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members expressed concern over the proposed amendments and asked <br /> that this concern be conveyed to members of Congress. He <br /> reported further that he had contacted members of our <br /> Congressional delegation and Senator Wallop of Wyoming to relay <br /> the Board' s concern. During these conversations, Mr. McDonald <br /> was informed that both House and Senate Bills were still being <br /> considered by the respective Committees and some language changes <br /> had been proposed. Information received from members of our <br /> Congressional delegation indicated that no action was expected <br /> this year on the proposed amendments. <br /> Agenda item 13 - Jeopardy Biological Opinion Narrows Unit <br /> Chairman Vandemoer called on Mr. McDonald to discuss this <br /> item. Mr. McDonald reported that the subject of this item was <br /> described in his October 25, 1983 memorandum to Board members . <br /> (See Appendix H attached. ) <br /> Consideration of this subject eminated from a jeopardy <br /> biological opinion issued by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service <br /> (FWS) in January 1983 which described the impact of the Narrows <br /> Unit on the whooping crane. In its opinion the FWS recommended a <br /> mitigation plan which called for a portion of the water to be <br /> developed by the Narrows Reservoir to be dedicated to providing <br /> supplemental flows for roosting habitat and channel maintenance <br /> in a 53 mile reach of the Platte River between Lexington and <br /> Shelton, Nebraska. The recommended average flows to be released <br /> from the Narrows Reservoir to satisfy these alleged needs were • <br /> estimated at 32, 000 acre-feet per year at the critical habitat <br /> area in Nebraska. The opinion offered no explanation of how the <br /> FWS expected water so released to be administered so as to be <br /> available at the desired river reach. <br /> Stemming from the jeopardy opinion and the proposed <br /> mitigation plan the Bureau of Reclamation (BR) and the FWS <br /> concluded that the relationship of all fish and wildlife <br /> resources to future water use throughout the Platte River System, <br /> in the states of Colorado, Nebraska, and Wyoming, should be <br /> concurrently adressed. Work groups, representing the two <br /> agencies were designated and directed to develop an overall fish <br /> and wildlife management plan for the Platte River system in <br /> Central Nebraska, as well as assess alternatives which would <br /> remove the jeopardy opinion on the Narrows Unit. During this <br /> process nine Narrows Unit alternatives were evaluated, ranging <br /> from streamflow maintenance using existing or potential storage, <br /> including off-stream storage, to mechanical or other <br /> manipulations of the whopping crane habitat. <br /> It has been concluded by the cooperative working group that <br /> none of the alternatives, including the mitigation plan <br /> recommended in the January, 1983, biological opinion, are <br /> completely satisfactory due to a lack of certainty as to whether <br /> • <br /> -10- <br />