I. Purpose

Section VII.A of the Organizational Structure for the Platte River Recovery Implementation Program (Program) calls for the Governance Committee to establish a standing Land Advisory Committee (LAC) to provide advice on Program activities to accomplish the purposes specified in this charter, as it may be amended by the Governance Committee.

Ultimate responsibility for implementing the Program’s Land Plan lies with the Governance Committee, including approval of all acquisitions, management plans, budgets and expenditures. A number of activities will be carried out by the LAC to assist in the Land Plan’s implementation (as described in Section IV below), generally coordinated or in collaboration with the Program’s Executive Director (as described in Section III below). The LAC will also provide meaningful local input into decisions about operations of the land component, including making recommendations to the Governance Committee about how the Program can both be a “good neighbor” and effectively further the purposes of the Program.

II. Committee structure

A. The representation to the LAC is as follows:

1. One (1) representative of the State of Colorado
2. One (1) representative of the State of Nebraska
3. One (1) representative of the State of Wyoming
4. One (1) representative of the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation
5. One (1) representative of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
6. One (1) representative of the environmental Governance Committee representatives.
7. One (1) representative of the Central Nebraska Public Power and Irrigation District and the Nebraska Public Power District (the Districts).
8. Three (3) representatives of local Nebraskans.

B. For the representatives identified in items 1-6 above, Governance Committee representatives will appoint their respective representatives to the LAC and alternates to serve in the representative’s absence (e.g., State of Colorado Governance Committee member will appoint Colorado’s LAC member and alternate). At any time after the initial representativesare selected, the Governance Committee representatives may appoint replacement representatives or alternates.

C. For the representative identified in item 7 above, both Districts together will choose one representative and alternate, and may subsequently appoint a replacement representative or alternate at any time.

D. For the representatives identified in item 8 above, the three local Nebraska representatives, and alternates to serve in each respective representative’s absence, will be selected by the local Natural Resource Districts (NRDs) with one representative and alternate chosen by the Central Platte NRD, one representative and alternate chosen by the Tri-Basin NRD, and one representative and alternate chosen by both NRD’s to represent an area not already represented. Local Nebraska representatives will serve three-year terms that rotate so only one member is either renewed or replaced each year. Initial appointments will be for one, two, or three years to insure proper rotation, with the initial terms of appointment to be worked out by the two NRDs. The appropriate NRD or NRDs may appoint a replacement or alternate as needed to complete the term of a local representative or alternate who is unable or unwilling to do so.

E. The LAC shall select a Chairperson, Vice Chairperson, and Recording Secretary during the first meeting following the creation of the committee and each year thereafter.

F. The Program’s Executive Director shall maintain an official membership list and record the Chairperson, Vice Chairperson, and Recording Secretary designations.

G. Non-committee members may be requested by the LAC to serve on subgroups, workgroups, etc. However, non-committee members will not be included in final determination of consensus.

III. Coordination with the Governance Committee and Executive Director

In addition to carrying out assigned tasks, the LAC can raise an issue to the Governance Committee for its consideration and for potential action.

The Governance Committee will assign a Governance Committee representative to sponsor the LAC. This sponsorship will serve to provide the coordination, advice, and input from the LAC to the Governance Committee in an efficient and effective manner.

As described in the Organizational Structure document, the LAC is not supervised or directed by the Program’s Executive Director, nor does the LAC supervise or give direction to the Executive Director. As a practical matter, the two entities must closelycooperate and coordinate their activities because the Program’s Executive Director will implement many aspects of the Land Plan that the LAC is to review to offer comments and advice. In carrying out its responsibilities, the LAC may work with the Executive Director as follows:

A. The LAC may request the Executive Director to arrange facilities, maintain documentation of LAC meetings and agendas, and provide other administrative assistance.

B. The LAC may work directly with the Executive Director to provide advice on land evaluations or draft plans or budgets early in the development process, to assure meaningful and timely opportunities for the Executive Director to make adjustments. This cooperation is in addition to the LAC’s recommendations and/or comments to the Governance Committee at a later stage.

C. Because the Executive Director also provides administrative support to the Governance Committee, when the LAC prepares advice, recommendations and comments for the Governance Committee, the LAC will work with the Executive Director on meeting the Governance Committee’s schedule, coordinating with other committees, scheduling time on the agenda, arranging for distribution of materials, etc.

D. The LAC may request the Executive Director to facilitate the development of consensus.

E. The LAC may request Program staff assistance for specific tasks from the Executive Director, who may provide such assistance or refer the request to the Governance Committee.

F. When the Governance Committee assigns a task to the LAC, the LAC should anticipate that the Executive Director will provide information about the task and schedule to the LAC. This may include providing LAC assistance in a task assigned to the Executive Director.

IV. Committee responsibilities

Specific LAC functions and responsibilities are:

A. Working through the Executive Director using the evaluation process and Worksheet in the Land Plan, evaluating potential acquisitions and providing recommendations and advice to the Governance Committee regarding whether to pursue an acquisition;

B. If approached by landowners regarding a potential acquisition, passing the information on to the Executive Director for evaluation, and, if requested by the Executive Director, working with the Executive Director in any further discussions with the landowner;

C. If requested by the Governance Committee and/or Executive Director, working with the Executive Director in approaching a landowner and/or assisting in negotiating a potential acquisition the Governance Committee has decided to pursue;

D. Reviewing negotiated potential acquisitions and recommending acquisition actions to the Governance Committee for approval;

E. Reviewing and providing advice to the Executive Director during the Executive Director’s development of parcel-specific land management plans and identification of monitoring, research and data collection needs related to those parcels of land;

F. Providing comments and/or recommendations to the Governance Committee regarding adoption of each parcel-specific management plan, including management plans provided by Program sponsors;

G. If requested by the Governance Committee, providing advice to the Executive Director regarding any issues arising during implementation of the Program’s land management plans;

H. Reviewing and providing comments and/or recommendations on periodic progress and status reports by land management contractors or Sponsors for consideration by the Governance Committee along with the progress and status reports;

I. Reviewing the results of management and monitoring of Program lands, peer review and other activities related to the Land Plan, and, if warranted, providing comments and/or recommendations (potentially in coordination with the Technical Advisory Committee, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, or other committees as appropriate) regarding Governance Committee revisions to management plans consistent with the Adaptive Management Plan;

J. Providing advice to the Executive Director in the development of budgets for Land Plan activities, and subsequently providing comments and/or recommendations to the Governance Committee regarding the adoption of proposed land-related budgets;

K. Reviewing and providing comments to the Executive Director and/or the Governance Committee on the Executive Director’s records and status reports regarding land-related Program milestones;

L. Participating in Program outreach efforts to neighbors, stakeholders and the community regarding the Program’s plans and practices on Program lands;

M. Providing an opportunity for local input and questions as recommendations are being formulated, as approved plans are implemented, or as local concerns arise, and raising issues to the Governance Committee as appropriate;

N. If the Program is terminated in a way that the Governance Committee and LAC remain active, monitoring implementation of Governance Committee approved “exit” activities if requested to do so by the Governance Committee.

V. Committee procedures

A. The LAC will meet as needed to accomplish the responsibilities outlined in Section IV of this charter and the Program.

B. LAC meetings will be open to the public except when discussing confidential matters, as the LAC deems necessary. Meetings attended by interested members of the public will include an open comment period.

C. Agendas, meeting minutes, reports, and other information will be furnished to LAC members prior to scheduled meetings and to participating nonmembers and the public upon request. Agendas, meeting minutes, reports, and other information related to confidential land acquisition or personnel or contract matters will be made available to only LAC representatives and their designated alternates.

D. A quorum shall be required for the LAC to conduct business. A quorum shall be present if the meeting is attended by the representatives of each of the three states, a representative of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and by three other members or alternates, at least one of which shall be a local Nebraska representative.

E. The decisions of the committee, including those regarding recommendations to the Governance Committee, must be by consensus during a meeting in which a quorum is present. Any issue that cannot be resolved with consensus agreement shall be elevated to the Governance Committee. The LAC will present all viewpoints on such unresolved issues to the Governance Committee without identifying majority or minority views.

F. The LAC may elect to use subcommittees to carry out some of its tasks under the Land Plan.

G. LAC may rotate the location of meetings among the three states and may use teleconferencing or other alternatives to attending meetings.

H. Local Nebraska representatives to the LAC who do not have a duty to participate in LAC activities as part of their employment or under a contract with an NRD may request reimbursement of actual expenses and per diem associated with attending LAC meetings or other activities as directed by the LAC or Governance Committee. The Finance Committee will develop the procedure for payment of reimbursement requests.

The organizational structure of the Program is presented in Attachment 6 to the Program Document (see page 713).