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Included in the Recovery Program is a requirement for projects that cause water <br />depletions greater that 100 acre-feet/year project proponents make monetary <br />contributions to the Recovery Program. The BLM agrees to incorporate any required <br />contribution as a condition of any issued permit or authorization. The conservation <br />measures for this project are below: <br />The Recovery Program will serve as conservation measures to minimize adverse <br />affects to the endangered fishes and their critical habitat caused by the project's <br />water depletions. Depletion impacts can be offset by accomplishment of activities <br />necessary to recover the endangered fishes as specified under the RIPRAP and the <br />water Project proponent's one-time contribution to the Recovery Program for new <br />depletions greater than 100 acre-feet/year. <br />BASIS FOR BIOLOGICAL OPINION <br />This biological opinion addresses an average annual depletion of approximately 724 acre- <br />feet of water from the Upper Colorado River Basin. Water depletions in the Upper Basin <br />have been recognized as a major source of impact to endangered fish species. <br />Continued water withdrawal has restricted the ability of the Colorado River system to <br />produce flow conditions required by various life stages of the fishes. <br />Critical habitat has been designated for the Colorado pikeminnow, humpback chub, <br />bonytail, and razorback sucker within the 100-year floodplain in portions of their historic <br />range (59 FR 13374). Destruction or adverse modification of critical habitat is defined in <br />50 CFR 402.02 as a direct or indirect alteration that appreciably diminishes the value of <br />critical habitat for both the survival and recovery of a listed species. In considering the <br />biological basis for designating critical habitat, the Service focused on the primary <br />physical and biological elements that are essential to the conservation of the species <br />without consideration of land or water ownership or management. The Service has <br />identified water, physical habitat, and biological environment as the primary constituent <br />elements. This includes a quantity of water of sufficient quality that is delivered to a <br />specific location in accordance with a hydrologic regime that is required for the particular <br />life stage for each species. Water depletions reduce the ability of the river system to <br />provide the required water quantity and hydrologic regime necessary for recovery of the <br />fishes. The physical habitat includes areas of the Colorado River system that are <br />inhabited or potentially habitable for use in spawning and feeding, as a nursery, or serve <br />as corridors between these areas. In addition, oxbows, backwaters, and other areas in the <br />100-year flood plain, when inundated, provide access to spawning, nursery, feeding, and <br />rearing habitats <br />7