Date: 07/22/2015
Final
Update on Endangered Species Recovery Programs
WATER RESOURCES REVIEW COMMITTEE
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02:27 PM -- Update on Endangered Species Recovery Programs
Tom E. Chart, Director, Upper Colorado River Endangered Fish Recovery Program, provided a PowerPoint presentation on the Upper Colorado River Recovery Program (Attachment A). The program seeks to restore populations of four endangered fish in the Yampa-White, Colorado and Gunnison River Basins: Bonytail Chub, Humpback Chub, Razorback Sucker, and Colorado Pikeminnow. Mr. Chart explained that recovery strategies include conducting research, improving river habitat, providing adequate stream flows, managing non-native fish and raising endangered fish in hatcheries for stocking. He also explained how the recovery program provides federal Endangered Species Act compliance for federal, tribal, state, and private existing and new water projects throughout the Colorado River Basin above Lake Powell.
Attachment A.pdf
02:46 PM
Chuck Grobe, Moffat County Board of County Commissioners, provided an update on the Gunnison Sage Grouse Recovery Program. He explained that the federal government is currently reviewing the recovery program recommended by the State of Colorado. He also identified potential impact of federal regulations on private landowners, mineral developers, farmers and ranchers, and outdoor recreation related to the Sage Grouse Recovery Program.
02:51 PM
Geff Blakeslee, Environmental At-Large Representative on the Yampa-White Basin Roundtable, explained how the Yampa-White Basin Roundtable has identified water needs for the environment and recreation in its basin implementation plan (BIP). He discussed the United States Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS) programmatic biological opinions (PBOs) on the management plan for endangered fish species in the Yampa River Basin and the Gunnison Sage Grouse and explained how they affect water use and land management in the basin. The Yampa-White Basin Roundtable was charged with developing a water needs assessment for the environment, including water needs for endangered fish and mammal species, hunting and fishing, and recreation. He explained that the roundtable developed the Watershed Flow Evaluation Tool which provides criteria to quantitatively measure and compare environmental and recreational risks based on existing and modeled flow conditions in the Yampa and White Basins. This methodology is incorporated into the Projects and Methods (P&M) Study to assess risk to environmental and recreational uses. The P&M Study specifically addresses the target at the Maybell gage for augmenting existing base flows to assist in endangered fish recovery and instream flow shortages and incorporates a series of risk-based ecology and flow relationship metrics to assess how current and potential future flows could impact the ecology and boating at specific locations within the Yampa-White Basin. Mr. Blakeslee identified future steps to address environmental and recreational water needs in the Yampa-White Basin including the development of indicators of water shortages, identification of water projects, collaboration on flow management, and other measures. He also responded to questions from the committee about the integration of the environmental objectives in the Yampa-White Basin Implementation Plan.