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<br />OJ3Dl9 <br /> <br />FINDING 12 _ FINANCIAL COMMITMENT FOR GAGES UNDER THE CO-OP PROGRAM IS THE <br />PRIMARY MEANS FOR STATES INFLUENCING A NATIONAL NETWORK <br /> <br />Throughout the spring workshops, there was considerable concern in displacing Co-Op <br />funding, in particular, the USGS match to cooperators' contribution, by directing such future federal <br />funding toward installation and support ofNSIP gages. There is strong sentiment for maintaining <br />financial commitments by USGS and cooperators for gages through the Co-Op program, This <br />approach, is viewed as maximizing the which incidently maintains non-federal cooperator standing <br />in deciding the fate of gages and shaping a national network, The states believe the Co-Op program <br />provides the best defense against federal and state budget cuts unduly impacting the network of <br />gages, <br /> <br />FINDING I3 _ STREAMGAGES SUPPORTED BY OTHER FEDERAL AGENCIES MUST BE <br />MAINTAINED <br /> <br />Gages supported by other Federal agencies, notably the Corps of Engineers, which provide <br />ancillary support in reservoir operations, are increasingly vulnerable to discontinuation because of <br />shortfalls in agency Operation and Maintenance Funds, States, which use those gages for their water <br />management purposes are, thus, faced with salvaging the discontinued gage with state funding or <br />losing the gage, This point of vulnerability may be addressed in one of two manners: I) either <br />transfer financial responsibility of gages used for reservoir operations to the USGS, thereby <br />converting the USGS into the agency responsible for Federal Streamflow Monitoring for all other <br />Federal Agencies; or, 2) transition funding among the non-critical gages such that co-operative <br />funding is directed toward partial support for gages historically fully funded by the other Federal <br />agencies, The resulting three-way funding arrangement between the USGS, the federal agency and <br />the non-federal cooperator provides a measure of stability in maintaining the current configuration <br />of gage coverage by spreading the gage cost over multiple agencies using those data. <br /> <br />The first option effectively negates any growth in a national network because new federal <br />monies will simply be fund shifts from one federal ledger to the USGS budget, rendering greater <br />stability to the network but limiting the short term growth of the network. The second option <br />maximizes the number of participants supporting a gage, thereby lowering the unit cost of that gage <br />borne by each ofthe cooperators, <br /> <br />FINDING 14 _ GREATER NETWORK STABILITY MAYBE REALIZED BY FINANCIAL <br />PARTICIPATION OF MULTIPLE USERS <br /> <br />As previously suggested, provision of Co-Op funding into gages historically supported solely <br />by other Federal agencies lends considerable standing and stability to those gages, which tend to be <br />the most vulnerable to discontinuation, Creation of a three-way funding mechanism creates a <br />backstop mechanism for the network to absorb any given budgetary shortfall by one of the gage <br />sponsors, Use of multiple non-federal cooperators for a given gage allows greater stability in <br />maintaining the existing gage network and may create opportunities for building the network in the <br />future, The result is a more robust network in uncertain economic times, <br />