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~I, 0' , ENDANGERED FISHES RECOVERY PROGRAM - UPPER COLORADO RIVER BASIN - December I, 1994 Draft Outline I. CIRCUMSTANCES LEADING TO PROGRAM CREATION. A. ESA (1973) + 4 listed fishes. ESA appears to pose greatest overalllhreat to water development and management expectations relative to other regulatory requirements. Its implications for water resource development and management became clear through the Grayrocks Dam case on the Platte River (a 1983 decision by the Federal District Court in Denver, confirmed on appeal to the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in 1985). Also, the Riverside Irrigation District case. The ESA clearly posed a direct conflict between federal environmental policy and state resource allocation and management policies. . Regulatory experience of the Windy Gap Project was pivotal (payment of a depletion fee). B. Water community efforts in 1982 to reduce ESA's regulatory burden on water resource management through Congressional amendments to the Act were unsuccessful. . The urgency of resolving the conflict became most apparent when the FWS produced an initial set of flow recommendations in 1982, indicating that depletion impacts were the primary cause of the species decline. . 1982 ESA Amendments added policy declaration that "Federal agencies shall cooperate with State and local agencies to resolve water resource issues in concert with conservation of endangered species." . LESSON = Congress expected a constructive solution; endangered species concerns need to be incorporated into our game plan for water development. Water users approached the state seeking support for an alternative means for compliance with ESA. c. CO, UT, and WY were determined to protect compact development opportunities; wildlife management responsibilities, too. States and water users approached FWS and Interior Department to establish a Coordinating Committee in 1984 to develop recovery program framework. 1987 EIS concluded that cooperative effort to "recover" the 4 fishes offered greatest potential for meeting ESA objectives. II. 1988 COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT & PROGRAM GOALS. A. Cooperative Agreement was signed in January 1988. . Interior Secretary Hodel; . Governors Romer, Bangerter, and Sullivan for CO, UT, and WY; and . Administrator for Westem Area Power Admin. . Supporting resolutions adopted by Water Users and Environmental Interests in CO, UT, and WY. . B. Established IMPLEMENT A nON COMMITTEE consisting of 8 VOTING participants: . 3 states;