Final Minutes
Land Committee Meeting

CALL TO ORDER

Meeting was called to order by Vernon Nelson. It was requested that reports be limited to five minutes.

MINUTES OF THE PREVIOUS MEETING

 Carroll Sheldon requested several corrections to the November 16, 1998 Land Committee minutes:

-On page 3 under Land Committee charter it is Dan Ohlman, a farmer from Shelton, should be corrected and the records shown as a vote on this motion to deny government employees out of this area the right to vote and that passed with a vote of 242-8

-A motion was made to not form a Land Charter for the Land Committee and the vote was 240-10 on this motion

-On the 4th page Dale Strickland was asked to report back to the Land Committee on the incident north of the Alda interchange where someone apparently was working in a field without permission. It was charged that the individual was trying to find an endangered species and this was being done on private land without the owners permission. Lexington minutes were incomplete and sign-up incomplete.

 Mr. Sheldon's recommendations were noted. However, it was pointed out that there were several votes taken and no accurate vote count was made. Nelson reminded everyone that the Governance Committee wants the Land Committee to operate by consensus to avoid potential problems concerning a Land Charter. Votes are useful to indicate how heavily majority and minority opinions are weighted but exact counts are unnecessary. The Governance Committee will also not allow individuals or groups to be discriminated against in any committees they sanction. Sheldon stated that the actual votes (number) be recorded.

COMMITTEE REPORTS

Governance Committee:

Dale Strickland reported:

-adopted budget for operations needed to accomplish milestones in the cooperative agreement, there are funds available for out of pocket expenses for committee chairs and subcommittee chairs in accord with the Governance Committee policy on reimbursements.

-a disbursement policy was established; future funding proposals will go through the Finance Committee before being presented to the Governance Committee for approval.

-groundwater flooding problems; the water committee formed a group of local hydrologists to study the issue, Ned Meier was appointed a member of this new group.

-the Executive Director will spend more time indentifying "hot button" issues for Governance Committee members related to the Land Committee.

-Vernon Nelson and Rhodell Jameson will communicate concerning the tax issue. This will be further discussed at the Governance Committee meeting in Denver on February 10.

 Water Committee:

No report. Water level reports were requested by Sheldon.

 Technical Committee:

No report.

SUB-COMMITTEE REPORTS

Mapping Subcommittee:

Mark Czaplewski, reporting for Larry Wells, noted that work continues to negotiate with the federal participants, the locations and use of eight proposed study sites along the central Platte River. A Subcommittee meeting is planned prior to the next Land Committee meeting, details will be forthcoming.

 Habitat Criteria Subcommittee:

Mark Czaplewski, reporting for Don Batie, noted the highlights of the Subcommittee's January 7 meeting in Kearney. The Subcommittee focused on tasks related to evaluation of past/ongoing habitat management practices. A survey form has been developed and will soon be distributed to a wide variety of organizations working on the Platte. The Subcommittee is pursuing contracting for temporary assistance to compile and evaluate the survey responses, conduct a literature review and coordinate a technical meeting in order to develop recommendations relating to habitat management methods. Costs associated with these tasks were anticipated in proposed Land Committee budgets. A proposal is being drafted to request expenditure of funds necessary for hiring the contractor, for presentation to the Governance Committee. The next Subcommittee meeting is planned for February 4/11:00 a.m., at NPPD's offices in Kearney.

 Third Party Impacts:

Roger Bauer from Lexington gave report. The Governance Committee is addressing the tax problem. Bauer noted that the Co-Chair is Dick Pierce from Buffalo County and they will be getting a plan together for items that need to be discussed.

 Land Entity:

Paul Mattson presented the budget and items at the meeting in Cheyenne, WY. Mattson noted that a discussion outline had been handed out at the last meeting.

 Information, Education and Outreach Committee:

Paul Tebble gave the report. Tebble distributed handouts which will provide information on frequently asked questions and answers by Nebraska landowners and water users. Tebble asked that committee members read the Q and A's and let him know, at the meeting or by mail or phone after the meeting, if the answers are understandable. Tebble also informed everyone that his employees never go on land without permission.

REVIEW OF LAND COMMITTEE TIMELINES AND SCHEDULE

Dale Strickland indicated that the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) team had provided a draft memo indicating the level of detail the EIS needs on Land Milestones. The EIS needs Land Committee products by August, 1999, and with the reduced detail indicated by the EIS team the Land Committee should be able to meet this schedule. Strickland reminded the committee that the EIS is being prepared to evaluate the proposed Program being developed by the three states and the Department of Interior. The Land Committee is working on the land component of the proposed Program.

BUDGET

The budget was covered in the GC Report.

UPCOMING EVENTS/MISCELLANEOUS

Governance Committee, February 10, Lakewood (Denver), Colorado, at U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Building

Gary Lingel/U N Coop Extension/Symposium will be held on February 23-24 on the Platte River Eco Basin/Kearney, NE

Carroll Sheldon requested a detailed report on the spending of the Governance Committee. Dale Strickland indicated that financial reports that are developed for the Governance Committee are public information.

 Vernon Nelson requested that individuals with e-mail addresses should include them, along with a current address, on a sheet that is being distributed at meetings . The current web site of the Land Committee is www.Platteriver.org

UPCOMING LAND COMMITTEE AND SUBCOMMITTEE MEETINGS, SCHEDULE, AND AGENDA

The next Land Committee meeting will be held on February 15, 1999/7:00 p.m./Grand Island Midtown Holiday Inn. The March meeting will be held March 15, 1999/7:00 p.m. at Kirk's in Lexington.

ADJOURN

The meeting was adjourned at 8:25 p.m.