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CWCB Members <br />Status of Platte River Cooperative Agreement Implementation <br />September 21, 1998 <br />protecting land in the central Platte River basin, a group to evaluate options for an appropriate <br />institutional structure to own interests in land, and group to develop criteria for use in selecting <br />lands to acquire, and a public information group. <br />At its last regularly scheduled meeting on August 18, 1998 in Kearney, Nebraska, about 130 <br />interested members of the public attended under the umbrella of the Platte River Basin <br />Agricultural Alliance (PRBAA). Following considerable discussion about the purposes of the <br />Platte River program, participants voted to suspend work of the Land sub - committee until after <br />November 15. This matter was not brought as a request to the Governance Committee, but the <br />Governance Committee nevertheless accepted the state of affairs at its September meeting. <br />Notwithstanding this development, the working groups continue to move forward, and it is not <br />clear what, if any, effect the Land sub - committee's vote will have on the process. Outside <br />mediation expertise may be necessary if the parties themselves cannot impart some discipline, <br />structure and order to the affairs of the Land sub - committee. <br />• Commitment to conduct an analysis of possible third party effects of land protection activities <br />was a pivotal feature of the land component of the Cooperative Agreement. Nebraska interests <br />repeatedly have expressed concerns about loss of tax revenues, ripple effects through local <br />economies as land is retired from production, "bad" neighbors, and other issues associated with <br />protecting private for a public purpose like wildlife conservation. On the other, we have <br />emphasized that such protective efforts can considerably enhance land values, can lead to <br />increased activity and revenues form other sectors, and can have overall positive net benefits. A <br />draft scope of work for such an analysis is currently being prepared. - We may want to retain the <br />services of an economist expert in the conduct of such evaluations to ensure that the analysis is <br />balanced, and that the latest work from other regions of the country on the effects of farmland <br />and open space protection is being taken into account. <br />2 <br />