2014 SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION 14-017 BY SENATOR(S) Schwartz, Aguilar, Brophy, Crowder, Guzman, Harvey, Heath, Herpin, Hodge, Jahn, Jones, Kefalas, King, Newell, Nicholson, Roberts, Scheffel, Tochtrop, Todd, Ulibarri, Zenzinger, Carroll; also REPRESENTATIVE(S) Hamner, Becker, Buckner, Conti, DelGrosso, Dore, Duran, Exum, Fields, Garcia, Gardner, Gerou, Ginal, Holbert, Hullinghorst, Humphrey, Kraft-Tharp, Labuda, Landgraf, Lawrence, Lebsock, May, McCann, McLachlan, Melton, Mitsch Bush, Moreno, Murray, Navarro, Nordberg, Pettersen, Primavera, Priola, Rankin, Rosenthal, Ryden, Salazar, Schafer, Singer, Sonnenberg, Stephens, Tyler, Vigil, Waller, Williams, Wilson, Young, Ferrandino. CONCERNING NATIONAL FISH HATCHERIES IN COLORADO. WHEREAS, Sport fishing routinely draws more than 725,000 participants in Colorado annually, constituting an important component of Colorado's economy, with angler expenditures exceeding $645 million in 2011; and WHEREAS, Colorado Parks and Wildlife received more than $13 million of revenue from the sale of fishing licenses in fiscal year 2012-13, a significant portion of the agency's budget; and WHEREAS, Trout produced in both state and federal hatchery systems and stocked into waters throughout Colorado are important in maintaining sport fishing and its economic benefits; and WHEREAS, The continued operation of the Leadville National Fish Hatchery and the Hotchkiss National Fish Hatchery is essential for the Bureau of Reclamation to fulfill its ongoing obligation to mitigate the negative impacts on fish, wildlife, and recreation created when federal reservoir storage facilities were constructed; and WHEREAS, The greenback cutthroat trout, Colorado's state fish, was listed by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service as endangered in 1973 and downlisted as a threatened species in 1977 due to the successful conservation efforts by state and federal agencies; and WHEREAS, In 2009, following a 5-year review, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service determined that the greenback cutthroat trout remains a threatened species due to new threats to the species, including: The effects of fire and chemical retardants used in firefighting; increased human population growth within the range of the subspecies; the introduction of nonnative species; the fragmentation and genetic isolation of small populations; and the effects of global climate change; and WHEREAS, Based on current scientific evidence, only one natural greenback cutthroat trout population exists in Colorado, and greenback cutthroat trout management relies on efforts by the state and the Leadville National Fish Hatchery; and WHEREAS, The Hotchkiss National Fish Hatchery produces trout to fill needs for federal water development projects throughout western Colorado and northern New Mexico and plays an important role in fulfilling the mitigation responsibility from the construction of federal reservoir storage facilities such as Blue Mesa Reservoir; and WHEREAS, The Hotchkiss National Fish Hatchery stocks rivers and reservoirs throughout Colorado's Western Slope with more than 342,000 fish per year, yielding 171,000 angler recreation days; and WHEREAS, The Leadville National Fish Hatchery, established in 1889, has stocked waters in Colorado, including military establishments on the Front Range, and in 2011 such stocking created an estimated economic benefit of $3.5 million from recreational fishing; and WHEREAS, The Leadville National Fish Hatchery has been successful in rearing and propagating cold-water fish, including the threatened greenback cutthroat trout, and serves a key role in returning this fish to its home waters; and WHEREAS, The United States Fish and Wildlife Survey recently completed a study predicting that the closure of the Leadville National Fish Hatchery, coupled with funding cuts to the Hotchkiss National Fish Hatchery, will curtail the stocking of Colorado's waters, entailing a loss of associated economic benefits; and WHEREAS, The continuation of the Leadville National Fish Hatchery's role as a trout production and recovery facility and the extension of current funding levels for the Hotchkiss National Fish Hatchery are extremely important to Colorado's economy, sport fishing, and the greenback cutthroat trout's recovery; now, therefore, Be It Resolved by the Senate of the Sixty-ninth General Assembly of the State of Colorado, the House of Representatives concurring herein: (1) That the General Assembly supports the continued operation of the Leadville National Fish Hatchery and urges the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, in partnership with Colorado Parks and Wildlife, to maintain its current mission of stocking Colorado waters for recreational fishing and the recovery of threatened and endangered species. (2) That the General Assembly supports the operation of the hatchery and adjacent federal lands in a manner that promotes public recreation and scientific research and educational activities. (3) That the General Assembly urges the Bureau of Reclamation to honor its obligation to mitigate the impacts resulting from federal water projects. (4) That the General Assembly urges the Department of Natural Resources and Colorado Parks and Wildlife to work with the United States Fish and Wildlife Service to protect the operation of the Leadville National Fish Hatchery and the Hotchkiss National Fish Hatchery. Be It Further Resolved, That copies of this Joint Resolution be sent to all members of the Colorado delegation to the United States Congress, the Secretary of the Interior, the Director of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, and Governor John Hickenlooper. ____________________________ ____________________________ Morgan Carroll Mark Ferrandino PRESIDENT OF SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE THE SENATE OF REPRESENTATIVES ____________________________ ____________________________ Cindi Markwell Marilyn Eddins SECRETARY OF CHIEF CLERK OF THE HOUSE THE SENATE OF REPRESENTATIVES