Platte River Governance Committee Meeting

Kearney, Nebraska

Opening Remarks

Ralph Morgenweck chaired the meeting and welcomed members and guests.

Approval of April 21 Meeting Notes

The minutes of the April 21 Governance Committee meeting were reviewed and approved as originally presented at the June 3 meeting.

Approval of June 3 Meeting Notes

The minutes of the June 3 Governance Committee meeting were reviewed and approved as amended.

Executive Director Report

Anual Report - Dale Strickland presented a summary of the Draft Annual Report responding to Milestone A4-1. The report will be revised based on comments from the Governance Committee, other committees, and staff and will be circulated as a final report at the next Governance Committee meeting. Dale requested comments on the annual report by August 16. Recommendations for milestone adjustments pursuant to Milestone A4-1 should be submitted by the same deadline. Margot suggested the final report include a milestone action plan and recommendations for adjustments for future year milestones. The following are discussion points regarding specific milestones.

Milestone R2-1 was discussed in relation to the difference between development of protocols for and initiation of monitoring and research. The need for monitoring and research during the Cooperative Agreement (CA) was also discussed. It was concluded that pilot studies may be needed to test monitoring protocols and that some research may be necessary to adequately develop monitoring protocols. It is anticipated that most monitoring and research will occur as a part of the program.

Margot Zallen suggested that the Land Committee Charter should be considered a part of Milestone L1-1. Margot also pointed out that the CA agreement calls for identification of methods for mitigating adverse impacts to third parties related to protection of land (L4-1 and L2-2) in Year 3 (L2-3); however, methods will need to be selected as early as the end of Year 2 so they can be analyzed in the Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS). This means that the schedule for identification of third-party impacts should be accelerated.

Margot Zallen reminded the states that milestones to mitigate future depletions must be completed and made available to the EIS team for preparation of the PEIS. Jim Cook indicated that Nebraska is very close to being done with options but may not be finished until the end of the CA. He indicated that whatever information is available at the time the EIS team needs it will be provided.

Mary Jane Graham pointed out that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service developed a tracking system for depletions pursuant to biological opinions. Tracking will be maintained by the Nebraska US Fish and Wildlife Service Office.

Don Krause suggested the report contain a summary of Committee finances and expenditures. The Governance Committee will take action on recommended adjustments to milestones at the September 2 meeting.

Ralph suggested a small group work with Dale and the EIS Team to review milestones necessary for use in EIS process. Chairs of subcommittees are to identify someone for this activity.

Reimbursement Policy - The draft policy was discussed. Several questions were directed at who qualified. The Governance Committee decided to go with the proposed policy (attached) for a pilot period of six months (or $6,000) funded from Dale's budget. Dale will proceed with payments beginning August 1, and the Executive Director's budget will be adjusted to cover these additional expenditures at a later date.

Finance - The Governance Committee decided to reconvene the group that selected the Executive Director to work on committee finance issues. The Finance Working Group will include Mike Besson (Chair), Doug Robotham, Dayle Williamson, Larry Todd, Paul Currier, Brian Barrels, and Dale Strickland. The group will develop recommendations to submit to the Governance Committee for: 1) streamlining the committee's financial processes; 2) identifying and dealing with cost/shares for committee expenditures; 3) a process for prioritizing milestone funding needs; and, 4) a process for crediting of contributions.

Invited Speakers at the September Governance Committee Meeting - Bob Fenemore, USEPA, will be invited to make a 20 minute presentation on EPA's Community Based Environmental Protection Initiative at the Cheyenne meeting on September 2. Dr. Robert Young or Dr. Marshall Frazier will also be invited to present a 20 minute discussion on their recently funded project "Meeting Time-Dependent Instream Flow Requirements in a Fully Appropriated Multi-State River Basin".

Water Committee

John Lawson reported that Boyle Engineering is under contract. While the contract is two months behind schedule, Boyle completed a draft memorandum on assumptions and methods to be used in the Water Conservation/Water Supply Study. Boyle has asked for comments on the memo from the Water Committee by August 31. Boyle's next big task is to prepare a long list of alternatives to be presented to the Water Committee at a workshop on August 11. Hydrologically connected ground water will be discussed on August 12. Boyle is also determining the mapping resources available for the study.

The W14-1 Subgroup of the Water Committee is working on providing information critical to the study. The Subgroup met on July 21 and 22 and will meet again in North Platte, Nebraska on July 31. The Water Committee's goal is to have information for the first three bullets under Milestone W14-1 to Boyle no later than September 30.

The first bullet deals with hydrologic baseline and is complete, but the information needs refinement. The second bullet deals with lag/loss factors and should be complete by approximately September 1 and ready for presentation to the Governance Committee by September 2. Boyle will identify methods for completing the third bullet, definition of hydrologically connected groundwater, and this will be the primary topic for the August 12 meeting. The fourth bullet is dependent on the completion of the Boyle study. Finally, the fifth bullet is dependent on information from the states and Boyle.

The Water Committee has selected the 1975 - 1994 hydrologic period for Boyle to use for screening alternatives. This includes wet and dry periods but is short enough to be practical. The Water Committee may recommend a different time period for use in evaluating alternatives to the implementation plan and for impact evaluation. The committee is working on a report explaining the basis for the selection of the time period for the water conservation/water supply study. The report will be sent to the Executive Director for distribution to the Governance Committee.

Peer review - The Water Committee will provide comments on the draft Peer Review Guidelines by July 31.

Land Committee

Jim Lundgren provided the committee with a copy of minutes from the Land Committee Meeting held July 15 in Kearney, Nebraska.

I&E - Paul Tebble and Jim Lundgren are working on a newsletter for local landowners. The newsletter will be reviewed by the Outreach Committee before distribution. The Land Committee will ask to review NEPA products for confusing language before they are circulated to local Nebraska communities and landowners. Larry Todd cautioned that review of NEPA materials must recognize legal constraints.

Mapping - Larry Wells proposed a GIS manual be developed to coordinate mapping efforts taking place among Cooperative Agreement participants. He received support for this suggestion from the Land Committee.

Third Party Impacts - Roger Bauer and Dick Pearce proposed a meeting with local landowners to refine the scope for Land Committee studies. The Subcommittee is working with the Executive Director and the Third Party Impacts Working Group formed by the Governance Committee to develop a scope for review at the meeting. Jim Lundgren is concerned about the availability of a budget for the Land Committee's third party impact analysis. Regarding funding of the Land Committee's study, Larry Todd pointed out that we must address funding issues and who shares the cost. Ralph suggested this issue be left to the Finance Working Group.

A draft proposal for the Land Committee's study is being circulated to the Third Party Impacts Working group. The most important issues are the identification of a source for funding the study and allocation of costs to the states and DOI.

Land Ownership - The subcommittee is working on a structure for a land ownership entity. The are researching Nebraska law to determine legal constraints on such an entity.

Land Committee Charter - The charter has been redrafted by the Governance Committee Task Force and presented to the Land Committee. Additional comments were given to Dale who made changes. The Task Force met this morning and had three basic questions: 1) Did the Cooperative Agreement establish the Land Committee and its roles and responsibilities through milestones? 2) Are milestones subject to interpretation and adjustment? 3) and, What is the relationship between the EIS and Land Committee requirements regarding third party impacts?

Ralph Morgenweck indicated the original negotiations did not provide detailed roles and responsibilities for the Land Committee. It was envisioned that the Governance Committee would provide guidance to the Land Committee. Doug Robotham and Jim Cook agreed. Mary Jane Graham indicated that the milestones were intended as a broad guidance from which detailed tasks were to be developed. Jim Lundgren suggested it would help to see other committee charters. Ralph clarified that he felt all committees should prepare a charter. Mary Jane Graham noted that charters should reflect what is being done under the CA not under the program. Margot pointed out that some milestones are not really applicable. For example, L1-1 relates to land acquisition during the CA, though no additional lands will be acquired prior to Program implementation. The Charter will be redrafted and go to the Land Committee for further comment, then to the task force and finally to the Governance Committee for approval in September.

Margot explained that in order for the Governance Committee to have a third impact mitigation component of the Proposed Program included in the Draft EIS, the Land Committee needs to complete its work in Year 2 not Year 3. She discussed the relationship of the Land Committee and the EIS Team's third party impacts analyses, where they had similar responsibilities and should work together, and where they had separate roles and should work independently. Data collection, analysis, and development of alternative proposals can be done jointly; modification of proposals and a recommendation to the Governance Committee for their inclusion in the Proposed Program is the responsibility of the Land Committee; determining the proposal for the Proposed Program is the Governance Committee's responsibility; including such proposal in the Proposed Program EIS analysis and choosing proposals for inclusion in EIS alternatives other than the Proposed Program alternative is the responsibility of the EIS Team. The diagram she used to describe this process is attached to these minutes.

Budget - Jim Lundgren noted that lots of unrecognized costs were identified by the Center for Natural Lands Management presentation and he is still working on the budget.

Habitat Criteria - Don Batie received Comments from the Fish and Wildlife Service, Wyoming, Colorado, Nebraska, and the Executive Director. It is clear from the comments that the Governance Committee considers the 10,000 acres a firm acquisition target for the first increment of the Program, so the Land Committee is striking the sentence in the criteria that recommends points and not acres. Don encouraged reconsideration of using a point system as originally proposed for acquisitions after the first increment of the Program. Crediting is an issue and will be considered by the Finance Working Group. Don asked for the Governance Committee to indicate if criteria are headed in the right direction.

Cottonwood Ranch was used as a pilot to test the criteria. The scoring sheet needs to be reworked. The habitat category, riparian forest, will be added. Riparian forests may be excellent wildlife habitat for species other than endangered species and will be classed as Category 3. The pilot test found that 750 acres were classed as category 2, wet meadow or restored wetland, 360 acres were classed as category 2, roosting habitat, 390 acres were classed as category 3, grasslands, 50 acres were classed as non-useable (0 points), and 1,150 acres were classed as riparian forest. Finally, the ranch received 2,081 points for the 2,650 acres.

Cottonwood Ranch is typical of land west of Kearney. Most lands will require considerable work to make them valuable for endangered species. Don feels there is probably not a lot of Category 1 habitat available for purchase. The committee is redrafting criteria and will meet August 3. Ralph asked the committee to develop a schedule for completion of the criteria. Don will advise the Executive Director on a schedule for completion.

Technical Committee

Jay Maher reported that the committee met Monday morning in Lincoln, Nebraska. The committee reviewed Nebraska Game and Parks Commissions's Crane habitat models. It is possible these models will provide assistance to the Land Committee in the evaluation of the value of habitat for cranes.

Peer Review - Comments were received late, so the guidelines will not be ready until the September meeting. Two outstanding issues are 1) the role of the Governance Committee in peer review and 2) the determination of what should be peer reviewed. Paul Currier doesn't believe peer review can occur if reviewers are from organizations participating in the Cooperative Agreement. Dale emphasized the need for a Plan for Peer Review.

Workshops - Jay presented a proposal for facilitated workshops to aid the committee in completing Year 1 milestones. Participating agencies will identify potential facilities from within the agencies and look for a possible funding. Ralph committed to work within the Fish and Wildlife Service to find a facilitator and some funding.

Charter - The Committee will provide a draft at the October meeting.

Outreach Committee

Jim Cook circulated a draft Outreach Plan. He requested comments on the plan by August 21. Jim indicated the plan is a dynamic document. The first three pages are principles of outreach and the last two pages are action items. The plan of work will be reviewed on a six month interval.

Website - Dale briefly reviewed the changes to the website completed by Lynn Holt. The website will receive a new domain name, probably http://www.platteriver.org.

Milestones

Nebraska - Dayle Williamson referred the committee to the Executive Director's draft report. Nebraska is working on a process to track future depletions. Nebraska will not have a plan before the EIS but will have options identified.

Wyoming - Mike Besson indicated that the state had previously supplied the Governance Committee with an approach to track surface water. A report will be circulated the first week of August with a list of surface water permits and new activities and a description of Wyoming's approach to tracking ground water permits.

Margot asked for a detail for future depletion mitigation for the EIS. Mike indicated that Wyoming might get a contractor to develop an approach similar to that proposed by Colorado. He will report on actions taken at the September meeting. The approach may not be done on the EIS schedule. Margot indicated that lack of detail could force the DOI to guess about what states might do. Both Wyoming and Nebraska are in the early stages of development of mitigation options.

Colorado - No change. Colorado is working on answering Water Committee questions regarding the proposed accretion/depletion tool. The Water Committee will take up the Aassumptions@ milestone in September. Colorado is selecting options for the North Platte River and requested a six month extension on this milestone. Doug indicated the delay is due to haying season and the effort should be completed in January.

Colorado's accounting procedures are incremental to population growth. The 97-98 figures will be analyzed in September by the State Demographer's Office. A report is likely in January.

Department of Interior - Larry Todd handed out a report.

Fish and Wildlife Service - Bob McCue indicated that identification of baseline (R1-1) and monitoring (R2-1) requires coordination with the Technical Committee. A revised schedule for Milestones R1-1 and R3-1 is included in the report. Since these two milestones do not carry over beyond Year 1, the Service is asking to extend the completion date to March 19, 1999. The Service also requested that the completion date for Milestone P3-1 be extended to April 30, 1999.

Bob introduced Sharon Whitmore as the individual selected to oversee the Environmental Account and other Platte River related activities for the Service.

Approximately 80 pallid sturgeon were released in mid-April in the Platte River, immediately below the mouth of Elkhorn River. Fifteen sturgeon were marked with radio or sonic tags, and as of early June, all tagged fish remained in the vicinity of the release site.

Brian Barrels asked if GIS maps being acquired by the FWS were suitable for the Land Committee. Larry Wells indicated they were suitable.

Executive Director Billing

Mike Besson handed out a report on the Executive Director payment status. Billing should now go to all three states with their portion of the bill identified.

Governance Committee Response to Accretion Depletions Assumptions in Colorado Future Depletion Plan

Discussion of this issue was delayed until September.

Letter From Tim Loewenstein

Dayle Williamson of Nebraska handed out a draft letter he proposed to send to Tim Loewenstein, responding to Loewenstein's request for a seat on the Governance Committee for C-PAC. Larry Todd stated that DOI's response to Loewenstein's letter is about ready to go. He suggested that since Loewenstein's letter was addressed to the EIS office, the timing of responses from DOI and the Governance Committee should be coordinated. Dayle agreed and asked for comments on his draft. Paul Tebble indicated he has offered to talk with the Buffalo County Commission several times regarding the CA with no success.

Public Comment

Larry Reynolds cautioned against changing or disregarding milestones. Mr. Reynolds indicated that he had less concern for modification of time tables, but the Governance Committee should use caution in all of their actions.

Future meeting

The dates and locations for the next three Governance Committee meetings were reviewed and include 1) September 2, Cheyenne, Wyoming, 2) October 7, Denver, Colorado, and 3) November 18, Nebraska.