Platte River Recovery and Implementation Program
The Platte River Recovery and Implementation Program (PRRIP), developed by agreements with Nebraska, Colorado and Wyoming and the U.S. Department of Interior is designed to develop a recovery program for endangered species in a critical habitat area on the North Platte River between Lexington and Grand Island. The three states are being asked to adopt a basin-wide, long-term approach to address the habitat needs of these species, including the whooping crane, interior least tern, piping plover and pallid sturgeon.
At the same time, the partnership must decide how to enable existing and new water uses in the basin to proceed without additional action under the Endangered Species Act.
Each state is being asked to offset or mitigate the impact on the river of all new consumptive uses of water that would adversely affect the endangered species. "New uses" of water include any irrigation, municipal or industrial surface or groundwater use developed after July 1, 1997.
The South Platte NRD is one of several co-sponsors of a cooperative hydrology study of the Platte River and its basin in Nebraska, including the Lodgepole Creek Valley and South Platte River Valley in Cheyenne, Deuel and Kimball counties. The goal of the study is to investigate the relationship between surface water and groundwater, and how close to the river or stream that a well can be drilled without affecting the surface water flow.
For more information on the Platte River Recovery and Implementation Program, go to http://www.platteriverprogram.org/
Platte Basin Habitat Enhancement Project
The South Platte NRD is one of a number of Platte Basin natural resources district to help meet PRRIP requirements by reducing depletions to the Platte River. The Platte
Basin Habitat Enhancement Project (PBHEP) will enable the Nebraska Department of Natural Resources, the Nebraska Game & Parks Commission and the Platte Basin Natural Resources Districts (NRDs) to help implement portions of the Nebraska Natural Legacy Project in the Platte River Basin from Colorado and Wyoming state lines to Columbus, Nebraska.
The Legacy Program has designated the expansion of grassland habitats along the length of the North Platte River, the
South Platte River and the Platte River as a priority in its state conservation strategy. The PBHEP will purchase irrigation
water rights on a willing seller basis and convert the land irrigated by the right to either native habitat or dryland
farming. This will enhance the availability of native grasslands and instream flows for fish and wildlife and
increase the resilience and sustainability of both agricultural and native habitats in the Platte Basin ecosystem.
By enhancing native habitats in the Platte Basin, this project will increase the sustainability of both our native and agricultural ecosystems, provide additional hunting, fishing and recreational opportunities, and diversify the income base of people in the Platte Basin and the State of Nebraska.