Upper Colorado and San Juan River Basins Endangered Fish Recovery Programs Reauthorization Act of 2023

Upper Colorado and San Juan River Basins Endangered Fish Recovery Programs Reauthorization Act of 2023

This bill reauthorizes through FY2031 and revises the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Upper Colorado River and San Juan River Basin recovery implementation programs to restore populations of certain endangered and threatened fish.

The goal of the Upper Colorado River Endangered Fish Recovery Program is to recover the humpback chub (Gila Cypha), bonytail (Gila elegans), Colorado pikeminnow (Ptychocheilus lucius), and razorback sucker (Xyrauchen texanus). The states of Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming are partners in the program.

The goal of the San Juan River Basin Recovery Implementation Program is to recover the Colorado pikeminnow (Ptychocheilus lucius) and razorback sucker (Xyrauchen texanus). The states of Colorado and New Mexico are partners in the program.

The bill expands the programs to include the recovery of threatened fish stock. Thus, the bill requires the Upper Colorado River program to continue efforts to restore populations of the humpback chub, which was reclassified from an endangered species to a threatened species in 2001.