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<br />COLORADO <br /> <br />r;ti ~~~~~~~!.~~.S.!..~'!~ <br />DEPARTMENT OF <br />NATURAL <br />RESOURCES <br /> <br />[:i <br /> <br />r:l <br /> <br />DEPARTMENT INITIATIVES <br /> <br />Platte River recovery program under way. The effort <br />to recover endangered species in the Central Platte River Valley <br />in Nebraska is up and running. <br />Governor Roy Romer has appointed Department of Natural <br />Resonrces Executive Director James S. Lochhead to represent <br />Colorado on the lO-member Platte River Governance <br />Committee. The committee met Sept. 12. <br />The committee will oversee recovery efforts of four endan- <br />gered species: three bird species - interior least tern, whoop- <br />ing crane, piping plover - and the pallid sturgeon, a fish <br />species. <br />On July I, the governors of Colorado, Nebraska and <br />Wyoming signed an agreement creating a partnership to protect <br />the species and existing and future water developments. The <br />agreement specifies that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will <br />streamline its review of existing and some new water projects. <br />"The agreement allows us to use a basin-wide approach to <br />comply with federal environmental regulations instead of con- <br />ducting individual reviews of each water project and its impacts <br />on the wildlife habita!," Lochhead said. <br /> <br />Alan Berryman, Northern Colorado Water Conservancy <br />District, represents Colorado water users on the committee. <br />Dan Lueke, director of the Environmental Defense Fund's <br />Boulder office, is one of three environmental gronp representa- <br />tives. Eric Wilkinson of the NCWCD and Dave Little of the <br />Denver Water Board will serve as alternates to Berryman. <br />The agreement outlines an environmental restoration plan <br />estimated to cost $75 million from federal and state sources <br />over approximately 15 years, to offset the impacts of existing <br />water facilities on the species and their habitat. Colorado's <br />share of these costs would be $15 million. Each state will!ncur <br />additional costs to offset the effects of future water develop- <br />ment-for Colorado, estimated at $5 million. <br />Each state is responsible for meeting specific milestones <br />during the next three years while the proposed plan undergoes <br />public review in compliance with the National Environmental <br />Policy Act. <br />Colorado's commitments during the three-year review peri- <br />od include $300,000 per year, for a total of $900,000, to help <br />(continued on page 5) <br /> <br />!A <br /> <br />&4 <br /> <br />STATE LAND BOARD <br /> <br />Stewardship Trust rules drafted. At its Sept.23 meeting in <br />Greeley, the Colorado State Board of Land Commissioners <br />approved a draft set of rules governing implementation of the <br />Stewardship Trust provision of Amendment 16. The commis- <br />sioners also scheduled 'a formal hearing on these draft rules at <br />8:30 a.m., Oct. 31, at the Division of Wildlife's Hunter <br />Education Building, 6060 Broadway, Denver. <br />The rule-making follows a three-month process that has <br />included work by board staff and a group of subject-matter <br />experts, as well as input from tmst beneficiaries, stakeholder <br />groups and the public. The draft rules will be published in the <br />Oct. 10 issue of the Colorado Register. Board staff will mail <br />copies of the draft rules to beneficiary and stakeholder groups <br />and people who attended the public meetings or asked to be <br />kept informed about the Stewardship Trust process. <br />To receive a copy of the draft rules and other updates, con- <br />tact the board by writing 1313 Sherman, Room 620, Denver, <br />CO 80203, attention Stewardship Trust Mailing List. Or, call <br />303/866-3454, x319, or fax a request to 303/866-3152. The <br />draft rules will also be posted on the Land Board's Internet <br />home page at <www.dnr.state.co.usllands>. <br /> <br />The board has until Jan. 15 to create and distribute a nomi- <br />nation packet for the Stewardship Trust. The public nomination <br />period will rnn from Jan. l5to March 31. Any person or group <br />is eligible to nominate State Trnst Land for the Stewardship <br />Trust. The board has until Jan. I, 1999, to enroIl the first <br />200,000 acres in the trust, and until Jan. 1,2001, to enroll the <br />remaining 95,000-100,000 acres. <br />Amendment 16, passed by Colorado voters last November, <br />directed the board to designate 295,000-300,000 acres of its 3- <br />million-acre surface land asset into a Stewardship Trust. The <br />board must detennine that the land is valuable primarily "to pre- <br />serve long-term benefits and returns to the state." The board <br />manages all its assets for the benefit of eight trusts, the largest <br />of which provides income for kindergarten-12th-grade educa- <br />tion. In 1996, Land Board income totaled around $23 million <br />- most of which went to support public education. <br />The amendment states that land within the trust will be <br />managed to "maximize options for continued stewardship, pub- <br />lic use or further disposition" by allowing only those uses that <br />protect and enhance "the beauty, natural values, open space and <br />wildlife habitat" on the lands. <br />