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Colorado Wetland Policy Options Assessment Presentation to the Colorado Water Workshop Western State College July 23, 1991 Page 5 Similarly, the Colorado Department of Highways receives substantial funding from the Federal Highway Administration, an agency of the Department of Transportation. The Colorado Division Administrator for FHWA has expressed growing interest in seeing Colorado establish a wetlands "mitigation bank." At this point, Colorado has a statutory directive to prepare for the development of such a bank, but highway construction assistance is the type of program which the federal government has used in the past to translate federal policies into state and local requirements. The Department of Natural Resources is soliciting ideas from the public, as well as from agencies of our state and local governments, regarding opportunities which should be included and evaluated as part of this assessment of wetland options. The purpose of the Department's initiative is to set the stage for a discussion of the opportunities which the Colorado General Assembly and agencies of state or local government could use to participate more fully in maintaining an appropriate balance in at least the following areas: 1) protection of valuable wetland resources; 2) protection of important property rights and development opportunities; 3) the efficiency and equity of decision processes; 4) regulatory and non-regulatory means for protecting wetlands; and 5) national, regional, and local responsibilities and priorities. The Department of Natural Resources is not proposing a new program or policy. At this point, the Department is simply gathering information from which intelligent decisions can be made by elected or appointed officials regarding the wetlands protection policies or programs which best serve Colorado's needs. The evaluation of this information will be coordinated with other agencies of state and local government, and include further opportunities for public comment. In August, the Department expects to distribute a draft report describing the wetland policies and programs adopted by