Final Minutes
Governance Committee Meeting

Agenda and Minutes

Roger Patterson, Governance Committee (GC) Chair, called the meeting to order at 8:15 a.m. Roger noted that discussion of the NAS Review would be moved to later in the agenda to insure all parties were in attendance. The May 22 and June 27 minutes were approved as modified.

Open Comment Period - No comments were expressed.

GC/EIS Workshop Update

Mark Butler explained that the EIS Team presented analysis to date on the hydrology, geomorphology, and land section as it applies to the channel during the workshop on July 18. The Executive Director's office will distribute an electronic copy of the presentation to the GC and others attending the workshop.

Milestones and Subtasks

Estimated Program Budget (A1-EXT)

Dale Strickland distributed the Program budget as currently estimated and noted that it had changed only slightly from when it was last distributed in March 2002. The Program budget estimate will continue to be updated as information becomes available. Curt Brown asked that up-to-date cost estimates for action items be relayed to the EIS Team for analysis. Roger Patterson noted that the estimated costs used for the three states water projects are not accurate and need to be rectified before the Program.

Dale also distributed a milestones status report for the extension milestones. The report details when milestones are due, expected completion time, status on development, and responsible party. Similar information will be developed for the original 1997 milestones also.

Nebraska Depletions Plan (W1-EXT)

Jim Cook stated that copies of the July 2, 2002 draft were distributed electronically via the Executive Director's office prior to the meeting. Comments from within Nebraska have been submitted. Concern has been raised in funding issues, need for ground water regulations to be adopted by Natural Resources Districts, and the area to which the depletions plan will be applied. The plan relies heavily on COHYST. It is currently estimated that the COHYST model will begin to produce information (i.e., lines on maps) this fall/winter. Information will be available to the Cooperative Agreement early 2003 with full documentation coming after that. There was discussion regarding when the Water Management Committee should review the depletions plan. It was agreed that a conceptual review of the plan should proceed but that a detailed, technical review would need to wait until COHYST and the entire plan is completed.

Wyoming Depletions Plan (W2-EXT)

Mike Purcell stated that a revised draft plan was distributed electronically via the Executive Director's office prior to the meeting. Wyoming is working on implementing the results of the Nebraska v. Wyoming lawsuit. Because the plan is not in its final stage, the WMC was asked to conduct a conceptual review of the plan.

Colorado North Platte Depletions Plan (W3-EXT)

Rick Brown stated that Colorado's draft North Platte Depletions Plan was distributed several months ago and is part of the Program "white binder". The WMC was asked to conduct a complete, technical review of the plan as opposed to the conceptual review currently planned for the Wyoming and Nebraska plans.

Federal Future Depletions Plan (W10,11-EXT)

Don Anderson stated that the FWS had distributed a draft plan to the WMC for comments and that the a revised draft based on WMC comments was distributed to the GC electronically via the Executive Director's office prior to the meeting. The main comment received was to clearly distinguish between what the federal plan covers and what is in the USFS Vegetation Management Plan. The WMC was asked to conduct a complete, technical review of the plan.

Forest Service Vegetation Management Plan (W9-EXT)

Polly Hays explained that a draft management plan outline has been developed for review within the USFS. It is anticipated that the draft will be ready for review by the WMC in mid-August. The plan consists of a section discussing vegetation management and a section discussing natural variability.

Pallid Sturgeon

Dale explained that a draft monitoring and research plan was developed by the FWS and is currently being reviewed by a Technical Committee (TC) subgroup. The subgroup met and identified areas of general agreement and areas without agreement. At the next meeting the subgroup hopes to resolve remaining issues or frame the issues for technical help from species experts or policy direction from the GC. The current schedule is to have the plan to the GC in October or November. Don Anderson reported that the FWS continues to implement the hydrology plan as approved by the GC in March. The plan contains five phases. Phases 1-3 have been completed and are being reviewed by the WMC. All phases will be completed in September or October and ready for GC or WMC review.

Habitat Protection Plan (L1-EXT)/Land Action Plan (L6-EXT)

Mary Jane Graham reported that members of the Drafting Committee had met with the TC, Land Committee (LC) Chairs, and other LC members to discuss the latest draft. One major topic discussed related to identifying the intended audience for the current draft being developed is. It was agreed that the current draft is for inclusion in the Program binder and is for legal requirements. Another document is needed for the Land Advisory Committee and others in central Nebraska that contains all material referenced by the plan, not just references to other documents (e.g., include pertinent information from the IMRP not just reference to the IMRP). A third possible task will be to develop a list of questions and answers that can be easily distributed to interested parties. One technical disagreement with the current document is the inclusion of information in Table 1 (e.g., definition of a habitat complex) or a range of conditions used to describe what the species have historically used. If this remains an issue after the next revision it will be brought before the GC for resolution.

Concern was raised that the current Land Action Plan does not follow the draft outline provided to the LC and the milestone as included in the CA Extension. Rhodell Jameson agreed that the document needs to tie together what the LC has agreed upon with the new information. Rhodell asked that Dale Strickland provide him with a copy of the last draft of the plan completed by the TC and LC, before the plan was referred to the Drafting Committee. The Drafting Committee will have sections ready for GC review and consideration that still need GC direction by August 6. The Drafting Committee will provide a date to Dale Strickland on July 23 for when the entire Land Action Plan will be available. Ralph Morgenweck asked that the GC set a limited number of reviews and move the Land Action Plan to final form quickly.

First Increment Milestone (P3-1)

The subgroup has drafted the Milestone's Document for the Program. One issue remains between Nebraska and Colorado regarding protection of Tamarack water and exchange into Lake McConaughy. Jim Cook and Rick Brown will draft language for consideration by the subgroup and GC to resolve the issue.

Colorado's Information Reports (W4-EXT c and d)

Rick Brown distributed a letter describing Colorado's schedule and clarification on the milestone (see attached). Colorado cannot start its annual reports because the tracking mechanisms are not in place yet and reports are to begin two years after Program implementation. Comments on Colorado's schedule and clarification are to be submitted to Rick by August 16.

Tamarack Operating Criteria for Phase I (W6-EXT)

Jon Altenhofen has submitted a tracking worksheet to the WMC and believes the milestone is complete. Nebraska still has some questions regarding the operating criteria. John Lawson explained that the milestone subtask is complete but that the subject still needs some further discussion regarding operations of all Tamarack phases. This is not related to the milestone.

NAS Review Update

Ralph Morgenweck reported that information and issues are coming quickly out of DOI in Washington and he was unsure if he had all of the information at this point. DOI has met with Representative Osborne and at the present time it appears that they plan to conduct a review of the Whooping Crane Recovery Plan and Critical Habitat designation. The review would be managed by the DOI and would include agency individuals from the FWS, USGS and others agencies. Roger Patterson asked that the states see the scope before implementing the review. It was also noted that the states have been discussing the proposed review and have been narrowing the review to more of the scientific issues and not the negotiated Program. Ralph indicated that the GC could be provided the scope for review but would probably not be asked for concurrence. Other topics suggested during the discussion included review of other species information besides the three target bird species and review of the IMRP. The current timeframe for the review is unknown. DOI was asked to consider the schedule for the EIS, BO, and completion of the development of the Program as they plan the review. The topic will be included on the September agenda.

Subcommittee Reports

Water Management Committee

John Lawson, WMC Chair, provided the report. John reported that the FWS had developed, and distributed to the WMC, a draft document defining flow related terms (e.g., target flow, pulse flow). The GC asked that the WMC review the document.

States Meeting

Rick Brown reported that the states have been working with Parsons on finalizing their deliverable and that there is an issue with funding. Some of the work conducted in 2001 for the Governance Committee was paid for out of the states' contract. The issue is before the Finance Committee for consideration. The states have been discussing the NAS review, future depletions plans, exit strategy, and fair share. It was noted that the Drafting Committee and Land Committee anticipate including the relevant information from the exit strategy into the Land Action Plan. This information is needed by the end of November.

Land Committee

Rhodell Jameson, LC Co-Chair, reported that the LC had received one land offer and that the inquiry had been catalogued per the GC's land offer form. Others had been expected but were not forthcoming. Rhodell noted that recent national developments such as the Klamath Fall review and lynx issue have provided opponents to the Program more ammunition. There was discussion regarding the possible need to conduct an outreach effort related to explaining these issues. There was some discussion regarding the proposal from The Nature Conservancy to begin protecting lands during the Cooperative Agreement that could one day be turned over to the Program. It was explained that TNC did not provide a written proposal and that the issue has disappeared.

Technical Committee

Paul Tebbel, TC Chair, reported that the TC had received and reviewed the spring 2002 whooping crane report from AIM Environmental Consultants. The report is being finalized based on comments received. Paul reported that the TC discussed monitoring and research at NPPD's Cottonwood Ranch Property. The GC has funded the USGS to conduct monitoring and research at the property for three years, beginning in October 2000. NPPD is proceeding with their development and enhancement plan as approved by the FERC. This will entail clearing trees and developing backwaters. It will not involve island leveling. Paul asked for direction on developing a proposal to implement the island leveling investigations as described by the Parsons-EIS Team. The GC asked the TC to develop a proposal to go first to the Finance Committee.

Paul also reported that the TC needed direction on the issue of peer review of protocols. The TC needs direction on when they should be reviewed, or if the protocols will be reviewed as part of the larger NAS or other review. The GC agreed that the TC should begin the reviews now, beginning with the whooping crane and tern and plover protocols before spring 2003 implementation.

Outreach Committee

Lynn Holt reported that the Outreach Committee (OC) has not met since the last GC meeting. There was discussion regarding the use of the OC in disseminating information regarding the lynx hair sample issue. GC agreed that a brief synopsis of the issue and the findings of three separate investigations that found FWS and state officials did not violate the laws should be circulated with the LC newsletter. It was reaffirmed that the states would handle their own outreach regarding the proposed Program.

Finance Committee

Mike Besson, Finance Committee (FC) Chair, reported that the FC approved their charter at the last meeting and that it would be forwarded to the Structures Committee for review and incorporation in the Structures Document. Mike also noted that the FC had taken under consideration the issue of additional funds needed for work conducted by Parsons Engineering. The FC reviewed and recommends approval of a TC proposal to implement the Whooping Crane Monitoring Protocol in fall 2002 for an estimate of $76,650. GC approved the proposal. The FC recommended approval of the Executive Director's budget for July 1, 2002 through June 30, 2003. GC approved the budget request. Dale Strickland distributed a budget sheet for the remaining Cooperative Agreement period. The budget assumed three different possible end dates, June 2003, December 2004, and December 2005. At the current rate of spending the remaining budget will not cover the Cooperative Agreement if extended to either of the later two end dates. The budget is only for planning purposes but shows the need to prioritize expenditures.

Structures Committee

Maryanne Bach, Structures Committee Chair, reported that the subgroup would be meeting by conference call on July 26 to review the most recent Structures Document and to begin review of charters. Maryanne asked that the Structures Document be placed on the next GC agenda for finalization.

Drafting Committee

All topics being worked on by the Drafting Committee had been covered previously during the meeting.

GC Environmental Membership

Dave Sands, Audubon, distributed a letter describing the GC Environmental Membership prior to the meeting (see attached). Environmental interests replaced Dan Luecke with Duane Hovorka and added Paul Tebbel and Carolyn Greene as alternates. GC recognized the new member and alternates.

GC Vice Chair

Mike Besson was elected GC vice-chair beginning in July. Ralph Morgenweck, current vice-chair will take over the chair in July from Roger Patterson.

Open comment - No comments were expressed.

Adjourn - 1:30 p.m.

Future Meetings

August 6 and 7, -GC/EIS Team Workshops, Denver

September 18, 19, 20 - GC meeting and GC/EIS Team Workshops, Denver