Platte River Recovery Implementation

The Department of the Interior Bureau of Reclamation funds the Platte River Recovery Implementation Program (CFDA 15.544) through long-term cooperative agreements that provide Endangered Species Act compliance for the continued operation of water projects on the North Platte and South Platte Rivers, with the most recent award made September 17, 2024. No new proposals are accepted; all projects are funded through an existing long-term cooperative agreement with the Nebraska Community Foundation.

The program implements recovery plans for four target species—interior least tern, whooping crane, piping plover, and pallid sturgeon—while permitting historical water operations and streamlined permitting for new water-related projects in compliance with the Endangered Species Act. Funded activities include program administration, land plan implementation, land acquisition, water plan implementation (both acquisition and non-acquisition components), and adaptive management plan implementation. The program is a collaborative effort among the states of Colorado, Nebraska, and Wyoming, water users, and conservation groups. Operations deliver storage water for irrigation and municipal and industrial uses, generate hydropower, and provide recreational access to program lands in Nebraska.

The portfolio reflects sparse but substantial activity: five cooperative agreements totaling $126.2 million in federal obligations across fourteen years, with awards in 2012, 2016, 2017, 2020, and 2024. The Bureau of Reclamation is the sole funding agency. The most recent award to the Nebraska Community Foundation (R24AC00488, September 2024) obligated $59.7 million through December 31, 2029. The prior award (R20AC00100, June 2020) obligated $47.1 million. Total combined federal and non-federal obligations reached $156.2 million, indicating a non-federal cost-share of $30 million.

Eligibility encompasses irrigation and water districts, state and local entities, farmers and ranchers, agricultural producers, property owners, municipal and power users, and the general public. The program is authorized under Public Law 110-229, the Platte River Recovery Implementation Program Extension Act, and operates under the terms of a mandatory interstate cooperative agreement.