37-807. Commission; establish conservation programs; agreements authorized; Governor and state agencies; duties; public meeting; when required.

(1) The commission shall establish such programs, including acquisition of land or aquatic habitat or interests therein, as are necessary for the conservation of nongame, threatened, or endangered species of wildlife or wild plants. Acquisition for the purposes of this subsection shall not include the power to obtain by eminent domain.

(2) In carrying out programs authorized by this section, the commission shall consult with other states having a common interest in particular species of nongame, endangered, or threatened species of wildlife or wild plants and may enter into agreements with federal agencies, other states, political subdivisions of this state, or private persons with respect to programs designed to conserve such species including, when appropriate, agreements for administration and management of any area established under this section or utilized for conservation of such species.

(3) The Governor shall review other programs administered by him or her and utilize such programs in furtherance of the purposes of the Nongame and Endangered Species Conservation Act. All other state agencies shall, in consultation with and with the assistance of the commission, utilize their authorities in furtherance of the purposes of the act by carrying out programs for the conservation of endangered species and threatened species listed pursuant to section 37-806 and by taking such action necessary to insure that actions authorized, funded, or carried out by them do not jeopardize the continued existence of such endangered or threatened species or result in the destruction or modification of habitat of such species which is determined by the commission to be critical. For purposes of this subsection, state agency means any department, agency, board, bureau, or commission of the state or any corporation whose primary function is to act as, and while acting as, an instrumentality or agency of the state, except that state agency shall not include a natural resources district or any other political subdivision.

(4) The commission shall provide notice and hold a public meeting prior to the implementation of conservation programs designed to reestablish threatened, endangered, or extirpated species of wildlife or wild plants through the release of animals or plants to the wild. The purpose of holding such a public meeting shall be to inform the public of programs requiring the release to the wild of such wildlife or wild plants and to solicit public input and opinion. The commission shall set a date and time for the public meeting to be held at a site convenient to the proposed release area and shall publish a notice of such meeting in a legal newspaper published in or of general circulation in the county or counties where the proposed release is to take place. The notice shall be published at least twenty days prior to the meeting and shall set forth the purpose, date, time, and place of the meeting.

Source:Laws 1975, LB 145, § 6; Laws 1984, LB 1106, § 22; Laws 1987, LB 150, § 3; Laws 1991, LB 772, § 3; R.S.1943, (1993), § 37-435; Laws 1998, LB 922, § 357.

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