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me emphasize the cooperative part, because my understanding is that many of the <br />delays and arguments in finalizing this program are a result of the federal agencies <br />insisting on "their way is the only way" — a cooperative process is the most <br />effective way to protect and manage the species of concern and at the same time <br />consider the needs of the state and of its citizens. <br />Because under the formal procedures of the Endangered Species Act, only <br />those activities with a direct federal nexus are required to consult, and therefore <br />often times mitigate for impacts to endangered species, the costs of the Act often <br />are levied only upon a few, leading to an unbalanced burden for what is truly a <br />national issue. Under this proposed program many water related activities not <br />normally within the purview of the Act are brought into the mix, this increases the <br />burden upon the state and results in not just our consideration of legislation which <br />I mentioned earlier, but also an increase in costs. These costs are a result of <br />federal actions on behalf of the entire nation. For these reasons, I believe that the <br />federal government should bear the majority of costs for these activities. It is my <br />understanding that as the drafters of this proposed program have developed the <br />details of the program, they have discovered their original estimate of 75 million <br />dollars is likely to be only half of what is needed to adequately fund the program. <br />While a 150 million dollar program is small by comparison to similar programs in <br />California and Florida, it is a huge commitment upon the part of the states. <br />Because Nebraska, in particular, is already incurring costs related to the <br />implementation of this program through water and habitat and through potential <br />