2010-11-16_PERMIT FILE - C1996083A (27)

Home Browse Search

~-~p waer~vrtsteax: ~. FWS/R6 ES GJ-6-C-99-F-034 Memorandum MAILING ADDRESS: Post Office Box 25486 Denver Federal Center Denver, Colorado 8022486 ~~~ .. ~`~', .. cJ ,~...~ STREET LOCATION: 134 Uhion Blvd. Lakewood, Colorado 80228-1$07 MAR 312004 RECEii/ED `APR QZ ~~~; Division of Minerals and GeoloGy To: Assistant Director, Western Regional Coordinating Center, Office of Surface Mining, Reclamation and Enforcement, Denver, Colorado Attention: Carl R. Johnston ~~~ From t . Regional Director, Region 6 ~~ t1~ .~ U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service ~ ` Denver, Colorado Subject: Amendment to the Final Biological Opinion for Bowie Number 2 Mine Permit ' Revision Number 30, Delta County, Colorado The U.S: F'ish 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 Nurnber 2Mine Permit.C-96-083-Technical Revision 30 water augmentation to. existing project wager 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 depletiori to the North Fork of the Gunnison River is likely to jeopazdize the continued Existence of the Colorado pikeminnow (Ptychocheilus Lucius), humpback chub (GZta cvphci), bonytaiI (Gila elegans), and razorback sucker (Xyrauchen texanus) and result in the destniction or adverse modification of their critical habitat.. Background The Services 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 Pendent Alternatives A Recovery Implementation Program for Endangered Fish Species in the Upper Colorado River Basin wasnutiated 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 in the 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) !11 R- 3 $ United States Department of the Interior FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE Mountain-Prairie Region /)PPRovEO ti'~~-~~oy