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. . o Cl <:) 3.0 Animas-La Plata Project Baseline. ~ l\:) <:0 A final biological opinion on the Animas-La Plata Project 1-vas issued on October 25, 1991. The reasonable and prudent alternatives specified were 1) an Animas- La Plata Project that results in an initial depletion of 57,100 acre-feet, 2) seven years of research to determine endangered fish habitat needs, 3) operation of Navajo Dam to provide a wide range of flow conditions for the endangered fish during the seven year research period, 4) a guarantee that Navajo Reservoir will be operated for the life of the Animas-La Plata Project to mimic a natural hydrograph based on research, and 5) legal protection for reservoir releases to and through the endangered fish habitat and a commitment to develop and implement a recovery implementation program for the San Juan River. A Memorandum of Understanding to implement the reasonable and prudent alternative was executed on October 24, 1991. The reasonable and prudent alternatives for the Animas-La Plata Project also provide the reasonable and prudent alternatives for Endangered Species Act compliance purposes for the depletion impacts of all water depletions in the San Juan River Basin existing as of October 25, 1991 (existing uses and depletions from projects), the date of the Animas-La Plata biological opinion. Following designation of critical habitat for the Colorado squawfish and razorback sucker in 1994, consultation on the effects of Animas-La ,Plata. was reinitiated. The 1996 Biological Opinion resulting from that consultation provided an amended summary of baseline depletions that reflected readjustment of depletions resulting from projects of the Navajo Nation that were necessary in the intervening consultation on the Navajo Indian Irrigation Project Blocks 1 through 8. The 1996 Animas-La Plata opinion refined the reasonable and prudent alternative of the original opinion to: 1) limitation of the proposed project to only those features that would result in an annual maximum depletion of 57,100 acre-feet until all elements of the reasonable and prudent alternative, ~re completed and/or implemented, changing to an annual average depletion of 57, 1 00 affyr upon the finding that 300,000 acre-feet of water for spring releases for endangered fishes 96 percent of the time; 2) continuation of Reclamation financial support of and participation in the San Juan River Basin Recovery Implementation Program and the seven-year research program; 3) continuation of Reclamation's operation of Navajo Dam under study guidelines developed through the research on various flows in the San Juan River; 4) following formulation oLyear-round flow recommendations, operation of Navajo Dam to mimic a natural hydrograph for the life of the Animas-La Plata Project; and 5) establishment ofspedfic procedures by which implementation of flow recommendations developed by the Program's Biology Committee would be accomplished during the research period. The reasonable and prudent alternatives for the Animas-La Plata Project continue to provide the reasonable and prudent alternatives for Endangered Species Act compliance purposes for the depletion impacts of all water depletions in the San Juan River Basin existing as of October 25,1991, the date of the Animas-La Plata