White Paper: Options for Managing the Land Protection Component of the PRRIP

• Description: Prepared for the Governance Committee and Land Committee of the Cooperative Agreement for Platte River Research ‎(aka Platte River Recovery Implementation Program or PRRIP)‎
• State: CO
• State: NE
• State: WY
• Basin: South Platte
• Water Division: 1
• Date: 11/30/1999
• Author: Marty Zeller, Conservation Partners and Mary Jane Graham
• Title: White Paper: Options for Managing the Land Protection Component of the Platte River Recovery Implementation Program
• Water Supply Pro - Doc Type: Report/Study

Land Entity White Paper November 30, 1999
Land Entity structure formed. Federal employee participation as board or committee members is
at most an implementation issue.
2. State of Nebraska
a. Constraints on Financial Participation
The Nebraska Natural Resources Commission (NRC), which has been the lead state
agency in the Cooperative Agreement process, is the official agency created in connection with
water resources development. Nebraska Revised Statutes Annotated, Sec. 2 -1504. It is broadly
charged with planning, developing and promoting a comprehensive plan for resource
development in cooperation with local governments including NRDs, providing assistance as
may be appropriate to local governments, and securing the cooperation and assistance of the
federal government in the work of local governments. Sec. 2 -1507. The NRC is explicitly
authorized to acquire interests in land and water in order to develop Nebraska's land and water
resources. Sec. 2-1590.
b. Constraints on Intergovernmental Efforts
The lands of interest are Nebraska lands, and the Program is intended to benefit, in part,
the future productive use of Nebraska's water resources. Clearly NRC has the authority to
engage in and contract for land and land management activities through direct appropriations
that could count toward the land component of a Program (though it has never exercised that
authority). This does not even consider the potentially overlapping authorities of the Department
of Water Resources, the Game and Parks Commission or the Natural Resource Districts along
the Platte. In addition, there are a variety of grant programs within the NRC, and the
environmentally - directed lottery program which could in some circumstances be used to direct
funds toward the management of lands as wildlife habitat. Nebraska law also specifically allows
NRC and other agencies to work with other governments.
Nebraska state agencies and local governments also have the authority to use a variety of
options to carry out their responsibilities cooperatively with one another or with other
governments. Article XV of the Nebraska Constitution, Sec. 18 provides that the state may
perform any of its functions jointly or in cooperation with any other government entity within or
without the state. Under the Interlocal Cooperation Act, Nebraska Revised Statutes Annotated,
Secs. 13 -801 et seq., local and state government units working jointly with one another, with the
federal government or with agencies of other states, may enter into contracts jointly or with one
another to share the work or costs. They may hire an administrator, create a joint board or a
joint entity (with legal status), or create any other legal or administrative entity created to operate
the joint or cooperative undertaking. It was explicitly recognized that this type of organization
might need to acquire property, as the agreement to proceed jointly has to say how real and
personal property will be acquired and disposed of Sec. 13 -804.
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