1.0 INTRODUCTION 



The Poplar River Bilateral Monitoring Committee was authorized for an initial period of 

 five years by the Governments of Canada and the United States under the Poplar River 

 Cooperative Monitoring Arrangement dated September 23, 1980. A copy of the 

 Arrangement is attached to this report as Annex 1 . On March 12, 1987, the Arrangement 

 was extended by the Governments for four years to March 1991 . The Arrangement was 

 further extended for another five years to March 1996, following a request from the 

 Committee in 1991. A more detailed account of the historical background of the 

 Monitoring Arrangement is contained in the 1990 Annual Report of the Poplar River 

 Bilateral Monitoring Committee. 



The Committee is composed of representatives of the Government of the United States 

 of America, the State of Montana, and the Government of Canada and the Province of 

 Saskatchewan. In addition to the representatives of Governments, two ex-officio 

 members who are local representatives of the State of Montana and Province of 

 Saskatchewan participate in the activities of the Committee. 



