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<br />OU,25ti5 <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />Of this total amount of water, 70,000 acre feet will be provided by water projects in each <br />of the states: the Tamarack Project in Colorado, an environmental storage account in <br />Lake McConaughy in Nebraska, and a storage account in an enlarged Pathfinder <br />Reservoir in Wyoming. Project operations for all three projects will be coordinated <br />through an environmental account manager, to ensure optimal management and <br />reregulation of river flows. <br /> <br />The Tamarack Project will be located at the Tamarack Wildlife Area, between Sterling <br />and Julesburg, Colorado. It will divert water from the South Platte River physically and <br />legally in excess of needs in Colorado through participating ditches and wells, in order to <br />recharge water to groundwater aquifers. This recharge will be timed so that the water <br />will return to the river in times of shortage, thereby providing additional flow when <br />needed at the habitat. <br /> <br />The balance of the water needed to meet the Program water goal will be provided through <br />as-yet unspecified water conservation and supply projects in the basin. These projects <br />will be identified through a water conservation/water supply study to be conducted during <br />the Cooperative Agreement period, and paid for by the three states and Interior. <br /> <br />Program Goalr in the Fim Increment - New Water Proiects. In addition to mitigating <br />the effects of existing water related activities, the Program will serve as-the reasonable <br />and prodent alternative to mitigate the effects of new water development in -each of the <br />three states. Unlike -the program for existing water projects, ibis will not-involve a land' <br />element. Each of the states will develop its own program, which will reflect the unique <br />circumstances of water development in that state. Each state will also mitigate the effects <br />of all water development activities, not just those which require federal permits. <br /> <br />Nebraska and Wyoming do not have specific program proposals for new depletions. <br />During the term of the Cooperative Agreement, these states will monitor all new water <br />development and use activities in that state, and develop a method, including needed <br />legislation, to address those impacts. Therefore, Nebraska will be required to address the <br />impacts of additional well development in that state commencing from the date of the <br />Cooperative Agreement <br /> <br />Colorado has developed a specific program to nungate the effects of new water <br />development on flows in the South Platte Basin in times of shortage to the habitat. <br />Although there is potential for additional irrigation development, new development in the <br />South Platte Basin in Colorado will mostly be driven by population growth. The <br />Colorado framework links the anticipated impacts of water development to increases in <br />population. In this way, the full range of water sources to be developed will be <br />considered. <br /> <br />Front Range water development and use will utilize different sources of supply, which <br />will have varying effects on river flows downstream near the state line. Some water <br /> <br />10 <br />