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in the framework for a long -term recovery program to satisfy the Endangered Species Act requirements for all water users in the basin. At the same time, the federal government is conducting formal environmental reviews. This process is expected to take three to four years. The proposed recovery program will be flexible and proceed in steps, or increments. Its progress will be continually evaluated and adjustments made based on experience and the best available information. The states and the federal government will share the responsibility for providing land and water for the proposed Program. During the first increment (10 -13 years) of the proposed program, the federal government will contribute $37.5 million, Colorado and Nebraska will contribute $15 million respectively, and Wyoming will contribute $7.5 million. A long -term recovery program will result from the Cooperative Agreement only if each of the three. states and the Department of the Interior find that the proposed program is in their best interest. If they do not, federal agencies could return to the project -by- project approach for offsetting impacts to the listed species. As several water users along Colorado's Front Range experienced in the early 1990s, individual mitigation measures are extremely costly. Management and Oversight of the Agreement A 10- member Governance Committee is in charge of implementing the Cooperative Agreement. The Governance Committee has one member each from Colorado, Wyoming, Nebraska, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation; three water user members, one from each state; and two environmental organization members. Committees that address land, water, technical, finance, and public outreach issues assist the Governance Committee. These committees include farmers and representatives of state agencies, cities, irrigation districts, and conservation organizations. The Governance Committee is built on compromise and consensus. Each state and federal member of the Governance Committee can veto any decision, and any two members together are enough to block a policy action. Whether there will be a long -term program depends on. the Governance Committee's ability to satisfy all its members. How Would Colorado Water Users Be Affected? Everyone has heard stories of how projects and development are stopped or delayed because of endangered species. The Cooperative Agreement is intended to reduce endangered species controversies by aiding species recovery and keeping new species from being listed. At this time, the proposed recovery program is the best alternative to the expense and uncertainty associated with individual permit consultations, which entities along Colorado's Front Range have experienced in recent years without the program. The recovery program would provide the mitigation needed to allow water users in Colorado to continue their existing uses incases where federal permits and licenses are required. Colorado's portion of the proposed program is designed to allow new water projects to go forward with offsets for future depletions. The proposed recovery program should streamline permit acquisition for those activities and allow all Colorado water users to essentially do business "as usual." Land and Water for the Species In order for water users to receive regulatory certainty for their water activities, the participants must, in turn, provide more water and land to enhance and protect the habitat for the target species. Using a concept known as "adaptive management," the Governance Committee will monitor the impacts of water and land activities developed for the proposed recovery program to determine what adjustments or additional actions may be needed.