Craig Daily Press - Tipton applauds passage of Endangered Fish Recovery Act

News Article

By Joe Moylan

Last week Congressman Scott Tipton, R-Cortez, of the 3rd Congressional District of Colorado, lauded the U.S. Senate's recent passage of the Endangered Fish Recovery Programs Extension Act of 2012.

Tipton was an original co-sponsor of the bill, which was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives. It passed the Senate un-amended and with unanimous consent, according to a Tipton news release.

The measure is anticipated to help restore populations of four endangered fish species in the Colorado River, including the Humpback Chub, the Bonytail Chub, the Colorado Pikeminnow, and the Razorback Sucker.

The bill also ensures compliance with the Endangered Species Act for more than 200 projects that withdraw water from the Colorado River, while providing enough water for agriculture producers, homes, businesses, and renewable hydroelectric power.

"Extending the authorization for the Upper Colorado and San Juan fish recovery programs will continue much needed efforts to recover four endangered fish species, and provide Endangered Species Act compliance for federal, tribal, and non-federal water projects," said Tipton in the release. "I'm proud to have played a role in this effort, and am optimistic that these programs can reach their goals in a cost-effective manner in the coming years, recover the species at issue, and safeguard the economic well being of our communities and jobs connected to these efforts."

The bill also includes spending reforms that eliminate agency inefficiencies and overhead costs, and is cost free according to the Congressional Budget Office, the release states.

Tipton called on President Barack Obama to quickly sign the bill into law.

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