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... . August 1, 2005 D-R-A-F-T The Honorable Gale Norton Secretary of Interior U. S. Department of Interior 1849 C Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20240 Dear Secretary Norton: We the undersigned organizations strongly support increasing federal spending to restore the U.S. Geological Survey's Cooperative Water Program and National Streamflow Information Program (NSIP) to previous levels and eventually full funding. Together, these two programs comprise a critical national system of streamgages. Without timely. and accurate information, human life, health, welfare, property, and environmental and natural resources are at considerably greater risk of loss. The Nation's demands for streamflow data continue to increase along with our population and this information is used by federal, state, tribal, and local government agencies, as well as private entities and individuals, to forecast flooding and drought and to project future water supplies for agricultural, municipal, and industrial uses; hydropower production, recreation, and enviromnental purposes, such as for fish and wildlife management and for endangered species needs. While these vital programs benefit so many, they have been allowed to erode to the point that it threatens the quantity and qUality of basic data provided to a myriad, growing and diffuse number of decision makers and stakeholders, with significantly adverse consequences. Many of our members are partners in the Cooperative Program or otherwise rely on the streamflow data collected and disseminated by these two important programs. These programs provide information that is vital to responsible water resources management in the Nation. Years of neglect from a slow erosion in federal funding - with flat or nearly flat appropriations in the face of continually rising costs - threatens the availability of critical data regarding streamflows, which are the basis for myriad public and private decisions. In 1998, Congress' concern about streamgaging led USGS to create the National Streamflow Information Program (NSIP), which outlines the conceptual framework for a federal network of critical streamgages - totally supported by federal funds - in addition to streamgages funded through the Cooperative Water Program. In November 2004, the National Research Council's Committee on Water Resources Research completed an assessment of the USGS's plans for the NSIP and said, "Overall, the Committee concludes that the National Streamflow Information Program is a sound, well-conceived program that meets the nation's needs for streamflow measurement, interpretation, and information delivery." With record low snowpacks in the Northwest, record high precipitation in the Southwest, continuing drought in many areas, and other areas experiencing devastating floods or facing potential flooding, timely and accurate information for sound water resources .management has never been more important. The President's FY2006 request of $63,770,000 for the Cooperative Water Program was not sufficient to reverse the continuing decline in real spending. Over a number of years, federal appropriations have not kept up with increasing program costs, nor matching non-federal contributions.