REV13321 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

~'~~ IN REPLY REFER7D: --. FWS/R6 ES GJ-6-C-99-F-034 Memorandum United States Department of the Interior FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE Mountain-Prairie Region MAILING ADDRESS: Post Office Box 25486 Denver Federal Center Denver, Colorado 8022~iQ486 ~~~~~t6 S~' STREET LOCATION: 134 Uhion Blvd. Lakewood, Colorado 80228-1807 us eat ags~~~.~a .. RECEf~/ED MAR 31200 aPR o~Z 2ooa Givis+an of~Mlnrah and Gaolapy To: Assistant Du•ector, Western Regional Coordvaating Center, Office of Surface Mining, Reclamation and Enforcement, Denver, Colorado Attention: Carl R. Johnston Fror~~~ Regional Director, Region 6 Ivl``Jl U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service ~" '' `'' ' `'1 Denver, Colorado Subject: Amendment to the Final Biological Opinion for Bowie.Number 2 Mine Permit Revision Number 30, Delta County, Colorado The U.S: Fish and Wildlife Service has reviewed the Office of Surface Mining, Reclamation and Enforcement's Mazch 17 and 18, 2004, correspondences requesting formal consultation on the Bowie Number 2 Mine Permit C-96-083-Technical Revision 30 water augmentation to. existing project water depletions and the impacts.to the Colorado River fishes. The mine is located in T. 13 S., R. 92 W., sections 2, 3, 4, 9, 10, 11, 14, 15, 16, and T. 12 S., R. 91 W., sections 33 and 34, Delta County, Colorado. The proposed action will cause an additional average annual depletion of 0.8 acre-feet to the North Fork of the Gunnison River in the Upper Colorado River Basin. This amount will increase the present depletion from 325.9 to 326.7. acre-feet. The Service concurs the depletion to the North Fork of the Gunnison River is likely to jeopazdize the continued existence of the Colorado pikeminnow (PtychocheiZus Lucius}, humpback chub (Gila c0phd}, bonytaiT (Gila etegdnsl, and razorback sucker (Xyrauchen texanus) and result in the destruction or adverse modification of their critical habitat.. Backeround The Service issued a second biological opinion-dated December 10, 1999, to OSM with a concurrence of"likely to jeopazdize the continued existence" for the four endangered Colorado River fish and said subject (please refer to biological opinion GJ-6-CO-99-F-034 for detailed information). This memorandum serves as an amendment to that biological opinion. Reasonable and Prudent Alternatives A Recovery Implementation Program for Endangered Fish Species in the Upper Colorado River Basin was initiated on January 22, 1988. The Recovery Program was intended to be the reasonable and prudent alternative to avoid jeopazdy to the endangered fishes by depletions from the Upper Colorado River Basin. In order to further define and clarify the process inthe Recovery Program, a section 7 agreement was implemented on October 15, 1993, by the Recovery Program participants. Incorporated into the agreement is a Recovery Implementation Program Recovery Action Plan (RIPRAP)