Laserfiche WebLink
<br />Platte River Re <br /> <br />N e".gO[i;ltOl"S fC)1" (_~olorado, Nehr:lska, <br />Wyoming :1I1d lkparrlllellt of IlllC- <br />nor (DOl) haV(' agreed in principle <br />(() details of a Plane River RecoVt'ry Pro- <br />gram Coopt'rativl' Agrccment. <br />Thl.: agreelllent will be the fir.st step in <br />dlC development of a Plane River basin- <br />\vide recowry program to bendlt four <br />endangered specie,'; and their associdrcd <br />habitats along rhe Plane River ill celllfa] <br />Nebraska. <br />Colorado Covernor Roy Romer, in a let- <br />te!" (() DOl Secretary Bruce Babbin, haited <br />the agreement as "all important step in <br />protccring vital wildlife habitat and devel- <br />oping efflciellt and <br />flexible regulatory <br />mechanics for our <br />citizens. " <br />For Colorado <br />water lL"{''["S the tenta- <br />tive basin wide pro- <br />gram pHwides a ray <br />of hope ill dealing <br />with Endangered <br />Species Act (I-:Si\) <br /> <br />Isslles. <br />Colorado's chief ~ <br />Ilegotiator Oil the <br />agreemenl, lkp;ln- <br />l1ll'nt of Namral <br />Resources Dircctor Jim Lochhe;lJ, said, <br />"Colorado water managt't".s cOlHcnd with <br />more than enough uncertainty from our <br />drought-prone climate in meeting the <br />warer Ilt'eds or our citizens. Removing <br />uncertainties associated with the federal <br />ES/\ while also signiticanrly improving the <br />comlitioll of federally protected species <br />and dlCir habitat is a real heneflt w the <br />people o[ Colorado." <br />Those ullcertainties have been an <br />Ullple<lsant experience f{lr some Ilorrhern <br />Colorado cities and emities who have tried <br />to 111<:et requircllle1H.~ under the ESA in <br />recent ycars. Among those are the cities of <br /> <br />Creeky, Boulder, Loveland and fort <br />Collins, as well as the Water Supply and <br />Storage Company and Public Service Co. <br />Without a basin~wide agreement, these <br />elHities combined could lose almost 9,600 <br />acre feet of water \vith a value of approxi- <br />mately $25 million due to mitigation mea- <br />sures that could be imposed as a result of <br />the individual consultation process associ- <br />ated with the ESA. To them the coopera- <br />tive agreement offers a more affordable <br />alternative and some degree of ccnaimy <br />into the future. <br />A basin-wide recovery program vo/Ould <br />serve as the reasonable and prudent alter- <br />native t{H all <br />existing and <br />future water <br />activities and <br />would avoid <br /> <br />: ~!:...'''-;~~....,"-- <br /> <br />situations <br />where individ- <br />ual cities or <br /> <br />water user entl- <br />ties arc faced <br />with the dallnt~ <br />ing task and <br />associated high <br />cost of federal <br />review under <br />the ESA. <br />The proposed agrcemem would also <br />allow continued development of a basin- <br />wide program to secure defined benefits <br />f{H the target species and their associated <br />habitats and help prevent the need to list <br />more species as threatened or endangered <br />pursuant (() the ESA. Additionally, the <br />agreement would establish and maintain a <br />governance structure for the recovery pro- <br />gram. <br />If finalized, the Cooperative Agreement <br />will be in effect f(H at least three years while <br />the proposed recovery program is evaluated <br />pursllantto the National Environmental <br />Policy Act (NEPA) and the ESA. <br /> <br />Water flow into upper hasin pond at Tamarack. <br /> <br /> <br />Il SPRING 1997 WATERNEWS <br /> <br />Tamarack Demonstration <br />Project Location Map <br /> <br />Duck Cr~ek <br />SWA.... <br /> <br />Crook <br />. <br />To Sterling <br />16 mil" SOUt6 <br /> <br />i'r <br />'0\\.2"/ <br />0"''1 ' <br />y' <br /> <br />gj <br /> <br /> <br />Background <br /> <br />The process has heell a lengthy one. It <br />began in June 1994 when tht' three <br />states and DOl signed a Memorandum of <br />Agreement (MOA) to pursue development <br />of a cooperative basin-wide recovery <br />implemenr,uion program associatcd with <br />the lnterior Least 'fern, Whooping Crane, <br />Piping Plover and Pallid Sturgeon. <br />The parties have been meeting for the <br />past three years in effons to hammer out <br />an agreement to implement cenain aspects <br />of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's <br />(USP\':(IS) recovery plans to benefit the tar- <br />get species and their associated habitats. <br />Section 7 of the ESA requires federal agen- <br />cies to examine the potential impacts of <br />water projects requiring federal permits <br />(whether they are new projects or modifI- <br />cations to existing ones) on threatened and <br />endangered species and their habitats, <br />They also must dcvelop mitigation plans <br />to ofEet such impacts. <br />Although tentarive agreement has been <br />reached on a cooperative agreement by the <br />signatory entities, other entities including <br />the Platte River Whooping Crane Trust <br />and the Audubon Society have been absent <br />