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<br />.002546 <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />INTRODUCTION <br /> <br />On June 10, 1994, the Secretary of the Interior and the Governors of Colorado, Nebraska <br />and Wyoming entered into an agreement, called the "Platte River MOA," by which they <br />agreed to negotiate a program to conserve and protect the habitat of four species listed as <br />endangered under the Endangered Species Act (the "ESA"). Three bird species -- the <br />interior least tern, whooping crane, and piping plover -- use and depend on the Central <br />Platte River Valley between Lexington and Chapman, Nebraska. A fourth species -- the <br />pallid sturgeon -- is a fish that occupies the lower Platte River below its confluence with <br />the Elkhorn River in Nebraska. The land and water habitat in these areas has been altered <br />by a combination of events. including flow alteration as a result of upstream water <br />development and land uses in Nebraska, <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />The Platte River MOA was premised on the belief that by developing a cooperative. <br />basinwide program to help these species, the three states and the Department of Interior <br />could accomplish more, and resources could be used more effectively, than could <br />otherwise be accomplished if the ESA's regulatory mechanisms were applied on a <br />permit-by-permit basis. The MOA also provided that the program would allow upstream <br />water development and use to continue. Governor Romer's support for the 1994 MOA <br />stemmed from his belief that only a basinwide program could effectively resolve the <br />escalating conflicts between water use and development and endangered species <br />protection that has come to characterize water facility permitting along Colorado's <br />rapidly growing Front Range. <br /> <br />Since that time, the states and Interior, with active participation. by water user and <br />environmental representatives, have been negotiating the program. (The environmental <br />representatives left the negotiations, but the Department of Interior has kept them abreast <br />of developments in the negotiation process.) <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />After a long and sometimes difficult negotiation over the course of three years by their <br />representatives, the three Governors and the Secretary of the Interior have indicated their <br />formal agreement in principle (the entire Agreement is referred to as the "Program <br />Agreement"). Governor Romer's agreement in principle, as expressed in a letter to <br />Interior Secretary Babbitt dated May IS, 1997 (see attachment 2) is conditioned on any <br />remaining details being worked out by the negotiators. The state does not anticipate <br />major changes to the Program Agreement as outlined in this briefing, but recognizes that <br />substantial changes in the Program could occur over time as a result of several anticipated <br />developments, discussed more thoroughly below. In addition, the Governor has asked the <br />Department of Natural Resources to conduct public hearings as are necessary to explain <br />the agreement and seek input Finally, the Governor's agreement in principle recognizes <br />that no financial commitments have been made by the state to implement the program as <br />proposed. The Colorado Legislature must authorize and appropriate funds for any statc <br />involvement in the program. <br />