Difference between revisions of "Upper Colorado River Endangered Fish Recovery Program (Upper Basin Recovery Program)"

The Intermountain West is the nation’s fastest-growing region and an important energy-producing area of the country. Recovery Program partners recognize that their collaborative conservation partnership provides the most workable approach to recover endangered species while meeting energy and water demands. Each partner fully participates in developing and implementing management actions leading toward delisting of the endangered Colorado River fishes.

The Recovery Program’s success is a direct result of the active commitment and participation of its partners:

• State of Colorado
• State of Utah
• State of Wyoming
• Bureau of Reclamation
• Colorado River Energy Distributors Association
• Colorado Water Congress
• National Park Service
• The Nature Conservancy
• U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
• Utah Water Users Association
• Western Area Power Administration
• Western Resource Advocates
• Wyoming Water Association [2]

The Recovery Program relies on recovery goals to develop and implement management actions and measure success. The recovery goals provide objective, measurable criteria for downlisting to “threatened” and delisting (removal from Endangered Species Act [ESA] protection).

Recovery is based on reduction of threats and improvement of a species’ status during the time it is listed under the ESA. Recovery goals identify the number and age of fish that comprise a specified number of self-sustaining wild populations. They also identify site-specific management actions that reduce threats to the species.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will consider downlisting or delisting the endangered fishes once the required demographic and genetic standards for self-sustaining populations are reached and the necessary management actions are achieved to reduce the threats that caused the fish to be listed.

The Service approved the initial recovery goals on August 1, 2002, with the requirement that they be reviewed and updated at least every five years to include any new information. [3]

• 2000 Flaming Gorge Flow Recommendations
• 2005 Biological Opinion on the Operation of Flaming Gorge Dam
• Peak Flow Recommendations
• Larval Sucker Trigger Study
• Colorado pikeminnow backwater nursery habitats
• Razorback sucker floodplain nursery habitats

• Implementation Committee (IC)

1. IC Meeting Summaries

• Management Committee (MC)

1. MC Meeting Summaries
2. Congressional Briefing Trips

• Biology Committee (BC)

1. BC Meeting Summaries
2. Nonnative Fish Workshop Summaries
3. Annual Researchers Meetings

• Information & Education Committee (IEC)
• Water Acquisition Committee (WAC)

• Program Highlights (Annual Briefing Documents)
• Swimming Upstream Field Reports
• On the Path to Recovery
• Fish Fact Sheets

• 1987 Blue Book that established Program
• 1987 RIP EA
• 1988 Cooperative Agreement (2001 & 2009 Extensions)
• Public Laws Authorizing the Program
• Policies, Directives & Agreements
• Recovery Implementation Program Recovery Action Plan ("RIPRAP")
• Recovery Goals For Four Endangered Fishes Of The Colorado River
• Species Status Assessments and 5 Year Status Reviews

• Program Guidance
• Project Scopes of Work
• Project Annual Reports
• Annual Budget and Depletion Charge Adjustments
• Budget Documents

• 15-Mile Reach Programmatic Biological Opinion
• Yampa River Programmatic Biological Opinion and Conservation Measures Implementation
• Gunnison River Programmatic Biological Opinion
• Consultation List
• Sufficient Progress Memos

• Instream Flow Studies, Reports, and Recommendations
• Habitat Restoration Technical Reports
• Nonnative Fish Management Technical Reports
• Propagation & Stocking Technical Reports
• Research & Monitoring Technical Reports
• Biology Committee: Report Format & Review Process