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A'fJ.\~'., ck~'~ .. ~'''': '. "{.;.~~~,~ .;.~( ?'*;'r'~ ~;~~.,.~~. ~Ji~'C (l in 71 ': fishes, which may not always be accomplished efficiently under ~arlier goals which were tied to mitigating project impacts, Mr. Evans stated. He identified four main problems with interstate impacts ofESA implementation on the Colorado River: I) defining "recovery" so that it will be recognized when it is achieved; 2) adequate funding to assure timely implementation of recovery actions; 3) pre-listing protection for habitat and species in decline; and 4) the non-productivity of litigation in resolving ESA issues. John Shields, Wyoming Interstate Streams Engineer, next spoke. He addressed the Platte River Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) signed between Nebraska, Wyoming and Colorado. He said the MOA was motivated by three developments. First, he cited Department ofInterior (DOl) recommendations for conditioning a FERC hydropower relicensing for a project in Nebraska upstream from critical habitat for the whooping crane. Nebraska proposed and the EIS preferred alternative included creation of an "environmental account" to augment flows as needed; however, the DOl recommendations included three times that amount. The second development is the renewal of hundreds of special use permits for water projects with rights of way through Forest Service land being conditioned on maintaining minimum instream flows. These permits include constructed and operating projects. USFWS has advised the Forest Service that Section 7 consultations are required on the activities on federal lands. Seven Colorado projects have obtained favorable biological opinions containing "interim" reasonable and prudent alternatives based on the development of the Central Platte River Recovery Implementation Program. The USFWS position is that any water depletions, regardless of quantifiable impacts, result in jeopardy downstream. The third development is the Bureau of Reclamation's informal Section 7 consultation and review of existing operations of North Platte Reservoirs, which began about three years ago. Mr. Shields believes the DOl will seek water for endangered species through reoperation of existing projects. These developments have prompted the states to develop a Platte River habitat management plan for endangered species, even though the Platte River Joint Study efforts of the past ten years ended in frustration. A federal work group has also been convened to work on these issues. Mr. Shields urges amendment of the ESA to allow states a real voice and vote in key matters and issues with management issues. Philip Mutz, of the New Mexico Interstate Stream Commission, provided the concluding presentation on interstate integration efforts. He described the cooperative agreement for the San Juan River Basin Recovery Implementation Program entered into in 1992 by the Department of Interior, several Indian tribes, and the States of Colorado, Utah and New Mexico. The Program is designed to provide the foundation for a long-term program to recover endangered fish in the San Juan River Basin. The specific goals of the Program are to conserve populations of Colorado squawfish and razorback suckers in the Basin, and to proceed with water development in the Basin. The San Juan River is a major tributary of Colorado River in the Upper Basin drainage. The cooperative agreement has a term of 15 years. However, the releases authorized pursuant to the final biological opinion for the Animas-LaPlata Project will last for the life of the project. A draft jeopardy opinion on the bi-state project was issued in 1990. The program provides a 7-year period to define needed measures for recovering endangered fish species. It identifies several hypotheses for testing with regards to flow and habitat conditions required by the fish species. 11