United States Department of the Interior
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United States Department of the Interior FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE Colorado Ecological Services IN REPLY REFER TO: Front Range: Western Slope: l'WS/R6/ES CO Post Office Box 25486 445 W. Gunnison Avenue Mail Stop 65412 Suite 240 Denver, Colorado 80225-0486 Grand Junction, Colorado 8150 I -5711 ES/GJ-6-CO-08-F-0006 TAILS 65413-2008-F-0073-R00l December 26, 2017 Memorandum To: Deputy State Director, Bureau of Land Management, Colorado State Office, Resources and Fire, Lakewood, Colorado , \ ,,~~ From: Western Slope Supervisor, Fish and Wildlife Service, Ecological Services, Grand Junction, Colorado Subject: Programmatic Biological Opinion for Water Depletions Associated with Bureau of Land Management's Fluid Mineral Program within the Upper Colorado River Basin in Colorado. In accordance with section 7 of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) of 1973, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), and the Interagency Cooperation Regulations (50 CFR 402), this transmits the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's (Service) final programmatic biological opinion (PBO) for impacts to four endangered Colorado River fish species (Colorado pikeminnow (Ptychocheilus lucius), razorback sucker (Xyrauchen texanus), bonytail chub (Gila elegans), and humpback chub (Gila cypha)) and their critical habitats from water depletions associated with Bureau of Land Managements's (BLM) Fluid Mineral Program (project) authorized by BLM within the Upper Colorado River Basin in Colorado. This PBO is a reinitiation of consultation on this project completed on December 19, 2008 (ES/GJ-6-CO-08-F-0006, TAILS65413-2008-F-0073), and is in response to your May 31, 2017, request for reinitiation of consultation, which included the May 26, 2017, programmatic biological assessment (2017 PBA) for the project. This PBO also supersedes and replaces our 2008 opinion for this project. Oil and gas activities typically require the use of various amounts of water. This consultation only addresses the effects of water depletions and withdrawals on the endangered Colorado River fishes and their critical habitats and does not include other direct or indirect impacts that may be associated with oil and gas activities. For example, effects resulting from a project that involve the release of contaminants, or non-depletion-related impacts to fish habitat, are not covered under this PBO. The location and timing of such activities would be important to an analysis of their effects and is unknown at this time; future, separate section 7 consultation would be required for such projects. Table of Contents Consultation History ................................................................................................................... 3 BIOLOGICAL OPINION ............................................................................................................... 6 Description of the Proposed Action ............................................................................................ 6 Conservation Measures ............................................................................................................... 9 Status of the Species and Critical Habitat ................................................................................. 11 Colorado Pikeminnow .......................................................................................................... 11 Razorback Sucker ................................................................................................................. 22 Humpback Chub ................................................................................................................... 29 Bonytail ................................................................................................................................. 34 Critical Habitat ...................................................................................................................... 36 Climate Change ..................................................................................................................... 38 Environmental Baseline ............................................................................................................ 39 Colorado pikeminnow ........................................................................................................... 40 Razorback sucker .................................................................................................................. 43 Humpback chub .................................................................................................................... 45 Bonytail ................................................................................................................................. 45 Climate Change in the Action Area ...................................................................................... 46 Flow Recommendations............................................................................................................ 47 Yampa River ......................................................................................................................... 47 Colorado River ...................................................................................................................... 48 Gunnison River ..................................................................................................................... 51 White River ........................................................................................................................... 51 Effects of the Action ................................................................................................................. 52 Effects to Critical Habitat ..................................................................................................... 53 Species and Critical Habitat Response to the Proposed Action ............................................ 55 Cumulative Effects.................................................................................................................... 65 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................ 66 INCIDENTAL TAKE STATEMENT .......................................................................................... 68 MONITORING AND REPORTING ............................................................................................ 69 CONSERVATION RECOMMENDATIONS .............................................................................. 69 REINITIATION NOTICE ............................................................................................................ 70 LITERATURE CITED ................................................................................................................. 73 2 Consultation History Implementation of the Endangered Species Act in the Upper Colorado River Basin started with section 7 consultation on Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) projects in the late 1970’s. At that time, the Service determined that the Colorado pikeminnow and humpback chub were in danger of extinction (the bonytail was listed in 1980 and the razorback sucker was listed in 1991). Subsequently, section 2 (c) of the Act was amended as follows: It is further declared to be the policy of Congress that Federal agencies shall cooperate with State and local agencies to resolve water resource issues in concert with conservation of endangered species. In 1984, the Department of the Interior (DOI), Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, water users, and environmental groups formed a coordinating committee to discuss a process to recover the endangered fishes while new and existing water development proceeds in the Upper Colorado River Basin in compliance with Federal and State law and interstate compacts. After four years of negotiations, the Recovery Implementation Program for the Endangered Fish Species in the Upper Colorado River Basin was developed. On January 21-22, 1988, the Secretary of the Interior; Governors of Wyoming, Colorado, and Utah; and the Administrator of the Western Area Power Administration (WAPA) cosigned a Cooperative Agreement to implement the Recovery Implementation Program (Recovery Program) for Endangered Fish Species in the Upper Colorado River Basin (Service 1987). Current participants in the Recovery Program include: the Service, Reclamation, Western Area Power Administration, Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, Environmental Defense Fund, The Nature Conservancy, Colorado Water Congress, Utah Water Users Association, Wyoming Water Development Association, and the Colorado River Energy Distributors Association. In 2009, the Cooperative Agreement was extended through September 30, 2023 (Recovery Program 2009). The Recovery Program was intended to be the reasonable and prudent alternative to avoid jeopardy to the endangered fishes by depletions from the Upper Colorado River Basin. The goal of the Recovery Program is to recover the listed species while providing for new and existing water development in the Upper Colorado River Basin. All participants agreed to cooperatively work toward the successful implementation of a recovery program that will provide for recovery of the endangered fish species consistent with Federal law and all applicable State laws and systems for water resource development and use. Each signatory assumed certain responsibilities in implementing the Recovery Program. 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