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16 <br />Utah. Grand County: and Colorado. Mesa County. The Colorado River from Black Rocks <br />in T. 10 S., R. 104 W., section 2~ (6th Principal Meridian) to Fish Ford in T. 21 S., <br />R. 24 E., section 3~ (Salt Lake Meridian). <br />Utah. Garfield and San Juan Counties. The Colorado River from Brown Betty Rapid in T. <br />30 S., R. 18 E., section 34 (Salt Lake Meridian) to Imperial Canyon in T. 31 S., R. 17 E., <br />section 28 (Salt Lake Meridian). <br />ENVIRONMENTAL BASELINE <br />The environmental baseline includes the past and present impacts of all Federal, State, and <br />private actions and other human activities in the action area; the anticipated impacts of all <br />proposed Federal projects in the action azea that have already undergone formal section 7 <br />consultation; and the impact of State or private actions contemporaneous with the consultation <br />process. <br />In formulating this opinion,, the Service considered adverse and beneficial effects likely to result <br />from ctunulative effects of future State and private activities that are reasonably certain to occur <br />within the Project area, along with the duect and indirect effects of the Project and impacts from <br />actions that aze part of the environmental baseline (50 CFR 402.02 and 402.14 (g)(3)). <br />The physical and biological features that were the basis for designating the critical habitat for the <br />endangered fishes are water, physical habitat, and biological envirotment. These primary <br />constituent elements were determined necessary for survival and recovery of the endangered <br />fishes in the Colorado River. The primary constituent element water is described as a quantity of <br />sufficient quality and with a hydrologic regime that is required for each life stage, Physical <br />habitat includes azeas of the river that aze inhabited or potentially habitable by endangered fishes <br />for use in spawning, nursery, feeding, and rearing or corridors between these azeas. Biological <br />environment includes food supply, predation, and competition. <br />Water Ouantity <br />The environmental baseline for water quantity includes all historical depletions in the Upper <br />Basin, depletions resulting from projects which have previously undergone section 7 <br />consultation, and depletions resulting from projects contemporaneous with this consultation. <br />Water Quality <br />Some of the contaminants of concern within waters of the Upper Basin include heavy metals, <br />selenitun, salts, PAHs, and pesticides. Selenium is of particular concern because of its <br />documented effects on fish (and wildlife) reproduction. Many chemical, physical, and biological • <br />factors affect the toxicity of environmental contaminants to biological organisms. Chemical and <br />physical factors include contaminant type, chemical species or form, pH, water temperature, <br />