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<br />Conclusions and Recommendations <br /> <br />i ';-: <br /> <br />A few organizations in the Basin are attempting to bring different <br />stakeholder groups together and we encourage federal agencies to support <br />them. In some cases, the coming together has been sponsored by one or more <br />agencies, such as the Fish & Wildlife Service's incorporation of stakeholders <br />in the effort to develop a recovery plan for the Rio Grande silvery minnow. <br />This action came in response to a change in administrative rules regarding <br />recovery plans and is consistent with the change in management approach <br />generally associated with ecosystem management. We encourage each <br />agency to search its administrative rules for opportunities to open up <br />administrative processes and bring stakeholder groups together. <br /> <br />;' <br /> <br />Federal agencies can provide incentives for trades between two or more other <br />parties in any number of ways. We recommend they continue to search for <br />more innovative ways, becoming known to both "buyers" and "sellers" as a <br />potential source of catalyst for trades. In effect, federal agencies should <br />attempt to use incentives to entice others to take actions beneficial to federal <br />interests. This approach will certainly require different skills and may <br />require different authority than those associated with past approaches, often <br />viewed as heavy-handed, wherein a federal agency acquired property, <br />imposed regulations, or took actions to control resource uses directly. The <br />assessment of ecological and economic conditions, as well as the <br />priority-setting process described above should contribute to each agency's <br />ability to determine if a proposed trade warrants an incentive and, if so, how <br />much. <br /> <br />." <br />'~I <br /> <br />:'J <br /> <br />.~ <br /> <br />~: <br /> <br />The assessment and priorities also should inform the agencies regarding <br />where and how they should participate in trades. For example, the ecological <br />assessment, by identifying the "best" areas of riparian habitat, should help <br />the Fish & Wildlife Service determine not just which areas should have the <br />highest priority for protection but also what characteristics of the site are <br />most important. If federal ownership or comprehensive regulatory control of <br />the site is not required to accomplish ecological objectives, the agency might <br />pursue less intrusive alternatives for ensuring the essential features of the <br />site are protected. For less important areas identified by the assessment, the <br />agency might relinquish ownership or relax regulatory controls. <br /> <br />, c~ <br /> <br />~: <br /> <br />It is important to repeat here a message from the discussion in Chapter 4 of <br />cooperative efforts to reduce transaction costs. By encouraging greater <br />federal efforts to effect transactions between "buyers" and "sellers," we are <br />not saying such efforts are a substitute for competition or that they will <br />reduce the intensity of the competition for the resources. The best that such <br /> <br />1'(,3:17 <br /> <br />137 <br />