The Nature Conservancy Grant: San Juan River Ecosystem Restoration and Hazardous Material Analysis

The goals of the San Juan Recovery River Implementation Program (“SJRIP”) Long Range Plan include providing suitable habitat and suitable water quality to support recovery of the Colorado pikeminnow and razorback sucker, including identification of types and sources of water quality contamination (Tasks 3.2.2, 3.4.1 and 3.4.3, SJRIP Draft Long-Range Plan). Accomplishing these goals remains pertinent to the recovery of the Colorado pikeminnow and razorback sucker. The SJRIP is increasingly recognizing that flow regimes alone may not be sufficient to create and sustain the habitat necessary for the endangered fish. In addition, the 1994 San Juan Water Quality Contaminants and Review discuss sampling results from the early 1990’s that indicate San Juan fish have been exposed to hydrocarbons. Since that time development of both conventional oil and gas basins and coal bed methane deposits have continued. In an effort to further the SJRIP’s progress in achieving this goal, The Nature Conservancy proposes to initiate conservation planning activities that will include the evaluation of the need physical habitat enhancements and conduct an analysis of hazardous materials threats and impacts to the San Juan River ecosystems.

This approach requires no additional field data collection and the objective will be to conduct comprehensive analysis of existing data and information. The primary goal of this scope of work shall be to utilize existing data and analyses of essential habitats, flow-habitat relationships, and endangered fish distributions to identify locations for habitat improvement projects and use mechanical means to assist flows in the creation or improvement of endangered fish habitats.