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<br />water may have. Should this water be allocated to municipal, <br />industrial, irrigation, or to wildlife uses, it would require a separate <br />salinity and environmental analysis. It should be noted that this is <br />not additional water to the Big Sandy River system. The change is that <br />instead of the water flowing from the irrigated area and then back into <br />the river, it would be released from the reservoirs when the storage <br />facility is anticipated to fill or is full. Working with the WGFD, a <br />water release schedule could be developed which would improve downstream <br />fish habitat. It should be noted that water from the Big Sandy River <br />and Little Sandy Creek stored in existing reservoirs are under the Eden <br />Valley Irrigation and Drainage District and Wyoming State Engineer's <br />jurisdiction. Any release schedule of water from the reservoirs to <br />enhance fish habitat and/or to reduce downstream flood damages would <br />need to be developed with the Eden Valley Irrigation and Drainage <br />District and Wyoming State Engineer on a yearly basis. <br /> <br />The installation of the selected plan has accounted for terrestrial <br />wildlife habitat (ditchbanks, farm head ditches, border dikes, etc.) and <br />wetland losses. After coordination with the WGFD and the U.S. Fish and <br />Wildlife Service (USFWS), project costs have been included to reduce the <br />impacts of wildlife habitat values foregone. Wildlife habitat values <br />foregone will be replaced through voluntary cost-share assistance for <br />the development and enhancement of wetlands and adjacent vegetation. <br /> <br />If irrigation water management participation occurred on 15,700 <br />acres of the 18,370 eligible cropland acres, about 3,775 acres of <br />irrigation water induced or supplemented wetlands, (USFWS Circular 39 <br />types 1, 2, 3, 4, 9, and 10) would be affected. Of this total, 1,010 <br />acres would experience reduced water supply and an estimated 2,765 acres <br />could be eliminated. The majority of these acres are classified as <br />types 1 and 2 wetlands. To replace these wildlife habitat values <br />foregone, the selected plan makes provisions for the development or <br />enhancement of approximately 860 acres of higher value wetlands <br />(types 3, 4, and 10). This is an increase of about 500 acres of <br />wetlands of these types. Various conservation practices will be <br />installed or implemented to create and enhance wildlife habitat <br />(vegetation) around ponds, ditches, wetlands, field edges, and odd <br />areas. <br /> <br />All wildlife habitat (wetland and vegetation) will be inventoried <br />in the before and after plan condition in order to determine net <br />wildlife habitat values affected. All wildlife habitat (wetland and <br />vegetation) will be inventoried in the before and after plan condition <br />in order to determine wildlife values needed to replace values foregone. <br />The Habitat Evaluation Procedures (HEP) developed by the U.S. Fish and <br />Wildlife Service will be used by the team biologist or other HEP <br />certified team members for these inventories. It is expected that <br />individual and group actions will be implemented to replace wildlife <br />habitat values <br />foregone. (; :J' 1: r,:) <br />...- . U ~... <br /> <br />Water not diverted to farmland for irrigation because of improved <br />irrigation efficiencies will remain in the existing reservoirs as <br />carryover storage for irrigation use in short water years. Excess water <br /> <br />12 <br />