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<br />announced he had signed a water bank bill and legislation providing for temporary water <br />transfers during a declared drought, creating interruptible water supply contracts, and allowing <br />water rights to be temporarily donated for use in prote<;ting rivers and fisheries. He described <br />Colorado's reservoirs as "jewels," asking people to im~gine what Colorado would have looked <br />like without the water stored for available for water supply, recreation and instream flows. He <br />said that storage is still the best protection against dr01.ight, adding Colorado will have to build <br />new storage facilities. <br /> <br />Among the other speakers were; Betsy Rieke, Bureau of Reclamation; Mike Applegate, Northern <br />Colorado Water Conservation District; Dan Luecke, environmental and water resources <br />consultant; Rod Lewis, Gila River Indian Community; John Sullivan, Salt River Project, <br />representing the National Water Resources Association; Rita Maguire, Arizona Center for Public <br />Policy; Jim Martin, Natural Resources Law Center; Bill Pauli, California Farm Bureau <br />Federation; Melinda Kassen, Trout Unlimited; and Cr4ig Smith, Family Farm Alliance. <br /> <br />Scientific Code of Conduct: On May 29 Interior Sec~etary Norton announced the development <br />of a code of scientific conduct for the Interior Department to help ensure the integrity of all <br />scientific work done by its employees and contractors. The department developed the code in <br />accordance with a new federal policy on conduct of science published on December 6, 2000, by <br />the White House Office of Science and Technology PQlicy. In addition, the Interior Department's <br />Office ofInspector General recommended the departn).ent develop a scientific code of conduct in <br />its report on its investigation of the submission of unabthorized samples to a laboratory during <br />population surveys for the Canada lynx in 1999 and 2000. <br /> <br />The code is similar to the codes of conduct of many sdientific organizations, including the <br />Wildlife Society, American Fisheries Society, and ECQlogical Society of America, to which <br />many department scientists belong. All of the scientific activities conducted or funded by the <br />Department are covered by this definition. These involve inventory, monitoring, study, research, <br />adaptive management or assessments that are conducted in a manner specified by standard <br />protocols and procedures. . <br /> <br />The Interior Department has established a website (htt//www.doi.gOv/ethics) that contains the <br />existing agency directives pertaining to policies and c, nduct. <br /> <br />A copy of the proposed Code is attached. <br /> <br />Litigation "Breaking" ESA: According to the USFWS, it is facing mounting numbers of court <br />orders from six years oflitigation and will soon run o~t of funds to designate critical habitat for <br />threatened and endangered species. The administration has requested authority from Congress to <br />shift money from other endangered species programs to cover the shortfall. The Service will also <br />approach plaintiffs and courts to seek extensions to d~adlines affecting 32 species. Two-thirds of <br />the endangered species listing budget is being consumed by court orders and settlement <br />agreements requiring designation of critical habitat fo~ species already on the endangered species <br />list. ' <br /> <br />Lawsuits have greatly increased since 1997, when an ~ppeals court ruled that this "not prudent" <br />standard did not comply with the ESA. Another appe*ls court shortly thereafter held that courts <br />must order the Service to designate critical habitat, e~en if it is lower in priority than other <br />actions required by the ESA. Since that time, the Senfice has been sued over failure to designate <br />critical habitat for species at the time they were listed; and when resources were diverted to <br /> <br />e <br /> <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />e <br />