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INTRODUCTION <br /> On June 10, 1994, the Secretary of the Interior and the Governors of Colorado,Nebraska and <br /> Wyoming entered into an agreement, called the "Platte River MOA," by which they agreed <br /> to negotiate a program to conserve and protect the habitat of four species listed as endangered <br /> under the Endangered Species Act (the "ESA"). Three bird species—the Interior Least Tern, <br /> Whooping Crane, an Piping Plover — use and depend on the Central Platte River Valley <br /> between Lexington and Chapman,Nebraska. A fourth species—the Pallid Sturgeon—is a fish <br /> that occupies the lower Platte River below its confluence with the Elkhorn River in Nebraska. <br /> The land and water habitat in these areas has been altered by a combination of events, <br /> including flow alteration as a result of upstream water development, and land uses in <br /> Nebraska. <br /> The Platte River MOA was premised on the belief that by developing a cooperative, basin-wide <br /> program to help these species, the three states and the Department of Interior could <br /> accomplish more, and resources could be used more effectively than could otherwise be <br /> accomplished if the ESA's regulatory mechanisms were applied on a permit-by-permit basis. <br /> The MOA also provided that the program would allow upstream water d velopment and use <br /> to continue. Governor Romer's support for the 1994 MOA stemmed from his belief that only <br /> a basin-wide program could effectively resolve the escalating conflicts between water use and <br /> development and endangered species protection that has come to characterize water facility <br /> permitting along Colorado's rapidly growing Front Range. <br /> Since that time, the states and Interior, with active participation by water user and <br /> environmental representatives, have been negotiating the program. (The environmental <br /> representatives left the negotiations, but the Department of Interior has kept them abreast of <br /> developments in the negotiation process.) <br /> After a long and sometimes difficult negotiation over the course of three years by their <br /> representatives, the three Governors and the Secretary of the Interior have indicated their <br /> formal agreement in principle (the entire Agreement is referred to as the "Program <br /> Agreement"). Governor Romer's agreement in principle, as expressed in a letter to Interior <br /> Secretary Babbitt dated May 15, 1997, (see attachment 2) is conditioned on any remaining <br /> details being worked out by the negotiators. The state does not anticipate major changes to the <br /> Program Agreement as outlined in this briefing, but recognizes that substantial changes in the <br /> Program could occur over time as a result of several anticipated developments, discussed more <br /> thoroughly below. In addition, the Governor has asked the Department of Natural Resources <br /> to conduct public hearings as are necessary to explain the agreement and seek input. Finally, <br /> the Governor's agreement in principle recognizes that no financial commitments have been <br /> made by the state to implement the program as proposed. The Colorado Legislature must <br /> authorize and appropriate funds for any state involvement in the program. <br /> 1 <br />