Poplar River Bilateral Monitoring Committee 



Department of State 

 Washington, D.C., United States 



Governor's Office 

 State of Montana 

 Helena, Montana, United States 



Ladies and Gentlemen: 



Department of Foreign Affairs 

 and International Trade Canada 

 Ottawa, Ontario, Canada 



Saskatchewan Environment 

 Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada 



Herein is the 25th Annual Report of the Poplar River Bilateral Monitoring Committee. This report discusses the 

 Committee activities of 2005 and presents the Technical Monitoring Schedules for the year 2006. 



During 2005, the Poplar River Bilateral Monitoring Committee continued to fulfill the responsibilities assigned by the 

 governments under the Poplar River Cooperative Monitoring Agreement dated September 23, 1980. Through exchange 

 of Diplomatic Notes in March 1987, July 1992, July 1997, and March 2002, the Arrangement was extended. The 

 Monitoring Committee is currently extended to March 2007. 



The enclosed report summarizes current water-quality conditions and compares them to guidelines for specific 

 parameter values that were developed by the International Joint Commission under the 1977 Reference from Canada 

 and the United States. After evaluation of the monitoring information for 2005, the Committee finds that the measured 

 conditions meet the recommended objectives. 



Based on IJC recommendations, the United States was entitled to an on-demand release of 617 dam^ (500 acre-feet) 

 ft-om Cookson Reservoir in 2005. A volume of 678 dam' (550 acre-feet) was delivered to the United States between 

 May 1 and May 31, 2005. In addition, daily flows in 2005 met or exceeded the minimum flow recommended by the 

 IJC except for days (July 29; August 10, 23, 30, 31; September 4, 8, 13, 14) when daily flows fell below the 

 recommended minimum due to temporary damming of the stream by upstream beaver activity. 



During 2005, monitoring continued in accordance with Technical Monitoring Schedules outlined in the 2004 Annual 

 Report of the Poplar River Bilateral Monitoring Committee. 



Yours sincerely, 



Robert E. Davis 



Chairman, United States Section 



i<M R. Tubbs 

 lember. United States Section 



ChucK Bosgoec 

 Member, Canadian Section 



