Colorado River habitat pact signed

Tuesday, April 5, 2005 | 11 a.m.

Representatives from Nevada, Arizona and California joined federal officials Monday for the signing of a new conservation program that they said would provide five decades of protection for endangered Colorado River animals while maintaining the river as a resource for human use.

The Lower Colorado River Multi-Species Habitat Conservation program is a $626 million, 50-year effort to protect habitats needed by endangered animals -- and some that might become endangered if no actions were taken -- while allowing the river to be used for electricity production and for water to supply millions of acres of farmland.

The river also will continue to help supply the water needs for about 20 million people, mostly in Southern California, although it also supplies about 90 percent of the water needs for Las Vegas' 1.8 million people.

The federal government will pay for half the habitat protection, while state and local agencies will cover the remaining cost. The Southern Nevada Water Authority board approved $80 million, to come over the lifespan of the project, for the effort last month.

The signing ceremony took place on a platform overlooking the downstream side of Hoover Dam. Interior Secretary Gale Norton, originally scheduled to attend the ceremony, cancelled her appearance because of a death in her family. Assistant Interior Secretary Craig Manson delivered a message from President Bush congratulating those, from 40 different agencies, who worked to create the habitat plan.

"Your cooperation has made this program a reality and will help sustain our natural heritage for future generations," President Bush said in the statement.

Dale Hall, Southwest region director for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, said the program and the accompanying funding agreements represented years of work from many diverse groups, including the local, state and federal agencies; tribal governments; and nonprofit conservation groups.

"This is really the culmination of a 10-year process," Hall said. "This agreement will begin the largest restoration project, river restoration agreement, ever done in the United States... We could not have done it without partnership and working together."

Habitat will be protected with several new or existing mechanisms. One new element will be the creation of more than 8,000 acres of new habitat, including fish-spawning areas, along the Colorado River.

Hall noted that as a Fish and Wildlife manager, he also has "to deal with reality." The reality is that human interaction or dependence on the river will continue. The agreement will balance those two needs, he said.

"I believe this is a win-win on both of those fronts," Hall said.

Pat Mulroy, Southern Nevada Water Authority general manager, agreed.

"This river is more than a water delivery system," she said. "It is part of the lifeblood of a great ecosystem."