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°,:_- ~->,~ .--~ ,~ ~_ .. . ~:_ YJnited States Department of the Interior FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE 6wbpd swiaa 764 HOrlroa pri+c. Buib'uryt B Grant luncti0n, CWaY6o 61506.7946 M REPLY REFLR T0: ' ES-G-RO-95-F-001-GJ291 MS G5412 GJ ~o-off-~~-off January 11, 2 Sandy Vans-Miller, Wildlife Biologist Office of Surface, Miniag, Reclamation, and Enforcement 1999 Broadway, Suite 3320 Denver, Colorado 80202-5733 Dear Ms. Vans-Miller. !n accordance with section 7 of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (1 G U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), and the Intcragettcy Cooperation Regulations (50 CFR 402), the Fish and Wildlife ~ Service reviewed your December 20, 1999, correspondence regarding the impacts of McClave Canyon Mine on eadangutd Colorado River fishes. The McClave Canyon Mine owned by l:.odestar Energy, Inc., has increased their coal production rate and water usage necessitating a Technical Revision (10) to their permit. The project is located in several sections of T. 7 S., R. l02 W., Garfield County, Colorado. The proposed action will cause an average annual depletion of 0.9 acre-feet to East Salt Creek, a tributary of the Colorado River in the Upper Colorado River $asin. A Recovery Implementation Program for Endangered Fish Species in the Upper Colorado River Basin was initialed on January 22, 1988. The Recovery Program was intended to be the reasonable aad prudent alternative to avoid jeopardy to the endangered fishes by depletions from the Upper Colorado River Basin. in order to further define and clarify the process in the Recovery Program, a section 7 agreement was implemented on October 15, 1993, by the Recovery Program participants. Incorporated into this agreement is a Recovery Implementation Program Recovery Action Plan which identifies actions currently believed to be required to recover the endangered fishes In the most expeditious manner. Included in the Recovery Program was the rcquirancnl that a depletion fee would be paid to help support the Recovery Program. On July 8, 1997, the Service issued an infra-Service biological opinion determining that the depletion fee for depletions of L00 acct-feet or less are no longer required because the Recovery Program has made sufficient progress to be the reasonable and .~ prudent alternative to avoid the likelihood of jeopardy to the endangered fishes and to avoid McClave Appendix P 1/18/00 Y ~ .. y~~ ' 'Jr ~ ~.