Laserfiche WebLink
a✓i r-ars— tr++s <br />STATE OF COLORADO <br />• COLORADO WATER CONSERVATION BOARD <br />Department of Natural Resources <br />721 State Centennial Building <br />1313 Sherman Street <br />Denver, Colorado 80203 <br />Phone: (303) 866 -3441 RECOVERY IMPLEMENTATION PROGRAM <br />FOR ENDANGERED FISH SPECIES <br />IN THE UPPER COLORADO RIVER BASIN <br />Introduction <br />— ` Ar Z <br />Roy Romer <br />Governor <br />J. William McDonald <br />Director <br />David W. Walker <br />Deputy Director <br />Three fish species that inhabit the Colorado River have <br />been federally listed as endangered: the Colorado squawfish, <br />the bonytail chub, and the humpback chub. The razorback sucker <br />is not listed at this time, but has been identified by the Fish <br />and Wildlife Service as a candidate for listing. In addition, <br />a petition to require its listing has recently been filed with <br />the Service by the Sierra Club. <br />While each of the four species was once abundant in the <br />Upper Colorado River basin, they have been declining in number <br />and are threatened with extinction from their natural habitat. <br />A number of factors are thought to account for the current <br />status of these species, ranging from habitat reduction or <br />alteration to introduction of non - native species. Improving <br />• the status of these four fishes will require an increase in <br />population abundance and survival and improvement and <br />maintenance of sufficient habitat to support them. <br />The Endangered Species Act <br />Insofar as the recovery implementation program is <br />concerned, there are two provisions of the federal Endangered <br />Species Act which are of interest. These are briefly explained <br />below. The actual statutory language is attached. <br />First, section 4(f) of the Act directs the Secretary of the <br />Interior to develop and implement "recovery plans," the purpose <br />of which is to identify and guide the implementation of the <br />measures necessary to bring an endangered or threatened species <br />back to the point of not requiring the protections afforded by <br />the Act. Put another way, the Secretary is to "recover" a <br />species to the point that it can be "de- listed" (i.e., is no <br />longer endangered or threatened within the statutory meaning of <br />those two terms). <br />Prepared for the July 12, 1989, meeting of the Interim <br />Legislative Committee on Water, Colorado General Assembly, by <br />• J. William McDonald, Director, Colorado Water Conservation <br />Board. <br />0416E* <br />