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>. MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE AND THE COLORADO RIVER WATER CONSERVATION DISTRICT I. BackQround In January 1988. the Secretary of the Interior, the Governors of Colorado, Wyoming, and Utah, and the Administrator of the Western Area Power Administration entered into a Cooperative Agreement to implement the Recovery Implementation Program for Endangered Fish Species in the Upper Colorado River Basin (Recovery Program). The Cooperative Agreement also established an Implementation COmmittee to oversee implementation of the Recovery Program by the Fish and Wildlife Service (Service). The overall goal of the Recovery Program is to recover and delist three endangered species (the Colorado sQuawfish, h~ack chub, and bony tail chub) and to manage the razorback suck.er so that it would not need the protection of the Endangered Species Act. (These four fish are referred to as the rare Colorado River fishes in this Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)). A principal element of the Recovery Program is a process for coooucting Section 7 consultation in accordance with the Endangered Species Act (ESA) on the impacts of water depletions to the rare Colorado River fishes and for iCquiring water and/or water rights to provide instream flows for the rare Colorado River fishes. Under the Recovery Program, the depletion impacts of water development projects are offset by: (a) recovery activities partially funded by water projects proponents' financial contribution to the Recovery Progr~ (b) legal protection of instream flows according to State law; and (cl progress in other recovery program elements which results in protection of Mbitat or enhancement of the natural populations of the listed species. Acconfingly, the Service has decided that it must determine that progress under tile Recovery Program is sufficient to offset impacts of a depletion project before it will issue a favorable Biological Opinion. In the . Biological Opinion on the Muddy Creek. Project, the Service concluded that progress under the Recovery Program had not been sufficient and that an additiagl conservation measure was necessary to offset the depletion impacts of the MUddy Creek Project. That additional conservation measure is described in this MOU. This MOU represeats a commitment to a process to provide flows for rare Colorado River fishes in the reach of the main stem Colorado River from the Grand Valley IMigation Company Diversion Dam to the confluence with the Gunnison River 05-mile reach). These flows are being provided on an interim basis until the Service determines that sufficient instream flows have been acquired th~tbe Recovery Program to offset the impacts of the Muddy Creek