DRAFT Minutes
Land Committee Meeting
December 14, 1998
Kirk's Restaurant
Lexington, Nebraska
NOTE: This document is a DRAFT, based on one person's notes of the meeting. The official meeting minutes may be different if corrections are made by the committee before approval. Final Minutes will be posted after approval at the next Land Committee Meeting.
Call to Order:
Vernon Nelson called the meeting to order at 7:05 p.m. Attendance was recorded on the attached sign-up sheet.
Minutes:
The November 16, 1998 meeting minutes were reviewed. Vernon Nelson indicated some minor corrections in the minutes based on comments from members. Carroll Sheldon asked that the minutes show the number of votes cast in votes he called for at the meeting. The minutes were approved as amended by Vernon Nelson.
Review and Explanations:
Vernon Nelson explained why he and Rodell Jameson are involved in the Cooperative Agreement (CA). Nelson stated their concern about their individual farm's ground and irrigation water.
Dale Strickland stated that an Endangered Species Act exists today and conflicts are still seen between water and the four endangered species. He pointed out that while the states disagreed with target flows, they did agree with an incremental approach to evaluate target flows. He pointed out that a major goal of the CA is reducing water shortages during certain low flow periods and to protect wet meadow habitat in central Platte Valley. Further discussion was held on the amount of water in the Platte River. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service agreed to make a presentation at the February meeting in Grand Island on how target flows were developed. The Service indicated that all figures are subject to Peer Review.
Dale Strickland noted that the Governance Committee (GC) is the governing body and the Land Committee falls under the GC. The GC depends on information provided by the committees working on land, water, and technical issues related to the CA.
Committee Reports:
Governance Committee - Dale provided an information sheet on the most recent GC meeting including schedules and reports from committees. GC meetings rotate among locations in Nebraska, Wyoming, and Colorado. Upcoming meetings include January 6, 1999, in Cheyenne, Wyoming, February 10, 1999, in Denver, Colorado and mid-March in Nebraska.
Water Committee - A consultant has completed a long list of possible alternatives for providing 60,000 acre-feet (AF) of water to help meet a Proposed Program's first increment objective of 130,000 to 150,000 AF shortage reductions in the central Platte River. The list will be paired down using criteria the consultant has developed. The criteria are based on legal, financial, and technical constraints.
The GC has asked a working group to evaluate in relation to the proposed Program the problem of flooding of basements along the Platte River in Nebraska. The working group will give a report to the GC in January.
A discussion was held on the 417,000 AF number often reported as an objective of the proposed Program. Dale Strickland stated that the Service developed the target flows through a process that included peer review. The Service has agreed to evaluate the target flows through the incremental approach being developed by the GC. He explained that only the first increment is being defined in the proposed Program. The need for additional increments will be evaluated during the first increment. He explained that the CA does not include 417,000 AF as a goal and that without a program the Service would continue to use 417,000 AF as the target for shortage reductions in the central Platte for endangered species.
Technical Committee - The Technical Committee has completed a draft budget, work schedule, and is working on goals and objectives for monitoring and research protocols. The committee will present a draft charter to the GC in February 1999.
Finance Committee - The Bureau of Reclamation is funding clerical support for the LC. The support will be provided by shared staff at the Kearney Area Community Foundation in Kearney, Nebraska
Information and Education Committee Report - Paul Tebble reported that his committee has not formally met. He is working with the state of Nebraska to provide a full-time outreach person in central Nebraska. Money to fund this position may be received from the state legislature. Information about GC and LC activities will be made available at the Kearney office and on the GC web site at "www.platteriver.org."
Mapping Committee - Larry Wells, farmer/rancher from Elm Creek, Nebraska voiced the need for farmers and irrigators to become involved with the program. He stated that the proposed Program's use of adaptive resource management means that decisions are not 'set in stone'. He stated that he is working on maps along with the U.S. Geological Survey and the EIS Team. Maps can be updated instantly so history is not lost. The Environmental Impact Study is helping to fund eight target survey sites from Lexington to Chapman, Nebraska which will be used to refine maps.
Habitat and Criteria Committee - Don Batie reported that his committee recently met on December 9, 1998. He indicated the working document continues change in regard to habitat classification. He also reported that the criteria contain categories of land related to their need for restoration. The categories include Category 1- no restoration needed; Category 2- some restoration needed; and, Category 3 - substantial amount of restoration needed. Discussion was held on how to score and determine the cost for restoration (estimated at approximately $1,000 - $1,200 per acre). The proposed Program has for the Lexington to Chapman, Nebraska target area, a long-term goal of 29,000 acres and a first increment goal of 10,000 acres.
Restoration will be kept to a minimum on Program lands and will be directed toward maintaining and improving wet meadows or roost habitat. The goal will be to acquire habitat for endangered species.
Don Batie stated the subcommittee is in need of help in collecting and compiling survey questionnaires that he is planning to distribute to organizations involved with land/water management practices. He also proposing a workshop in the fall of 1999 to identify management practices for least terns, piping plovers, and whooping cranes. A full report will be given to the LC following the seminar/workshop.
Third Party Impact Sub-Committee - Roger Bauer and Dick Pierce, Co-Chairs of the sub-committee, indicated that a consultant would soon be hired to help the subcommittee identify and evaluate potential third party impacts of the program, including changes in the tax base. It was pointed out that the proposed Program would avoid shifting taxes to third parties (landowners, etc). Further discussion was held on the concern of how this program may affect the tax structure in Dawson County. There was consensus from the LC that the GC should maintain a strong stance that the proposed Program avoids shifting tax burdens to adjacent landowners.
Land Entity Committee Report - Paul Matson provided a discussion outline for a proposed workshop and minutes (attached) from the last meeting. Matson requested input from the LC and/or members of the CA on several items including the makeup of the governing body of the entity and responses from states and the federal government on what restrictions exist influencing the transfer of money to the entity. Information will be obtained and mailed. Matson indicated that there was not consensus on the proposed outline. Minority opinions are noted in the minutes of the meeting.
Further discussion was held on the flooding problem along the Platte River in central Nebraska. It was pointed out that the GC has a working group looking at this issue. It was also pointed out that the GC would need to understand the relationship of groundwater to river flows before developing a proposed Program and that the problem was primarily a Water Management Committee issue.
It was proposed that a new sub-committee of the Land Committee be created for the express purpose of assessing the flooding problem. The sub-committee would be called the Groundwater Flooding Sub-Committee and Grand Island farmer Ned Meier, who is also an engineer, was nominated to chair this new sub-committee and it was further propose that he be afforded the right to name a co-chair to assist him. A large majority of the LC members present approved of the motion while a relatively small minority opposed the motion. The LC Co-chairs agreed to recommend to the GC that this subcommittee be formed with Ned Meier as co-chair and report at the next meeting held.
Upcoming Land Committee Meetings in Nebraska:
January 18, 1999, 7 p.m., Kearney, Nebraska, at the Regency Inn.
February 15, 1999, 7 p.m., Grand Island, Nebraska. Location to be determined.
March 15, 1999, 7 p.m., Lexington, Nebraska. Location to be determined.
Adjournment:
The Co-chairs adjourned the meeting at 10:00 p.m.
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