Back to Environmental Documents

The Upper Colorado River Endangered Fish Recovery Program is proposing to restore endangered fish habitat 330 acres of Green River bottomlands located on the Thunder Ranch near Jensen, Utah. The Recovery Program acquired a total of 455 acres of easement from Thunder Ranch to protect and improve floodplain habitat for the benefit of endangered Colorado River fishes. The project area is located adjacent to the Green River within an old meander river channel. Several ponds and wetlands exist in the project area, but are isolated from the Green River by an earth-filled levee. By notching the existing levee that separates the ponds from the Green River, the proposed action would allow endangered fish larvae to drift from the river into the ponds and use the ponds as a nursery habitat.

This Environmental Assessment evaluates effects on the human environment from notching the earthen levee to entrain endangered fish larvae into ponds located on the Thunder Ranch adjacent to the Green River. The Bureau of Reclamation prepared this EA in cooperation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and other federal and state agencies to comply with the National Environmental Policy Act, Endangered Species Act, and related U.S. Department of the Interior policies and regulations.