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<br />011111;,,5 <br /> <br />Ziewitz, Sidle & Dinan: ,,\I{''jting Le""t Terns and Piping Plon'f5 <br /> <br />15 <br /> <br />tlangerctl California Ica~t tern (Sterna 11lllillarum hrownii) (USFWS 1980). <br />Coastal least terns nesl on artificial siles of dredged sand and gravel (Jernigan <br />1977. Buckley and "'lcCaffrey 1978. Chaney el al. 1978. Soots and Landin <br />1978, Jackson and Jackson 1985). Smith and Stucky (1988) outlined a proposal <br />for restoring habitat for leasllcms on the l\lississippi River by dredging sand to <br />foml new nesting sandbars. <br />The Platte River Whouping Crane Habitat Maintenance Trust has been <br />clearing islands of permanent w(xxly vegetation 10 restore habitat in the CenLfal <br />Platte for cranes anti other species of migratory birds (Lingle 1981. Currier <br />1984. Currier 1991). Least terns and piping plovers have nested on one island <br />cleared by the Trust. but only on portion~ of the island that had been washed <br />over by high flow~ following the clearing. Other portions of the island that were <br />not wa~hed over were rough and soon were covered by a thick growth of annual <br />vegetation. <br />To achieve the relatively smooth and clean substrate that least terns and pip- <br />ing plovers are known to use. and the elevation necessary to escape inundation <br />during the nesting season. we recommend dredging sand onto cleared islands Of <br />existing sandbars. Fig. 7 illustr.ues such an island constructed in 1990 between <br />Ald4l and WO(l() River. Ten p4lirs of least terns and four pairs of piping plovers <br />nested on the artificial island in 1991. An island constructed in 1990 just east of <br />Elm Creek by the Nehr<.lska Public Pov."cr District hosted one breeding pair of <br />h~ast terns and two pairs of piping plovers in 191)1 (R. G. Plettner. pers. (:om- <br />mun.). We recommend the following guidelines for habitat restoration projects <br />in the Central Plalte regarding ch.mnel dimensions. sandbar area. and sandbar <br />height. <br /> <br /> <br />_..'!l.. <br />~..'!-. <br />'~"" <br />- ,....~:, .i <br />~ "~:. . <br />- ....... <br />~ <br />.... ..... ,""",'., <br />-...... .,-.")...,,,,,,,,,,,;"~ <br />.... ~ ~: ~'--" <br />. ~':..~ <br />...."'""'" . <br /> <br /> <br />Figure 7. Aerial photogr<lph oj an island in the Central Platte between AIda <br />anti \Vood River, Nebraskd, created in 1990 by dredging sand onto an <br />island cleared 01 vegetation. Least terns and piping plovers nested on the <br />i,land in 1991. <br />