Hickenlooper, Romney Secure Seven Year Extension of Endangered Fish Recovery Programs

Programs help protect four endangered fish species native to the Upper Colorado and San Juan Rivers

Extension included as part of the annual defense funding bill

WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. Senators John Hickenlooper and Mitt Romney cheered the inclusion of their bipartisan Upper Colorado and San Juan River Basins Endangered Fish Recovery Programs Reauthorization Act as part of the fiscal year 2025 National Defense Authorization Act. The legislation extends the programs that protect four threatened and endangered native fish species in the Upper Colorado and San Juan River Basins for another seven years. The bill now heads to the president's desk.

"Local communities, Tribes, water users, and Congress - we're all in to protect our native fish and rivers," said Hickenlooper. "These programs are tried and true. Our extension will help continue them to save our fish and make our rivers healthier."

"By giving Utah the tools it needs to comply with complicated federal mandates, this legislation will support our state's efforts to recover threatened and endangered fish species in the Upper Colorado and San Juan Rivers," Romney said. "I'm pleased to see it included in this year's NDAA and hope to see it signed into law soon."

Hickenlooper and Romney previously helped secure a one-year extension for the programs in the 117th Congress. The fish recovery programs are widely celebrated success stories in the Upper Colorado and San Juan River Basins. In November 2021, the Fish and Wildlife Service downlisted the humpback chub from "endangered" to "threatened" thanks to the recovery programs.

Specifically, this legislation will:

• Extend the programs that study, monitor, and stock the four threatened and endangered fish species, manage habitat and river flows, and combat invasive species through 2031, providing certainty for Upper Basin water use and fulfilling the federal government's trust responsibility to Tribes.

• Ensure continued Endangered Species Act compliance for 2,500 water projects spanning federal, Tribal, and non-federal jurisdiction, including every Bureau of Reclamation project upstream of Lake Powell.

• Authorize up to $92 million for the Bureau of Reclamation to contribute annual cost shared funding for program implementation, continuing work to stock the threatened and endangered fish species, conduct research, manage habitat and river flows, combat nonnative species, and operate fish passages and hatcheries through fiscal year 2031.

• Add up $50 million to the authorization ceiling for capital projects, which will fund infrastructure improvements essential to recovery of the endangered and threatened fish.

• Enable program partners to deploy their own commitments, enlisting the Upper Basin states, Tribes, and non-federal partners to provide their own contributions to meet shared species recovery goals.
  

The full text of the bill is available HERE. For full text of the NDAA, click HERE.

"Colorado is thrilled to see the bipartisan support and Colorado congressional delegation leadership for the reauthorization of the Endangered Fish Recovery Programs," said Dan Gibbs, Executive Director, Colorado Department of Natural Resources. "This multi-state effort works to recover some of Colorado's most iconic native fish in the Upper Colorado and San Juan River Basins. They also represent an amazing partnership between water users, non-profit organizations, state, federal, and Tribal agencies to ensure Endangered Species Act compliance for a wide variety of water projects."

"Grand Valley Water Users Association is grateful for the Reauthorization of the Endangered Fish Recovery Program," said Tina Bergonzini, General Manager, Grand Valley Water Users Association. "We take the protection of our native fish and Endangered Species Compliance seriously, and we're glad our legislators agree!"

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