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Habitat restoration, Population enhancement, Research

Platte River Recovery Implementation Program

States

Colorado, Nebraska, Wyoming

Overview

Water-related projects that need a federal authorization, funding, or are carried out by a federal agency require consultation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) under the Endangered Species Act (ESA).  Federal agencies are required by Section 7 Section 7
Section 7 Consultation The Endangered Species Act (ESA) directs all Federal agencies to work to conserve endangered and threatened species and to use their authorities to further the purposes of the Act. Section 7 of the Act, called "Interagency Cooperation," is the mechanism by which Federal agencies ensure the actions they take, including those they fund or authorize, do not jeopardize the existence of any listed species.

Learn more about Section 7 (a)(2) of the ESA to ensure that those actions are not likely to jeopardize listed species or adversely modify their designated critical habitat. Thus, water-related activities requiring, for example, a Section 404 Clean Water Act permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, a special use permit issued by the U.S. Forest Service, or federal funding assistance are subject to Section 7 of the ESA.

The FWS considers the Platte River and its associated wetland habitats to be resources of national and international importance.  Due to the cumulative effect of many water depletion projects in the Platte River basin, the Service considers any depletion of flows (direct or indirect) from the Platte River system to be significant.  Individual water projects undergoing ESA consultation are required to offset the effects of these depletions on the listed species.  In the past this has involved project-specific offsetting measures.  With the in place, streamlined procedures are available for project proponents to seek ESA coverage under the Program umbrella.

What the Program Does

The Program allows existing and most or all new water uses and water-development activities in the Platte River basin in Colorado, Wyoming, and Nebraska above the Loup River confluence to operate in regulatory compliance with the ESA for the four Platte "target species" in Nebraska (the whooping crane, the interior least tern, the northern Great Plains population of the piping plover, and the pallid sturgeon).  This is made possible by the offsetting measures being implemented during the first increment of the Program, including measures which will substantially reduce shortages to target flows in the central Platte River, and which will obtain and restore habitat for the target species.

By agreeing to be covered by the Program, proponents of water-related projects subject to Section 7 ESA consultation can ensure compliance relative to the Platte target species, can avoid the potential for prohibited “take� of these species under ESA Section 9, and can take advantage of pre-defined procedures and expectations going into the ESA consultation process.

How Projects Can Seek ESA Coverage Under the Program

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has developed “guidance documentsâ€� describing the process of seeking ESA coverage in each state.   Links to these and other relevant materials and Web sites are provided below.  Note that for all projects in the basin, a de minimis depletions threshold has been established.  Below this threshold, consultation with the Service for potential depletive impacts to these species is not required.

More information about the Platte River Recovery Implementation Program may be found at