WSP09398 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

Conclusions and Recommendations ~~", .,..' '.~ '.', , constraints, themselves, be adjusted so that the management agencies better internalize into their operational decisionmaking all the economic consequences of their operations. This is not to say that Congress should change the statutory authorizations to eliminate all preferences or undermine contractual obligations built on past authorization language. Instead, we recommend that Congress specify economic and ecosystem goals for the Basin, identify priorities for how the facilities should contribute to the attainment of these goals, and give the agencies greater leeway to work toward them. 3. Support Institutional Innovations that Promote Competition :;; We anticipate there will be many efforts in this Basin over the next few years, and certainly over the next few decades, to develop institutional innovations to facilitate voluntary transfers of resources from low-value to high-value uses. We recommend that federal agencies in the Basin support these efforts insofar as they are likely to effect true progress toward competitive ideals. Ai; a necessary step, agencies must, themselves, become more innovative and gain a better ability to evaluate the likelihood that specific institutional proposals will bear desired fruit. {~ "~~ I' :.; .> , We believe all the preceding recommendations are consistent with and will facilitate making progress with respect to this one. Eventually, ecological and economic imperatives will prove to all parties, federal or otherwise, the importance of taking an ecosystem-management approach to ensuring that management of the Basin's resources accomplish both environmental and economic goals. To the extent that federal agencies get out ahead of others, they will have opportunities to serve as catalysts for institutional change up and down the valley. The assessment of ecological and economic conditions in the Basin, together with the setting of priorities will help individual agencies evaluate the merits of specific proposals. ~.; '." .., -.- ~ One innovation already here is the water bank being proposed by the Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District. Before a federal agency provides material support to this proposal, it should determine the likelihood that the bank will facilitate voluntary transfer of water to highest-value uses. If, however, the agency determines the bank is likely to raise the hurdle "buyers" and (,~~3~19 139