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Chapter 1- Purpose of and Need for Action <br />(4) Meet Obligations for Species Consea-vation: The Program is to assist each Federal agency in <br />meeting its obligations under Section 7(a)(1) of the ESA to help conserve the target species and <br />other listed species. <br />(5) Address Cumulative Impacts: To ensure the effectiveness of the Program in meeting these <br />Federal objectives, the Program must address cumulative impacts on species habitat due to <br />existing and future private water depletions. The Program must further ensure that contributions <br />of water to the Program by individual water projects are not diverted or subverted by the actions <br />of others in the Basin. <br />CREATING AN EFFECTIVE RECOVERY IMPLEMENTATION <br />PROGRAM <br />Interior believes that a Basinwide, cooperative effort to improve and maintain habitat for the target <br />species is essential to meeting these purposes and needs, for the following reasons: <br />(1) Effectiveness for the Species: The coordinated approach will be more effective than a project- <br />by-project approach. A key purpose of the Program is to provide improved riverflows at the <br />Central Platte Habitat Area to offset depletions caused by upstream Federal reservoirs and <br />inigation projects in some cases hundreds of miles away. Water moved from those projects to <br />the Central Platte Habitat Area often must cross state lines and always must pass many diversion <br />points. Without the cooperation and assistance of the states and other water users, much of the <br />water being moved to the Central Platte Habitat Area could be diverted ar stored by other <br />projects. Similarly, improvement of land habitat for the species will be mare effective if all <br />participants can pool resources and acquire and manage land in a coordinated fashion. Without a <br />cooperative approach, many projects and many agencies will literally compete for both water and <br />land to improve habitat. This will lead to a less effective and substantially more costly effort. <br />(2) Managing Cumalative Effects: A cooperative Program is able to address effects on the habitat <br />in a more comprehensive fashion than would individual project compliance with the ESA. Under <br />the Cooperative Agreement, the States and the Federal Government have each committed to <br />undertaking a Depletion Management Plan. These plans will address the cumulative effect of <br />. Federal and non-Federal actions on species target flows, protecting those flows from future <br />depletions-even depletions from actions not subject to Section 7 consultation. This effort by the <br />States would not occur under individual project compliance with the ESA. <br />(3) Coordination of Program Operations: Effectively improving flows for the target species <br />requires coordinating operations of many water facilities throughout the Basin. A cooperative <br />approach, that brings together all of the major system operatars, can employ Program resources <br />much more efficiently and effectively. <br />(4) Monitoring and Adaptive Management: A coordinated Progam also enables comprehensive <br />monitoring of habitat restoration efforts. This, in turn, allows for scientific evaluation of actions, <br />and improvement of those actions through an adaptive management approach. The commitment <br />of all parties to an adaptive management approach means that the Program's effectiveness can be <br />increased as more knowledge and experience is gained. This coordinated effort woulci not occur <br />under individual consultations.