BOARD02274

• Board Meeting Date: 3/29/1999
• Description: Platte River Basin Issues - Platte River Endangered Species Cooperative Agreement - Status Report
• Board Meetings - Doc Type: Memo

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OFFICE OF THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

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STATE OF COLOR!\DO

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Department of Natural Resources
131 J Sherman Street, Room 718
Denver, ColorJdo 80203
Phone: DOJl866-3311
TOO, 13031 866-3543
Fa" 13031866-2115

DEPARTMENT Of
NATURAl
RESOURCES

MEMORANDUM

TO:

RE:

Colorado Water Conservation Board Members

Doug RObot~ 12...

Platte River Enoangered Species Cooperative Agreement - Status report

Greg E. Walcher
Executive Director

BiflOwens
Governor

FROM:

DATE:

March 26, 1999

Work continues on several fronts to implement the 1997 Platte River Cooperative Agreement.
Work items and recent developments are summarized below.

I) Water Re-regulation: The Cooperative Agreement establishes a goal of reducing flow
shortages in the Big Bend Reach with respect to US Fish and Wildlife Service targets of
130,000 - 150,000 acre-feet on average per year. The states have identified water re-regulation
projects capable of reducing shortages with respect to targets by 70,000 acre-feet on average
each year. Boyle Engineering has been retained by the Governance Committee to identify and
evaluate additional water supply and conservation projects throughout the Platte River Basin
capable of reducing Platte River flow shortages with respect to targets by an additional 60,000 -
80,000 acre-feet.

After six months of work, Boyle has prepared a list of 36 project types divided into seven
categories (see attachment), as well as screening and ranking criteria to further refme this list.
Once a refined list of project types has been prepared, Boyle staff and the state representatives
to the Governance Committee will conduct public listening sessions in each state in order to
incorporate public ideas concerning project feasibility and acceptance. Boyle will then present
a final list of project ideas to the Governance Committee, which will then negotiate an action
plan to pursue the most promising projects. Boyle's list will be complete by September 1999
and the Governance Committee's action plan will be negotiated by the end of the year. This
schedule is necessary to ensure the proposed program has been adequately developed and
described for purposes of review under the National Environmental Policy Act.

2) Land Protection: The Cooperative Agreement establishes a goal of protecting 10,000 acres of
land on a willing seller basis during the proposed program's frrst increment of 10 -13 years.
The Cooperative Agreement does not establish which lands would be protected, how the land
would be protected (e.g. acquisition offee interest, less-than-fee, leases, management
agreements, etc.), or the type of organization that would own and manage land on behalf of the
program should public ownership prove to be the agreed-upon protection option. The
Cooperative Agreement does indicate that protection of land under the proposed program
would avoid shifting tax burdens to neighboring landowners and communities. It also commits
the parties to identify and evaluate third party impacts that may be associated with the land
protection component of the program, though it does not commit the parties to address any
impacts so identified.

Board of land Commissioners. Division of Minerals & Geology/Geological Survey
Oil & Gas Conservation Commission. Colorado State Parks. Soil Conservarion Board
Water Con~ervation Board. Division of Water Resources. Division of Wildlife