1. On the Path to Recovery Updates from the Upper Colorado
River and San Juan River
Recovery Programs
Tom Chart, Director
Upper Colorado River Recovery Program
Melissa Mata, Program Coordinator
San Juan River Basin Recovery Implementation Program

2. The key to Programs’ success
Partners:
The key to Programs’ success

3. Balancing the Law of the River and the Endangered Species Act

4. Recover Federally Listed Fish
Goal:
Recover Federally Listed Fish
Colorado pikeminnow Ptychocheilus lucius
Humpback chub Gila cypha
Razorback sucker Xyrauchen texanus
Bonytail Gila elegans
Fish Illustrations by Joe Tomelleri

5. Goal: Continue Water Development
ESA Compliance for: ~2,500 water projects & ~3.75 M af / year
Wyoming
Colorado
Utah
New Mexico
Projects
416
1,545
278 23
Acre-Feet/Yr
~120,000
~2,341,000
~626,000
~654,000

6. Success Thus Far
Total number of water-related projects in the upper Colorado River basin that have not been able to proceed because of the impacts of their depletions on endangered fish
Total number of lawsuits filed to challenge either Program since inception

7. Colorado River: 15 Mile Reach Summer / Fall Baseflows: 2019

8. Clear Technical Committee Review
Flow Recommendations
Clear Technical Committee Review
Green River Revised Flow Recs.
White River Interim Flow Recs.
Cont. Larval Triggered Spring Releases
Flow Spikes to control SMB
Revised Summer B-flows to benefit CPM
Preserve the current flow regime
Incorporate into a White River Man. Plan

9. Humpback Chub & Razorback Sucker Recommended for Downlisting
5 Year Reviews:
Humpback Chub & Razorback Sucker Recommended for Downlisting

10. On the Path to Recovery:
Next Steps
Document Expected Date
5 Year Recommendation (complete)
Proposed Rule (Federal Register) HBC early 2020
RZB later 2020
Receive Public Comments days after publish
Final Rule ~ One year later

11. Humpback Chub & Razorback Sucker
Decades of collaborative conservation actions across the upper and lower basins have improved the status of the species

12. Future Status of the Programs
Programs’ Cooperative Agreements signed through 2023
PL Authorization for FY20 – FY23
Bills require a Report to Congress in FY21
Accomplishments
Status of the fish
Expenditures
Post 2023 Activities & costs

13. Post-2023
Planning

14. On the Path to Recovery
Conditions are improving, but continued conservation actions are needed to reach the ultimate goal of recovery

15. Continued Progress: San Juan River Basin
Wild young-of-year Colorado Pikeminnow detected in 2016, 2017 and in 2019.
Record # of wild juvenile Razorback Sucker captured in 2018.
1st detection of overwinter survival of wild age-1 Razorback Sucker.
Larval detections occurred 20 miles further upstream due to change is fish passage operations.
CPM numbers
For the first time, wild young-of-year Colorado Pikeminnow detected in 2016 and 2017 following 5,000 cfs releases from Navajo Reservoir for >21 days.
Due to anticipated Colorado Pikeminnow spawning and survival of larval to young-of-year lifestage, no stocking will occur in This will allow for the definitive tracking of the wild Colorado Pikeminnow cohort.
RBS numbers
In 2018, a record total of 213 wild juvenile Razorback Sucker were captured across a variety of sampling efforts from 30 May to 16 September.
In spring 2019, 45 wild age-1 Razorback Sucker were detected indicating overwinter survival of the cohort spawned in These fish ranged from mm TL and were captured from Four Corners Bridge to Slickhorn Canyon.
PNM Fish Passage
Revised operations of the PNM Fish passage in 2018 resulted in passing 164 Razorback Sucker in spring 2018 compared to a total of 183 being passed in springs from
Continued revised operations in 2019 resulted in passed 565 Razorback Sucker in spring.

16. Recovering long-lived species requires patience and persistence
Recovery Programs:
30 years of Progress
Recovering long-lived species requires patience and persistence
Collaboration is working
Thanks to partners, field crews, &
other Programs

17. Thank You --
Questions?