Site search
sponsored by
News
Palisade Town Manager Tim Sarmo questions whether the federal government wants a whitewater kayak park in Palisade, with its continual requests for more information.
Late last week, Sarmo fired a request of his own to the federal government: a U.S. Freedom of Information Act request of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. In it, Sarmo asked a long list of questions about funding and other details of the endangered fish recovery program.
The town needs a positive biological opinion from the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service before the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will grant the town permission to build the whitewater park. The opinion is necessary because the park is proposed to be built in critical habitat for four endangered fish: Colorado pikeminnow, razorback sucker, bonytail chub, and humpback chub.
When the town of Palisade provides information to the Fish & Wildlife Service, the federal agency only requests more information, Sarmo said.
“I am definitely frustrated,” Sarmo said, particularly because the town is using information the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation relied on when it built the endangered fish ladder, just upstream of the proposed whitewater park.
“We’ve been engaged in a 30-month consultation with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. We have spent large sums of money and we think they have enough information to issue a biological opinion,” Sarmo said.
“We’ve been asked to go above and beyond what is reasonable to do river development activity, particularly for this whitewater park, which requires no dams, no diversions, no water rights,” Sarmo said.
Sarmo questioned why the town can’t drop 14-inch boulders in the river to build a whitewater kayak park, when a federal agency can build a fish ladder — when the town used the same information the federal agency used.
In his letter, Sarmo asked for 14 specific pieces of information.
Sarmo asked how many of each species of endangered fish have passed through each fish ladder per year.
He asked the total number of endangered fish, per species, at the program’s inception and today.
He wanted to know the total cost to build each fish ladder in the Upper Colorado River Endangered Fish Recovery Program.
He asked the total number of federal employees by agency who are paid in whole or part by the recovery program or its participants. He also asked about lobbyists, consultants and others whose salaries are paid by federal dollars in the recovery program.
Sarmo asked for sums paid to consultant and lobbyist Tom Pitts.
Sarmo asked about the federal contingency plans if the Fish & Wildlife Service cannot demonstrate endangered species can pass through the fish ladder at the Price-Stubb dam on the Colorado River.
“We think we’ve been reasonable,” Sarmo said. “I think the requests for (more) information is unreasonable.”
“They need to explain why we’re having such a hard time putting rocks in the river. We have been sensitive to the fish issue.
“I’m starting to question if they want the project.”
Reach Marija B. Vader at mvader@gjfreepress.com.
Late last week, Sarmo fired a request of his own to the federal government: a U.S. Freedom of Information Act request of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. In it, Sarmo asked a long list of questions about funding and other details of the endangered fish recovery program.
The town needs a positive biological opinion from the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service before the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will grant the town permission to build the whitewater park. The opinion is necessary because the park is proposed to be built in critical habitat for four endangered fish: Colorado pikeminnow, razorback sucker, bonytail chub, and humpback chub.
When the town of Palisade provides information to the Fish & Wildlife Service, the federal agency only requests more information, Sarmo said.
“I am definitely frustrated,” Sarmo said, particularly because the town is using information the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation relied on when it built the endangered fish ladder, just upstream of the proposed whitewater park.
“We’ve been engaged in a 30-month consultation with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. We have spent large sums of money and we think they have enough information to issue a biological opinion,” Sarmo said.
“We’ve been asked to go above and beyond what is reasonable to do river development activity, particularly for this whitewater park, which requires no dams, no diversions, no water rights,” Sarmo said.
Sarmo questioned why the town can’t drop 14-inch boulders in the river to build a whitewater kayak park, when a federal agency can build a fish ladder — when the town used the same information the federal agency used.
In his letter, Sarmo asked for 14 specific pieces of information.
Sarmo asked how many of each species of endangered fish have passed through each fish ladder per year.
He asked the total number of endangered fish, per species, at the program’s inception and today.
He wanted to know the total cost to build each fish ladder in the Upper Colorado River Endangered Fish Recovery Program.
He asked the total number of federal employees by agency who are paid in whole or part by the recovery program or its participants. He also asked about lobbyists, consultants and others whose salaries are paid by federal dollars in the recovery program.
Sarmo asked for sums paid to consultant and lobbyist Tom Pitts.
Sarmo asked about the federal contingency plans if the Fish & Wildlife Service cannot demonstrate endangered species can pass through the fish ladder at the Price-Stubb dam on the Colorado River.
“We think we’ve been reasonable,” Sarmo said. “I think the requests for (more) information is unreasonable.”
“They need to explain why we’re having such a hard time putting rocks in the river. We have been sensitive to the fish issue.
“I’m starting to question if they want the project.”
Reach Marija B. Vader at mvader@gjfreepress.com.
