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are described in an "Agreement in Principle for License Conditions for Project Nos. 1417 <br />and 1835" (Agreement in Principle), are dependent upon and intended to supplement the <br />Cooperative Agreement. Interior believes that these actions adequately resolve all the <br />wildlife issues in this relicensing proceeding. Nebraska's fish and wildlife agency <br />(Nebraska Game and Parks Commission, or NGPC) has endorsed both the Cooperative <br />Agreement and the project - related actions that the Districts and Interior have agreed to. <br />The staff recommends that the Commission endorse and support the Cooperative <br />Agreement by issuing new licenses based upon the Agreement in Principle. The FEIS <br />alternative representing the Agreement in Principle is called the "Interior Plan (Program) ". <br />This alternative would promote a cooperative basin -wide approach to habitat improvement <br />via an "Environmental Account," the water for which would be provided by all three basin <br />states. All three states would cooperate in protecting fish and wildlife flows across state <br />borders and through the central Platte River habitat. The projects' facilities would be <br />instrumental in providing water storage and the operational means to deliver the water when <br />needed, and they are essential to implementation of the Cooperative Agreement. <br />The Interior Plan (Program) would provide increased frequency of flows beneficial to <br />springtime wet meadow habitat maintenance and tern and plover nest initiation, and to <br />summer water quality, fish habitat, and tern and plover nesting (Figure ES -2). Also, it <br />would provide winter bald eagle habitat protection flows as frequently as any alternative, <br />and it would surpass all alternatives in providing favorable Lake McConaughy water levels <br />for lake- oriented recreation. Further, the Interior Plan (Program) would increase the average <br />annual amount of hydropower generation, increase the projects' combined creditable <br />capacity, and improve the level of drought protection. <br />Figure ES -2. Average monthly flows at Grand Island under the Interior Plan (Program) <br />(source: the staff). <br />ES -4 <br />