Cottonwood Ranch: History, Settlement, AIP and Habitat

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2 NPPD will make available a pazcel of land for wildlife habitat purposes known as NPPD's Cottonwood Ranch Property (Property), per the requirements - of Article 407. NPPD's Cottonwood Ranch Properly is= located between Overton and Elm Creek, Nebraska and consists of approximately 2,770 acres (Exhibit A). The Property encompasses both sides of the main river channel for approximately 3 miles (see figure 1). NPPD purchased this property in 1992 from a willing seller in anticipation of needirig to acquire properties for endangered species management purposes. NPPD expects this- property will count for a portion of the 10,000 acres needed in the first increment of the proposed Program'. NPPD will maintain ownership of the- Property and spend up to $1.3- million (1997 dollars) to develop and enhance the PropertX for three of the four target species of the proposed Program. The tazget species are least terns Sterna antillarum , piping plover (Charadrius melodus), and whooping cranes Grus americana). The Property currently contains approximately 1,200 acres of riparian cottonwood dominated forest, 500 acres of grasslands, 600, acres of agricultural ground and the remainder is river channel, roads or building sites. The Platte River at this site is anabranched with the widest active channels being about 500 feet. In order to ensure that the amounts of money to be made available for development and enhancement measures and, if necessary, for maintenance purposes retain their value in 1997 dollars, consistent with Article 407, NPPD will, at the beginning of each calendar yeaz, adjust the applicable amount by calculating the percentage change of the Gross Domestic Product - Implicit Price Deflator Index as reported by the Bureau of Economic Analysis, Department of Commerce (http://www.bea.doc.gov/) for the preceding year. NPPD will promptly advise the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and Nebraska Game and Pazks Commission (NGPC) each year of the calculations and adjustments made pursuant to this index. To expedite the development and enhancement of the Cottonwood Ranch Property for the target species, NPPD in consultation with the FWS, NGPC, The Central Nebraska Public Power and Irrigation District (Central) and the Governance Committee have developed this Plan per License Article 407 (see Appendix A for complete consultation. history). Representatives from the above entities met on several occasions, including two trips to the property to develop a concept of how the Property should be managed for endangered species. The result of those consultations is this Plan to develop and enhance the Cottonwood Ranch Property for whooping cranes, least terns and piping plovers. For the purposes of this Plan, development will be considered as an increase in the amount of habitat for the target species and enhancement will be considered as an improvement in the quality of habitat for the species. Development and enhancement measures are the actions taken to achieve development and enhancement objectives. This Plan sets forth development and enhancement objectives in a prioritized manner but does not specifically identify development and enhancement measures. Specific development and enhancement measures ' T'he Cooperative Agreement, signed July 1, 1997 by Secretary Babbitt of the Department of Interior, Governor Romer of Colorado, Governor Nelson of Nebraska and Governor Geringer of Wyoming, provides an ESA framework for water related activities in the Platte River drainage to and through the central Platte River including FERC Project 1835. The Cooperative Agreement puts forward a Proposed Platte River Recovery Implementation Program (Program) as a vehicle to address threatened and endangered species using the central Platte River Area.