State agrees to expand Pathfinder, pay $14.5M
JARED MILLER Star-Tribune capital bureau | Posted: Tuesday, November 28, 2006 12:00 am
CHEYENNE - Gov. Dave Freudenthal has "reluctantly" signed his name to the Platte River Recovery Implementation Program.
He joins Nebraska Gov. Dave Heineman and Colorado Gov. Bill Owens, who already embraced the controversial plan to accommodate threatened and endangered species in Nebraska and growing demand for water in the three states.
In Wyoming, the program calls for expansion of Pathfinder Reservoir southwest of Casper and a contribution of $14.5 million from the state. Some water users continue to oppose the deal.
The agreement allocates 35,000 acre feet space in the expanded Pathfinder Reservoir to downstream wildlife habitat in Nebraska, home to the federally protected whooping crane, piping plover, least tern and pallid sturgeon. It also guarantees 20,000 acre feet for lease to Wyoming cities and towns.
The alternative is potentially stricter and less predictable regulation of all Platte River water users under the federal Endangered Species Act.
Freudenthal, who was not governor when the water negotiations began a decade ago, said "there are no good choices" but that the recovery program is the "only hope."
"Signing the agreement to implement the program does not preclude the state from withdrawing at any point in the future if the representations and promises made by the other states and the federal government are not met," Freudenthal said in a news release.