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- Reclamation Signs Record of Decision to Conserve Pecos Bluntnose Shiner and Carlsbad Project Water Supply
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Reclamation Signs Record of Decision to Conserve Pecos Bluntnose Shiner and Carlsbad Project Water Supply
Media Contact:
Mary Perea Carlson, (505) 462-3576, mperea@uc.usbr.gov
For Release: July 19, 2006
The Bureau of Reclamation today signed a Record of Decision that will conserve the federally threatened Pecos bluntnose shiner and its designated critical habitat, while conserving the Carlsbad Project water supply.
Signed by Upper Colorado Regional Director Rick Gold, the Record of Decision implements the preferred alternative identified in the Carlsbad Project Water Operations and Water Supply Conservation Environmental Impact Statement (EIS).
The goal of the preferred alternative is to avoid intermittent flows or drying of flows in a reach of the Pecos River between the Taiban and Acme gages between Fort Sumner and Roswell.
The Carlsbad Project Water Operations and Water Supply Conservation EIS was prepared jointly by the Bureau of Reclamation and the New Mexico Interstate Stream Commission. The EIS was prepared to address changes in the operation of Sumner Dam and implementation of a proposed water acquisition program in the Pecos River Basin to conserve Carlsbad Project water supply. The final EIS was released in June.
The EIS analyzed the effects of proposed operational changes on water supply and other affected resources, and identified options to mitigate any adverse impacts.
The signing of the Record of Decision triggers implementation of the long-term Biological Opinion issued by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for the Carlsbad Project.
The EIS and other documents on the Carlsbad Project Water Operations and Water Supply Conservation are available on the Albuquerque Area Office web site.
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