Transcript

Fassett: Collaboration is the only way to wrestle with Endangered Species issues

I would agree. Again, Wyoming is in so many different river basins -- we either have the luxury or the pain of different experiences. We have been through a couple of experiences with the Endangered Species Act -- one, on the upper Colorado River, and we are now working through a difficult collaborative process on the Platt River as well. My sense is that the only way you are going to wrestle with ESA issues per se, not so much the tribal matters but ESA, seems to be, everybody thinks that they have the trump card. But the point is nobody really has the trump card, and ultimately the state, the federal government, and the water users are all going to need to work together. In the case of the upper Colorado, and it sounds like in the upper Snake, there was some meeting of the minds about what needed to be done to try to advance the ball and I think that does seems to be the motive operandi, if you will, of how business is going to be done, at least in wrestling with ESA in those cases.

Back to Discussion page