Show Federal Law Helps River Go Native Bettina Boxall Los Angeles Times US U.S. Interior Secretary Gail Norton is to launch century century century cen cen- tury effort Monday to return native trees fish and wildlife to a lower Colorado River system profoundly altered by mankind's thirst Environmental groups are skeptical however that the transformation can stick without fundamental changes in the rivers river's flow By the time the mythic Colorado of Western imagination imagination imagination nation flows past the baking scrub and farm land of California's southeastern corner corner corner cor cor- ner it has been tamed and used many times over and is known more for its fatal speedboat accidents than for its natural splendor I But the beleaguered native i fish and wildlife of the lower Colorado will get help when I Norton signs final documents adopting a year 50 mil lion program to offset some of the environmental damage done by dams and pumping that supply river water to mullions mil mul- millions millions lions of residents of Southern California Nevada and Arizona About acres of habitat habitat habitat tat will be created and maintained maintained maintained main main- along portions of a mile leg of the Colorado running from Lake Mead on the Nevada Arizona-Nevada border to the Mexican border u Native endangered fish will willbe willbe willbe be reared in hatcheries and ponds and then stocked in the river Cottonwoods willows and mesquite will be planted along the banks to provide migrating birds with nesting and feeding grounds Backwater water pools and marshes will be enhanced Federal officials officials' and water managers s no other project in the West has attempted habitat improvements along so extensive a river course Its a major major accomplishment accomplishment accomplishment said Dennis B. B Underwood who on Friday was promoted to chief executive executive executive tive officer and general manager manager manager man man- ager of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California which is picking up 88 million of the projects project's tab But conservationists condemn condemn condemn con con- the effort saying it is little more than extravagant window dressing that does nothing to restore the lower Colorados Colorado's shattered natural rhythms Its certainly expensive but Im I'm just not sure they're getting very good returns on their investment said Jennifer Pitt of Environmental Defense Their intention is to raise native fish in a hatchery and every year dump them in in the river with no expectation that they have done anything to tomake tomake tomake make the river a viable tat Glen Canyon and Hoover the Colorados Colorado's two big dams didn't just create huge reservoirs reservoirs reservoirs reser reser- they radically altered the rivers river's character Instead of a warm muddy current that swung to extremes flooding with in the spring and shrinking to stream size in late summer the Colorado runs steady cold and clear playing havoc with fish and plants that over millions of years had adapted to a turbulent environment Farmers chopped down the native cottonwood and willow willow willow wil wil- wil- wil low groves to plant crops Engineers forced the river into channels to make sure it behaved itself Government agencies stocked the river with sport fish that feasted on the unglamorous native species All that has resulted in the collapse of native wildlife populations The once 1 I L I 1 1 Lu t L chub and razorback sucker suckerfish suckerfish suckerfish fish are on the endangered species list Only 5 percent of the lower river corridors corridor's cot- cot willow groves are left The Southwestern willow willow willow wil wil- wil- wil low flycatcher also is endangered endangered endangered along with the Yuma clapper rail j jIn i In the 1997 US U.S. and Wildlife Service ruled the US U.S. Bureau of ot fo Reclamations Reclamation's dam and water diversion operations on the Colorado threatened the existence existence exis exis- existence tence of the flycatcher bony- bony tail and sucker requiring the bureau to take action to offset the environmental harm That prompted development of the conservation plan Norton is isto isto isto to sign at a ceremony at Hoover Dam By improving habitat for 26 species many of them birds the program is designed to keep reclamation and regional water agencies P L' L VIII i 01 UL envIronmental environmental environmental laws that could interfere with or even shut shutdown shutdown shutdown down their operations The federal government will pay half the million cost of the program with water users in California Nevada and Arizona paying the rest The price includes fish stocking purchase of private land to convert to cottonwood groves and purchase of water to irrigate the groves Without natures nature's floods the trees will need watering which will also create moist conditions favored by insects the birds can eat Its kind of like the Disneyland version complained complained complained com com- Pitt Instead of creating habitat that must be artificially maintained maintained main main- Environmental Defense and other groups urged reclamation to modify its dam operations periodically periodical periodical- ly to mimic nature creating creating creating cre cre- small controlled floods But water managers rejected reject reject- ed that approach as r cal i federal Federal biologists say wildlife will be better off under the program than under existing conditions I think the project is going to establish this acreage of f restored riparian habitat that isn't available today said Sam Spiller lower Colorado ol rad River coordinator for the US U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Its going to increase the ability to move birds 1 Jj through the area suc suc- Its It's going to provide provide pro- pro vide fish the capability to manage and release them And that's hats more than is being done today |