Rep. Lauren Boebert's "Fish Recovery Bill" Signed Into Law

Washington, D.C. —  A negotiated version of Congresswoman Lauren Boebert's Upper Colorado and San Juan River Basins Endangered Fish Recovery Programs Reauthorization Act was signed into law this week.

“Ensuring protection for four threatened and endangered species of fish in Colorado while also allowing thousands of water and power users to continue their operations without interruption is common sense," said Congresswoman Boebert. "I am thrilled that we were able to provide long-term certainty for this important program and finally get this legislation signed into law."

Background:

A negotiated version of Congresswoman Lauren Boebert’s bill H.R. 4596, the Upper Colorado and San Juan River Basins Endangered Fish Recovery Programs Reauthorization Act, was signed into law as part of the Fiscal Year 2025 National Defense Authorization Act.

The language provides a seven-year reauthorization of the Upper Colorado and San Juan Recovery Programs that protect four threatened and endangered native fish species in the Upper Colorado and San Juan River Basins. 

The House of Representatives previously passed H.R. 4596 with unanimous bipartisan consent on 9/24/24. To read more click HERE. 

The House of Representatives also passed a negotiated version H.R. 4596 as part of the Fiscal Year 2025 National Defense Authorization Act. To read more click HERE.

The Upper Colorado and San Juan Recovery Programs were established in 1988 to achieve full recovery of four federally listed endangered fish species including the humpback chub, bonytail, Colorado pikeminnow, and razorback sucker. Those designations led to the threat of significant water and power-use restrictions.

The recovery programs facilitate water delivery from the Navajo, Flaming Gorge, and Aspinall Unit reservoirs which collectively can store more than 6.5 million acre-feet of water as part of the Colorado River Storage Project.

For over three decades, states, tribes, local communities, environmental groups, energy users, and water users, have partnered to help recover four threatened and endangered fish species while continuing water and power development and operations in the Upper Colorado River Basin and the San Juan River Basin.

Non-federal partners contribute $11 million per year in water contributions, plus another $750,000 in staffing and in-kind contributions. Participating states contribute $500,000 to base funding each year in cash equivalents for recovery actions, including for fish hatcheries and non-native fish removal.

The Fish and Wildlife Service contributes $1.56 million per year in base funding. The Bureau of Reclamation provides cost-shared contributions to both base and capital funding. Reclamation’s capital funding supports major infrastructure projects at reservoirs, diversion dams, canals, and floodplains across the basin.

Without these programs, these 2,500 water and power users would have to perform extremely burdensome Section 7 consultations for all 2,500 individual projects.

As a result of these programs, the humpback chub and the razorback sucker are success stories with the chub been downlisted from endangered to threatened and the razorback being recommended for downlisting. 

Rep. Boebert’s legislation is the result of months of hard work with local stakeholders, the Bureau of Reclamation, Senator Hickenlooper, and others to provide a long-term solution by reauthorizing these vital programs until 2031.

Groups that supported Congresswoman Boebert’s Upper Colorado and San Juan River Basins Endangered Fish Recovery Programs Reauthorization Act include: Aurora Water, Central Utah Water Conservancy District, Clifton Water District, Colorado River District, Colorado River Energy Distributors Association, Colorado Springs Utilities, Colorado Water Congress, Delta County Commissioners, Denver Water, Dolores County Commissioners, Dolores Water Conservancy District, Grand Valley Water Users, Huerfano County Commissioners, LaPlata Water Conservation District, Mesa County Farm Bureau, Montezuma County, Municipal Subdistrict, Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District, Pueblo Water, Purgatoire River Water Conservancy District, Rio Blanco Board of Commissioners, Rio Blanco Water Conservancy District, Rio Grande Water Conservation District, San Juan Water Commission, Southern Ute Tribe, Southeastern Colorado Water Conservancy District, Southwestern Water Conservation District, Tri-County Water Conservancy District, Utah Waters Users Association, Ute Mountain Ute Tribe, and Ute Water Conservancy District.

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