Widgetized Section

Go to Admin » Appearance » Widgets » and move Gabfire Widget: Social into that MastheadOverlay zone

Neguse introduces bill to protect threatened, endangered fish in Upper Colorado Basin

By
June 10, 2023, 10:04 am

The office of U.S. Rep. Joe Neguse this week issued the following press release on introducing legislation to protect threatened and endangered fish in the Upper Colorado and San Juan River Basins:

U.S. Rep. Neguse

Today, Congressman Joe Neguse, Ranking Member of the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Federal Lands, introduced legislation to protect threatened and endangered fish in the Upper Colorado and San Juan River Basins while allowing water development projects to proceed. The bill would authorize the Bureau of Reclamation to continue implementing endangered fish recovery programs for Upper Colorado and San Juan River Basins through 2031, protecting and recovering endangered fish species amid water development and in compliance with all applicable federal and state laws. This bill will also provide additional program flexibility to reflect limited hydropower revenues. 

In 2022, Congressman Neguse led a successful effort to fund and implement the Upper Colorado and San Juan River Recovery Programs through 2024 (funding that was initially set to expire in 2023); the new bill will build on that work, ensuring funding through 2031. Without congressional reauthorization, funding for the Recovery Program will sunset in 2024, jeopardizing the program’s progress.

“The Upper Colorado and San Juan River Endangered Fish Recovery Programs are a national model for preserving and recovering endangered species and protecting biodiversity in the West,” said Congressman Neguse. “It is essential that Congress reauthorize the successful programs, safeguarding Colorado wildlife for years to come.”

The Upper Colorado River Basin is home to 14 native fish species, including the threatened and endangered humpback chub, bonytail, Colorado pikeminnow, and razorback sucker. These threatened and endangered fish are found only in the Colorado River system.

The Upper Colorado River Endangered Fish Recovery Program, founded in collaboration with public and private entities, was established in 1988 to save four endangered fish species from extinction. This program represents an unprecedented partnership of local, state, and federal agencies, water and power interests, and environmental groups working together to recover endangered fish and is a national success. 

The following two tabs change content below.
My Twitter profile

David O. Williams

Managing Editor at RealVail
David O. Williams is the editor and co-founder of RealVail.com and has had his awarding-winning work (see About Us) published in more than 75 newspapers and magazines around the world, including 5280 Magazine, American Way Magazine (American Airlines), the Anchorage Daily News (Alaska), the Anchorage Daily Press (Alaska), Aspen Daily News, Aspen Journalism, the Aspen Times, Beaver Creek Magazine, the Boulder Daily Camera, the Casper Star Tribune (Wyoming), the Chicago Tribune, Colorado Central Magazine, the Colorado Independent (formerly Colorado Confidential), Colorado Newsline, Colorado Politics (formerly the Colorado Statesman), Colorado Public News, the Colorado Springs Gazette, the Colorado Springs Independent, the Colorado Statesman (now Colorado Politics), the Colorado Times Recorder, the Cortez Journal, the Craig Daily Press, the Curry Coastal Pilot (Oregon), the Daily Trail (Vail), the Del Norte Triplicate (California), the Denver Daily News, the Denver Gazette, the Denver Post, the Durango Herald, the Eagle Valley Enterprise, the Eastside Journal (Bellevue, Washington), ESPN.com, Explore Big Sky (Mont.), the Fort Morgan Times (Colorado), the Glenwood Springs Post-Independent, the Grand Junction Daily Sentinel, the Greeley Tribune, the Huffington Post, the King County Journal (Seattle, Washington), the Kingman Daily Miner (Arizona), KUNC.org (northern Colorado), LA Weekly, the Las Vegas Sun, the Leadville Herald-Democrat, the London Daily Mirror, the Moab Times Independent (Utah), the Montgomery Journal (Maryland), the Montrose Daily Press, The New York Times, the Parent’s Handbook, Peaks Magazine (now Epic Life), People Magazine, Powder Magazine, the Pueblo Chieftain, PT Magazine, the Rio Blanco Herald Times (Colorado), Rocky Mountain Golf Magazine, the Rocky Mountain News, RouteFifty.com (formerly Government Executive State and Local), the Salt Lake Tribune, SKI Magazine, Ski Area Management, SKIING Magazine, the Sky-Hi News, the Steamboat Pilot & Today, the Sterling Journal Advocate (Colorado), the Summit Daily News, United Hemispheres (United Airlines), Vail/Beaver Creek Magazine, Vail en Español, Vail Health Magazine, Vail Valley Magazine, the Vail Daily, the Vail Trail, Westword (Denver), Writers on the Range and the Wyoming Tribune Eagle. Williams is also the founder, publisher and editor of RealVail.com and RockyMountainPost.com.