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Chapter I -Purpose of and Need for Action <br />The Cooperative Agreement established a Governance Committee, representing the three States, water <br />users, environmental groups, and Federal agencies, to develop a proposal for the Program. Pursuant to <br />the Cooperative Agreement, the members of the Governance Committee have formulated a proposal for <br />the Program to be evaluated by Interior under the NEPA and ESA (see Cooperative Agreement, <br />attachment I, "Milestones for the Cooperative Agreement "). Although the Governance Committee has <br />put this proposal forward for NEPA and ESA evaluation, no final decisions have yet been made by the <br />Governance Committee or their member organizations to adopt or implement the proposal. Decisions on <br />implementation by the State governors and the Secretary of the Interior (Secretary) are not expected until <br />early 2005, after completion of the NEPA and ESA review process.' <br />The Governance Committee's proposed approach is referred to in this DEIS as the "Governance <br />Committee Alternative" for the Program. It is described in detail in the Committee's Platte River <br />Recovery Implementation Program Document (referred to in this DEIS as the "Governance Committee <br />Program Document" ).5 <br />Three other action alternatives have been formulated and analyzed in this DEIS. This study evaluates the <br />benefits and impacts of these four action alternatives over the first 13 years of implementation (First <br />Increment of the Program). Interior has not selected its preferred alternative at this time. <br />STUDYAREA <br />The study area6 and the affected environment for this report are the mainstem and tributaries and <br />associated water projects of the Platte River' in Nebraska; the South Platte River and tributaries in <br />Colorado, Nebraska, and Wyoming; and the North Platte River and tributaries in Colorado, Nebraska, and <br />'A detailed history of the Cooperative Agreement process is presented in Freeman, 2003. <br />'Available at <www.nlatteriver.orz> or from the Office of the Executive Director, Governance Committee (see "Cover <br />Sheet "). Note that this DEIS provides only a summary of the very detailed and lengthy proposal contained in the Governance <br />Committee Program Document. This DEIS does not serve as the legal description of that proposal. Persons who wish to learn <br />the details of this proposal should consult the Governance Committee Program Document. Work by the Governance Committee <br />on this document continues. Excerpts used in this DEIS are based on the version dated March 2003 and may vary slightly from <br />the current document posted online. <br />"'Study Area" and "Action Area" are terms used under the NEPA and the ESA to refer to the geographic area in which the <br />alternatives may have an effect on the environment. For this DEIS, these terms and areas are equivalent. <br />'In this DEIS, "North Platte River" refers to the river from its headwaters in northern Colorado through Wyoming, and <br />through Nebraska to Lake McConaughy. "South Platte River" refers to the river from its headwaters in Colorado to its junction <br />with the North Platte River in Nebraska. The "Central Platte River" refers to the river from Lake McConaughy to Chapman, <br />Nebraska (this includes part of the North Platte River). The river from this point to its confluence with the Missouri River near <br />Omaha, Nebraska, is referred to as the "Lower Platte River." <br />December 2003 <br />