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mouth of the Elkhorn River (Peters and Parham 2008; Swigle 2003). Since 2005 at least one <br />pallid sturgeon was captured in the Platte River (Tony Barada, University of Nebraska - Lincoln, <br />personal communication). The presence of tags or markings on some of these specimens <br />indicates that at least six were hatchery-reared fish. <br />Missouri River: <br />The Missouri River and a few of its turbid tributaries was probably the core of the pallid <br />sturgeon range (Bailey and Allum 1962; Bailey and Cross 1954; Keenlyne 1989). Prior to dam <br />construction, which began in the 1930's and channelization of the reach from Sioux City to the <br />confluence with the Mississippi River, the whole river's length upstream to the Great Falls in <br />Montana was available to pallid sturgeon. Today, much of the length from Fort Peck reservoir <br />downstream to Gavins Point dam is now a lacustrine environment with short reaches of flowing <br />water habitat. Pallid sturgeon were still caught in the reservoirs for several decades after <br />impoundment (Erickson 1992; Keenlyne 1989; Walburg 1977) but today most of the specimens <br />caught are senescing or nearing their maximum age (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 2007). The <br />US Fish and Wildlife Service designated four Recovery Priority Management Areas (RPMA's) <br />within the length of the Missouri River which are defined in the pallid sturgeon recovery plan <br />(USFWS 1993). Subsequently, these areas have been refined into 14 monitoring and assessment <br />segments starting at Fort Peck Dam in Montana (Segmentl) and extending downstream to the <br />confluence with the Mississippi River (segment 14). <br />RPMA 4: