Laserfiche WebLink
11 <br />This proposed program has, as its cornerstones, provided land and water to <br />protect and improve the habitat for three endangered species, including the piping <br />plover, and to test whether or not the actions taken for these species might benefit <br />a fourth species, the Pallid Sturgeon, which occasionally enters the lower Platte. <br />While the Cooperative Agreement provides a means to handle issues <br />related to the four endangered species, it also has impacts upon individual <br />residents and businesses within the state and requires consideration of legislation <br />by the state to� enable the state to fully comply with some of the proposed <br />provisions of this program. <br />Many of the issues related to managing endangered species in the Platte <br />basin require changes in the timing and quantity of water flowing in the Platte <br />River. Nebraska has very specific laws related to water allocation and use that <br />have served the state well for over 100 years. Indeed Nebraska's constitution <br />provides for the right of its citizens to use the surface waters of the state for <br />beneficial purposes. These constitutional and legal provisions are the foundation <br />for much of Nebraska's agricultural economy as well as the communities built <br />around that economy. Since those early laws were passed there is now the <br />recognition that it is not just the uses of surface water that impact the river but that <br />the use of our vast and important ground water resources are linked integrally with <br />our rivers and streams. Because resolving the biological issues require modifying <br />some of our actions related to the river, we must also address the relationship of <br />ground water and surface water of the state. <br />