows was in direct conflict with <br />State water rights systems and interstate compacts. The result was that a major <br />controversy threatened to develop and embroil the various State, Federal, and private <br />interests in a confrontation over endangered species protection and water resource <br />development. These parties recognized that such a confrontation was unlikely to <br />result in progress toward the recovery of the listed fishes and could lend a measure <br />of uncertainty to water development in the Upper Basin. As a result, in August 1984, <br />the Service formed the Upper Colorado.'River Basin Coordinating Committee to provide a <br />forum for discussions. Active participants in the Coordinating Committee included <br />the Service; Bureau of Reclamation; States of Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming; and <br />private water development interests and environmental groups. <br /> <br />After nearly 4 years of intense discussions, data analysis, and negotiations, the <br />Coordinating Committee produced a plan for recovering the endangered fishes entitled <br />"The Recovery Implementation Program for Endangered Fish Species in the Upper <br />Colorado River Basin." The agreement signed in January 198B formally implemented the <br />--..-.- fleeovery Program and created a 10-member Commi ttee to oversee the program's <br />implementation. The Recovery Program contains five basic recovery elements: <br />