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National Environmental Policy Act ("NEPA ") and ESA compliance, but after • <br />studies during the early stages of the Cooperative Agreement have provided <br />additional information regarding_ a feasible schedule and budget to achieve water <br />conservation/supply goals for the first increment, : and the time needed to see a <br />biological response to mitigation measures. <br />3. Objectives <br />a. Long term Objective . The long term objectives for the Program <br />are: <br />(1) to provide sufficient water to and through the Central <br />Platte River habitat area to meet the general goal set forth in <br />Paragraph H above by reregulation and water conservation/ <br />supply Projects; <br />(2) to perpetually protect and, where appropriate, restore <br />approximately 29,000 acres of suitable habitat in the Central <br />Platte River area in ten habitat complexes located between <br />Lexington and Chapman, Nebraska. <br />The objectives in this section are subject to the provisions of Paragraph • <br />M.B.7. <br />b. First Increment:. .DOI and the states commit to achieving the <br />following goals by the end of the first increment of the Program: <br />(1) improving the occurrence of Platte River flows in the <br />associated habitats relative to the present occurrence of target <br />flows3 (hereinafter referred to as "reducing shortages to the target <br />flows ") by an average of 130,000 to 150,000 acre-feet per year as <br />measured at Grand Island, through reregulation and water <br />conservation/supply projects. DOI and the states agree that <br />FWS' target flows are subject to adaptive management and peer <br />review and may be modified by FWS accordingly. DOI and the <br />states have agreed, however, that during the first increment, <br />target flows may serve as an initial reference point for <br />3 See FWS, Instream Flow Recommendations for the Central Platte River <br />(May 23, <br />1994) and FWS, Pulse Flow Requirement for the Central PlatteR_iver (August 3, 1994) for <br />flow targets. The states have not agreed that these target flows are biologically or • <br />hydrologically necessary to benefit or recover the target species. <br />4 <br />