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<br />~. Lt~~ <br />,ty <br /> <br />tI!ff,1'W <br />~; <br /> <br />~eeCl Harris <br />Paye 't. <br />July 't..':l, J.::I::IU <br /> <br />o. Tne occurrenCtl of wHO populatlons of tne two enoangereo fisn <br />species in the San Juan inaicates tnls river still contains some <br />oeQree of suitaoJ.e naoitat. ~s sUCh, this oasin presents <br />increaseo options, avai.Laole to the Kecovery Implementation <br />Proljram for active enmmcement of tnese specles numoers ana their <br />haoitat. <br /> <br />'t.. tiaseO on your professional judgement and data collected to date, is it <br />your view that an aOoitional depletion of 154,000 AF of water from the <br />San Juan Kiver likely to jeoparOize the continued existence of the <br />squawfish or razoroack SUCker? Explain. <br /> <br />3. daseO on your professional judgement and data collected to date, is it <br />your opinion tnat any additional depletions from the San Juan River is <br />reasonably expected to Oirectly or indirectly reduce appreciably the <br />likelihood of both the survival and recovery of the fishes ih the wild <br />by reoucing reproduction, m.moers, or the Oistribution of the fishes? <br />Explain. <br /> <br />l.lUestlons 't. ano 3 cannot oe answereo given the current llmiteo lnformation <br />aoout river nyorology, haoltat, ana oehavior of the fiSh unoer various <br />COmJltlOns. <br /> <br />Tne oata coHectea thus far, incJ.uoing the 1987-89 stuoy reparteo in <br />Platanu U::I::IU) , are lnsufficient to juoge the effect of an expecteo <br />"average" oepletlon on a species liKe Coloraoo squawfish, wnicn nas a <br />complex life history, in a river system alreaoy nignly impacteo oy two <br />mi:llnstem reservoirs, oepletlons, water quality oegradation, ano <br />multiple instream oarriers. from a conceptual perspective, another <br />Ol:Pletlon tnat furtner oampens tne natural flow regime to which tnese <br />species are adapted would have a negative effect. However, too many <br />ql.estlons requiring further stuoy remaln unanswereo to juoge jeoparOy <br />to these species. <br /> <br />Ilitnout knoWlng the present status anO oynamics of Colorado squawfish <br />anI.l razoroacK SUCKer relatlve to tne existing flow regime in tne San <br />Juan, it is imposslole to project effects of aaoitional oepletions. <br />Tne existing oepletions, operation of NavaJO Keservoir, instream <br />oarriers, presence of Lake Powell, presence of non-native fish <br />competitors, anO water pollution may nave already initiated a long-term <br />Oecline towaro extirpatlon for c::; ana Kid J.n tnis Oasin. Tne existing <br />Oata simply 00 not provioe answers to these important questions. <br /> <br />4. tiased on your professional judgement and data collected to date, is it <br />your view there are alternative(s) or conservation measures whiCh, if <br />1nplemented, would aHowconstruction of the An1Jnas-La Plata Project, <br />or other depletions. while not jeopardizing the continued existence of <br />the fishes? Explain. (In responding to the question, the panel needs <br />to ignore existing legal constraints.) <br />