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recovery of four threatened or endangered species (whooping crane, piping plover, least tern, and <br />pallid sturgeon). My statement will cover several major aspects of the Cooperative Agreement <br />including the Department's role in its implementation, some background and history leading up <br />to the Agreement, some key features of the Agreement, a summary of the accomplishments and <br />decisions of the Governance Committee to date, and my understanding of upcoming actions. <br />Background and History <br />The North and South Platte Rivers originate from snowmelt in the Rocky Mountains in <br />Colorado. The rivers enter Nebraska via Wyoming and Colorado.to form the Platte River at <br />North Platte, Nebraska. Water projects on the North and South Platte store over 7.1 million acre - <br />feet of water in 190 storage facilities, irrigating 1.9 million acres, generating power, and <br />providing municipal water supplies and recreation. <br />These projects and other activities have affected the Platte River, including the related habitat of <br />the four threatened or endangered species (noted above) that use the "Big Bend Reach" of the <br />Platte in Central Nebraska. <br />On May 15, 1978, the Service designated critical habitat for the whooping crane along the central <br />Platte. Under court order, the final designation of critical habitat for the piping plover is currently <br />pending. <br />Factors Leading to the Cooperative Agreement <br />With the existence of four threatened or endangered species in the Platte River Basin, there were <br />concerns about: the effects of the existing water projects on the habitat of these species; the <br />prospects of having to undertake numerous individual consultations under Section 7 of the <br />Endangered Species Act (ESA) throughout the basin; and the possibility of operating conditions <br />being placed on those projects to protect the listed species. All these factors provided a strong <br />impetus for water users, the three States, the Federal government, and conservation groups to get <br />together to look for a better way to bring the various projects into compliance with the ESA and <br />2 <br />