NPlatte_fs

• Year: 2002
• Title: North Platte River Basin Facts
• Author: CWCB
• Description: North Platte River Basin Facts Sheet
• Publications - Doc Type: Basin Fact Sheets

Endangered
Species

In 1994, the Secretary of the Interior
and the Governors of Colorado,
Nebraska and Wyoming entered into the
"Platte River Memorandum of Agree-
ment" (1v10A), in which they agreed to
negotiate a program to conserve and
protect the habitat of four species listed
as endangered under the Endangered
Species Act. Three bird species, the
interior least tern, whooping crane, and
piping plover, occupy the Central Platte
River Valley between Lexington and
Chapman, Nebraska. A fourth species,
the pallid sturgeon, is a fish that lives in
the lower Platte River below its
confluence with the Elkhorn River in
Nebraska. The land and water habitat
in these areas has been modified by a
combination of events, including flow
alteration as a result of upstream water
development and land uses in
Nebraska.

Pursuant to the MOA, the states and the
Department of the Interior signed a
Cooperative Agreement which outlines
a "Recovery Implementation Program"
to improve and conserve habitat for
these species. The Program specifies
both flow measures in Colorado,
Wyoming and Nebraska, and habitat
measures in Nebraska that will be
implemented to improve habitat.

Unique Characteristics
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Compact Facts

What it is: Nebraska v. Wyoming 325 U.S. 665 (1945)
and 345 U.S. 981 (1953)
What it does: Equitably apportions water in the North Platte River between
Colorado, Nebraska and Wyoming.
H ow: Limits total irrigation in Jackson County to 145,000 acres and
17,000 acre-feet of storage for irrigation during anyone
irrigation season. Limits total water exports from the North
Platte River in Colorado to no more than 60,000 acre-feet
during any 10-year period.

What it is: Wyoming v. Colorado, 260 U.S. 1 (1922)
and 309 U.S. 572 (1940)
What it does: Establishes the rights of Colorado and Wyoming to water in the
Laramie River Basin.
H ow: Limits total diversions from the Laramie River in Colorado to a
total of 39,750 acre-feet, divided among specific water facilities,
including 15,500 acre-feet through the Laramie-Poudre Tunnel;
18,000 acre-feet through the Skyline Ditch; and 4,250 acre-feet
through various "meadow land appropriations."

The purpose of the Program is to
enable existing and new water uses in
the Platte River Basin to proceed
without additional actions required
(beyond the Program) under the
Endangered Species Act. A Gover-
nance Committee with members from
the three states, water users, environ-
mental groups, and two federal agen-
cies has been established to implement
the Cooperative Agreement. Over the
next three years, an evaluation will be
conducted to measure the impacts of

Administration of the North Platte River Basin is divided between
Divisions 1 and 6.
Present use and future development of water resources in the North Platte
River Basin are controlled by the Supreme Court Decree for the North
Platte River. Present litigation, primarily between the States of Nebraska
and Wyoming, has created some uncertainty concerning present and future
management and development of the North Platte River which will not be
resolved until conclusion of this litigation.
t\ The Recovery Implementation Program for the Central Platte River in
Nebraska has potential for creating uncertainty concerning present manage-
ment and future water resources development potential for the North
Platte River Basin in Colorado.

the proposed Program and a range of
alternatives, as required under the
National Environmental Policy Act. At
that point, the parties intend that a long-
term program will be developed and
they will enter into an agreement for its
implementation. The State of Colo-
rado will need to determine how it will
participate in the program with respect
to this basin.

Source: Colorado Water Conservation Board

Photo courlesy of Colorado State Parks

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