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I. Background Information <br />A. Purpose of the Proposed Program <br />The states of Nebraska, Wyoming and Colorado and the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) <br />entered into a partnership to address endangered species issues affecting water use in the Platte River <br />Basin. This partnership is guided by the Cooperative Agreement for Platte River Research (June <br />1997). The Proposed Platte River Recovery Implementation Program (Program) builds upon the <br />Cooperative Agreement and lays out several activities and contributions from the three states and <br />federal government that are to be conducted in specified increments. A primary goal of the Program <br />is to assist in the recovery of the target species and their associated habitats through a basin -wide <br />cooperative approach. One of the objectives of the first phase of the Program is to develop a Water <br />Action Plan that identifies various projects in each state that can be applied to the overall water goals <br />of the Program. <br />The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) developed recommendations for flows that it believes are <br />needed at different times of the year for endangered species and other wildlife. The water goals of <br />the Program are to reduce shortages to the FWS target flows by an average of 130,000 to 150,000 <br />acre -feet per year (ac -ft /yr) over the next 10 to 13 years. A portion of the instream flow objectives <br />will be met through an Environmental Account (EA) in Lake McConaughy, the Pathfinder <br />Modification Project, and the Tamarack Plan. The remaining instream flow improvements will be <br />met through a program of incentive -based water conservation and water supply activities. The Water <br />Action Plan is intended to address the water cons ervation/supply component of the Program. The <br />primary purpose of the Water Action Plan with respect to the Program is to identify ways of <br />reducing shortages to target flows by 130,000 to 150,000 ac -ft /yr on average including the three <br />specific projects mentioned above. <br />B. Need for the Proposed Program <br />The driving force behind the Cooperative Agreement and the Program is that many water projects in <br />the Platte River Basin are subject to reviews of federal government permits. Under the Endangered <br />Species Act (ESA), federal agencies must ensure that the water projects they authorize, fund, or <br />carry out do not jeopardize the continued existence of endangered and threatened species or result in <br />the destruction or modification of habitat that has been determined to be critical. The Cooperative <br />Agreement is a comprehensive approach to address ESA requirements that will eliminate the need <br />for each individual water project to undergo a separate review of its impacts on endangered and <br />threatened species. <br />DOI and the states have proposed the Program to serve as the reasonable and prudent alternative for <br />existing and certain new water related activities. If implemented, the Program will provide <br />regulatory certainty under the ESA to existing water related activities and to certain new water <br />related activities that are subject to review under section seven of the ESA. <br />\ \DN00\E- DRIVE \PROJECTS\Platte \Work Products\Task 9 \wapc report (Version 7).doc <br />