Upper Colorado River Endangered Fish Recovery Program
MCWC advocated for the reauthorization of federal funding for the Upper Colorado River Endangered Fish Recovery Program, securing continued protection for four endangered native fish species and the water rights framework the entire watershed depends on.
Why It Matters
The Upper Colorado River Endangered Fish Recovery Program helps recover four iconic native fish species found only in the Colorado River Basin: the Colorado pikeminnow, razorback sucker, humpback chub and bonytail. Its success is already evident. The humpback chub was downlisted from endangered to threatened in 2021, and the razorback sucker followed in 2026. These are major recovery milestones resulting from decades of collaborative conservation.
Just as importantly, the program provides Endangered Species Act compliance for thousands of water projects across the Upper Colorado River Basin, allowing water development and management to move forward while supporting recovery of native fish. Without congressional reauthorization, that coordinated framework and the regulatory certainty it provides to water users would have been at risk.
Impact Numbers
Four species once headed toward extinction now have a fighting chance, and seven more years to prove it.
4 endangered or threatened native fish species protected: Colorado pikeminnow, razorback sucker, humpback chub, bonytail
15 miles of critical habitat sustained through coordinated reservoir releases
7-year federal reauthorization secured through 2031
Budget
The federal government allocated approximately $16.6 million for the Upper Colorado and San Juan River Basin recovery programs in the period from October 2023 to September 2024. MCWC's role was advocacy and coalition support, identifying this reauthorization as a priority action in its Integrated Water Management Plan.
Timeline
Federal funding for the program was set to expire in 2024. In February 2024, MCWC hosted a presentation from David Graf, Instream Flow Coordinator for U.S. Fish and Wildlife, on the program's importance. Federal authorization formally expired in September 2024. In December 2024, Congress passed a 7-year reauthorization through the National Defense Authorization Act, extending the program through 2031.
Connection to IWMP
Renewing the Upper Colorado River Recovery Program is one of 55 priority actions in MCWC's Integrated Water Management Plan and exemplifies the Council's role as both advocate and convener: Bringing partners together, building broad support and helping secure the federal investment and commitment needed to protect the watershed.
Beneficiaries
Endangered & Threatened Native Fish Species
Colorado pikeminnow, razorback sucker, humpback chub, and bonytail all depend on this program's ongoing habitat and flow protections.
Water users across the basin
The Recovery Program provides a coordinated Endangered Species Act compliance framework that allows water providers, irrigators and communities to develop and manage water while supporting the recovery of native fish. Without it, each water project would need to address ESA compliance independently.
See the Razorback sucker’s remarkable migration in action
Location
15-Mile Reach of the Colorado River, east of Grand Junction, extending upstream through the Middle Colorado Watershed
Status
Reauthorized through 2031 after a successful multi-year advocacy campaign.
Funders & Collaborators
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
U.S. Bureau of Reclamation
Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming state agencies
Tribal organizations
Water users and hydropower interests
Conservation groups
