Laserfiche WebLink
Before the U. S. House of Representatives Committee on Resources <br />Oversight Field Hearing, Grand Island, Nebraska <br />February 16, 2002 <br />Testimony of James R. Cook, Legal Counsel <br />Nebraska Department of Natural Resources <br />Mr. Chairman and members of the committee, my name is Jim Cook. I am legal <br />counsel for the Nebraska Department of Natural Resources and am testifying today on <br />behalf of Roger Patterson, the department director. Roger fully intended to appear before <br />your committee this afternoon. I am sorry to report that he is unable to do so because his <br />mother passed away Tuesday and the funeral is today. I know he would be glad to <br />answer any questions you might have at a later time or to provide additional information <br />if desired. <br />In Roger's absence I will present testimony today on two subjects: (1) the Platte River <br />Cooperative Agreement and (2) the proposed designation by the U. S. Fish and Wildlife <br />Service of critical habitat for the piping plover. Most of my remarks will be devoted to <br />the Cooperative Agreement. In my comments on that subject I will attempt to summarize <br />the proposed "program" as it exists today, discuss Nebraska's reasons for participating in <br />the ongoing process to formulate that program, relate some important considerations <br />Nebraska will be facing before we make a decision on initiation of the program, and <br />indicate how Congress might be able to help that process be successful. With regard to <br />the critical habitat issue, I have attached a copy of Mr. Patterson's August 10, 2001 letter <br />about the proposed habitat designation. That letter summarizes and explains the <br />department's position on that subject. <br />Platte River Cooperative Agreement <br />Introduction and Summary of the Platte River Cooperative Agreement <br />On July 1, 1997, Nebraska, Colorado, Wyoming and the United. States Department of <br />the Interior entered into a partnership to develop a basin -wide recovery "program" for <br />threatened and endangered species in the Central Platte River Basin. Called the Platte <br />River Cooperative Agreement (PRCA), the program's primary purpose is to provide <br />recovery oriented habitat for the whooping crane, piping plover and the interior least tern. <br />The pallid sturgeon, which uses the Platte only near its mouth, is also a target species for <br />the proposed program. For now it is uncertain whether any efforts other than those <br />intended for the benefit of the other target species will be directed specifically towards <br />sturgeon recovery. <br />A ten - member governing body call the Governance Committee (GC) has been <br />responsible for the activities undertaken to date and would be responsible in the future if <br />the program is actually implemented. The GC includes representatives from the U.S. - <br />Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, each of the three <br />states, water users from three geographic areas in the Platte River Basin, and <br />environmental organizations. Dale Strickland of West Inc., is the Executive Director for <br />the current effort. <br />-1- <br />