WSP06350 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

. .. UNITED STATES ~EPARTMENT OF THE IN~JOR FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE .iAl"~ r-- I . , -~-'~9 , . l .-"." . . , . Pf..4li, . .. . -.... POST OFFICE BOX 1306 Al"IQIIDlQ1E, NEW MEXICO 871lD December 28, 1979 . . -.. ,=y ~ ~rA HEHORANDllM . TO: Regional Director, Water and Power Resources Servi P.O. Box 11568, Salt Lake City, Utah 94147 I ~^... .J .--..- . Actinl FIUM: Regional Director, Region 2 SUBJECT: Formal Section 7 Consultation on the Animas-La Plata Project On October 16, 1979, I initiated formal Section 7 consultation, as provided by the Endangered Species Act as amended, with Water and Power Resources Service, as a resalt of my review of your biological assessment.on the Animas-La Plata Project. At that time, I requested additional information which I received December 5, 1979. This consultation involves the endangered bald eagle (Raliaeetus leucocephalus), peregrine falcon (Falco peregrinus), and Colorado squawfish (Ptychocheilus lucius), as identified in our March 9, 1979 species list to Water and Power Resources Service and your June 27, 1979 biological assessment. The consultation concerns the effects of the proposed Animas-La Plata Project upon these endangered species. The effects of coal development on the two Ute Indian Reservations, as a result of the Animas-La Plata Project, will not be addressed because of development ambiguities. The following information and biological opinion is founded upon review of the Animas-La Plata Draft Environmental Statement (INT DES 79-45), the biological assessment, data from the administrative files of the Fish and Wildlife Service, and discussions with personnel of the Colorado Division of Wildlife, New Mexico Department of Game and Fish, U. S. Forest Service, and other ~eople familiar with the involved species. The project will be located in La Plata and Montezuma Counties in south- western Colorado and San Juan County in northwestern New Mexico. The four river systems of the Upper Colorado River Basin that will be affected include the Mancos, La Plata, and Animas Rivers which are tributary to the fourth River, the San Juan. To effect this project, an average 169,400 acre feet of water will be diverted from the Animas River to the La Plata Save Energy and You Serve America! ..