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<br />_,_...__._T_-.~..;____v _'_"_'_'."' ~>. _ _ .- F _ ~. .~.._ ,,~. .c-__........_~~~_~... "'~_...........>..,.<..."~..~.,..~~......,,__~.~=,...........,,......_ <br /> <br />v <br /> <br />, <br /> <br />.f'1 <br />,\,,}. <br /> <br />1;~ <br /> <br />- 2 - <br /> <br />'r .~ l'n thi s memo 1 wi 11 pr~sea-t> a- Ht>~le tJ.a,ckground for the- <br />benefit of those members of the Colorado Water Resources and Power <br />YK '-t~. ;.. .- <br />Developjn~n.t;'.All:thority and the Colorado Water Conservation Board who <br />have not b~~n'as close to the problems discussed as others have. <br /> <br />The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in 1979 issued a Draft Bio- <br />logical Opinion under Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act with <br />reference to the potential effects of the Animas-LaPlata Project on <br />the Colorado squawfish. The 1979 opinion was based on the capture <br />of one juvenile squawfish in the San Juan River in Utah. The Fish <br />and Wildlife Service stated that the Animas-LaPlata Project is likely <br />to further adversely affect the San Juan River to the point that the <br />squawfish population would be lost but that its possible loss should <br />have little impact on the squawfish populations that are reproducing <br />in the Colorado and Green Rivers, or on the species itself. The Service <br />concluded that the Animas-LaPlata Project was not likely to jeopardize <br />the continued existence of the Colorado squawfish. <br /> <br />Based at least in part on the above conclusion, the Project <br />sponsors, the States of Colorado and New Mexico, and the Bureau of <br />,.' Reclamation since 1979 have accelerated their eff1l'1?ts to have the <br />Animas-LaPlata Project constructed; it having been authorized for <br />construction in 196B by the U.S. Congress. The Ute Mountain Ute Indian <br />Tribe and the Southern Ute Indian Tribe in the early 1970's had filed <br />lawsuits seeking to determine their rights to use the waters of the San <br />Juan River and its tributaries granted to them by treaties that ante- <br />dated any non-Indian water rights in the river basin. For many years <br />the non-Indian cities, towns, industries, and farmers have been using <br />a large portion of the water of the San Juan River Basin. These <br />lawsuits are still pending. <br />