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UUUbJ'1 Ziewitz, Sidle & Dinan: Nesting Least Terns and Piping Plovers 17 June and 31 August in 21 of the 32 years of that period, and would have been 0045 m above the desired summer flow of 22.7 cms. Sandbars higher than 0.91 m would afford even greater protection from flooding. Schwalbach (1988) recommended a minimum of 0.15 m clearance between the lowest active nests and water levels. The maximum daily discharge between 15 June and 31 August in 1957-88 was 665 cms (23,500 cfs), equivalent to a stage of about 1.76 m. We recommend restoring sandbars ,by dredging at least 0.80 ha to a height greater than 1.06 m and at least 0040 ha to a height greater than 1.76 m. Number and Location of Sites The Central Platte between Lexington and Chapman is divided into II reaches by important highway bridge crossings (Fig. 2). Since 1978, least terns and piping plovers have nested on the river at various locations in eight of these reaches (Lingle 1988), which still contain at least one area with a channel suf- ficiently wide for potential nesting sites. We recommend the restoration of sites in the eight bridge segments according to the criteria described above. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS We thank O. E. Carlson, P. 1. Currier, S. Gauthreaux, P. Bedell, P. McDon- ald, M. Czaplewski, and E. Kirsch for field assistance. J. G. VanDerwalker, P. J. Currier, O. E. Carlson, B. Goldowitz, E. Kirsch, and E. Wilson provided com- ments on an earlier draft of the manuscript. LITERA TURE CITED Armbruster, M. J. 1986. A review of habitat criteria for least terns and piping plovers using the Platte River. Unpublished report. National Ecology Re- search Center, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Ft. Collins, CO. Buckley, F. G., and C. A. McCaffrey. 1978. Use of dredged material islands by colonial seabirds and wading birds in New Jersey. Technical report 0-78-1. U.S. Army Engineers Waterways Experiment Station, Vicksburg, MS. Carlson, O. E. 1987. Interior least tern and piping plover riverine nesting habitat criteria for the Platte River in Nebraska. Unpublished report. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Grand Island, NE. Chaney, A.H., B. R. Chapman, J. P. Karges, O. A. Nelson, R. R. Schmidt, and L C. Thebeau. 1978. Use of dredged material islands by colonial seabirds and wading birds in Texas. Technical report D-78-8. U.S. Army Engineers Waterways Experiment Station, Vicksburg, MS. Currier, P. J. 1982. The floodplain vegetation of the Platte River: phytosociol- ogy, forest development, and seedling establishment. Ph.D. Dissertation. Iowa State University, Ames. Currier, P. 1. 1984. Woody vegetation clearing on the Platte River: restoration of sandhill crane roosting habitat (Nebraska). Restor. Manage. 2'.30. Currier, P. J. 1991. Reclanlation of crane roosting habitat on the Platte River and restoration of riverine wetlands. Pp. 403-407 in Proceedings 1987 Inter- national Crane Workshop (J. Harris, cd.). International Crane Foundation, Baraboo, WI.