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Data from the Second National Assessment as well as other analysis leads to the general conclusion that conflict over minimum flows is only going to get worse. The United States currently has no policy on population or economic growth and because our economic growth continues at approximately 4 percent per annum and our population growth continues at something like 1 percent, it ts apparent that there will be increased competition for water and for re- maining streamflows throughout the United States. Another major problem which will continue to produce conflicts over minimum flows is the lack of an adequate water resources planning system within the United States. A great deal of effort has been made at the Federal level, as well as State and local levels, to do regional, water resources planning. The Water Resources Council itself was set up by the 1965 Water Resources Planning Act along with the river basin commissions for purposes of improving water resources planning. However, these and other institutions have not yet succeeded in providing the necessary adequate planning system required for preserving minimum instream flows. Here, we can draw on an example very close to Ft. Collins -- the Platte River. Perhaps the Platte River provides an almost stereotypic example of the shortcoming of our existing planning process. I would imagine most of you are familiar with the Narrows Reservoir and the controversy surrounding this project. Without going into the various figures concerning this pro- ject, it will result in depletion of flows downstream on the Platte River with possible impact on critical wildlife habitat for whooping and Sandhill cranes. A similar project, the Grayrocks Reservoir in Wyoming, will also impact on this same area of wildlife habitat. Unlike the Narrows Reservoir in Colorado, which would be built by the Bureau of Reclamation, the Gray- rocks Dam and Reservoir is being constructed by a private entity using loans ~ ,.. .. ~ 6