Agenda Item: Endangered Species Cooperative Agreement ‎(5)‎

• File Number: 8461.100
• Description: Adaptive Management Workgroup
• State: CO
• Basin: South Platte
• Water Division: 1
• Date: 3/3/2004
• Author: Rick Brown
• Title: Agenda Item: Endangered Species Cooperative Agreement
• Water Supply Pro - Doc Type: Board Memo

STATE OF COLORADO
Colorado Water Conservation Board
Department of Natural Resources
1313 Sherman Street, Room 721
Denver, Colarado 80203
Phone: [phone]
FAX: [phone]
www.cwcb.state.co.us
Bill Owens
Govemor
Russell George
Execu6ve Director
Rod Kuharich
MEMORANDUM cwCS virector
Dan McAuliffe
To: Colorado Water Conservation Board Deputy Director
From: Rick Brown, Project Manager, Interstate Stream Protection
Date: March 3, 2004
Subject: Agenda Item 20, March 16-17, 2004 Board Meeting, Platte River Recover
Implementation Program Update and Draft Environmental Impact Statement
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I. Introduction
In 1997 the Governars of the states of Colorado, Nebraska and Wyoming signed an agreement with
the Department of Interior to improve and/or study the habitat of four endangered species in the
Central Platte River in Nebraska. This Cooperative Agreement was extended through December 31,
2003 to allow additional time to formulate a proposed program and complete National
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) activities. The proposed program has three components: water,
land, and monitoring and research
II. Status of Cooperative Agreement Activities
In December 2003 the signatories to the Cooperative Agreement (CA) agreed to further extend the
CA to June 2005, and if needed, a provisional six-month extension at the discretion of the Platte
River Governance Committee. This extension was needed to compete NEPA activities including
Endangered Species Act compliance via a Programatic Biological Opinion of the proposed program.
A Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) that describes and analyzes the proposed program
and a range of alternatives to the proposed program was released in December 2003. Following the
release of the EIS it was learned that the National Academy of Science review of the science
associated with the four endangered species would not be complete until at least March 2004.
Consequently, it appears that the comment period for the EIS will be extended to at least June 2,
2004 to accommodate this delay.
Flood Protection • Water Supply Planning and Finance • Stream and Lake Protection
Water Supply Protection • Conservation and Drought Planning