Platte Vegetation Mapping Continuation

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Platte River Vegetation Mapping: Continuation A proposal Submitted to the Platte River Recovery Implementation Program By Platte River Whooping Crane Maintenance Trust, Inc, Platte River Habitat Partnership, and Great Plains GIS Partnership Contact: Felipe Chavez-Ramirez Platte River Whooping Crane Maintenance Trust, Inc, 6611 W. Whooping Crane Drive Wood River, NE 68883. Tel. 308-384-4633, email: fchavez@whoopingcrane.org The Big Bend reach of the central Platte River serves as a major staging area for migratory waterfowl during spring migration. Reduced spring flows and drought conditions within the Platte system have promoted encroachment by undesirable woody and herbaceous invasive species. This encroachment has caused the once shallow braided channels of the Platte River to incise. This action has significantly reduced available habitat for roosting and loafing sandhill cranes, endangered whooping cranes, and millions of waterfowl that annually utilize the Platte River each spring. This change in river morphology has also reduced available nesting habitat for the federally listed least tern and piping plover. In addition to the degradation of the open channel, wet meadows and lowland grasslands adjacent to the active channel have been invaded by eastern red cedars, Russian olives, and other undesirable woody species. Furthermore, important side channels, backwaters, and wetland sloughs have also been overgrown with purple loosestrife, hybrid cattails, phragmites, and reed canary grass. This reduction in available habitat quality has galvanized a strong partnership between conservation agencies, non- government organizations, and private landowners along the central Platte River to cooperatively work together to protect, restore, and enhance habitat along the central Platte River valley. As the partnership matured it has become evident that there is a need to develop a baseline inventory of the current vegetation along the central Platte River in a Geographical Information System (GIS). This is a need that has also been identified by the Platte River Recovery Implementation Program Adaptive Management Working Group as a priority activity. The completed Platte River vegetation map and land cover system will allow partners to better understand the current state of natural and altered vegetation states. This GIS will define the baseline conditions for the period of 2006-2007. It will allow organizations and agencies to identify focus areas where conservation actions can complement existing conservation projects as well as target areas. This baseline vegetation data base can serve as a planning and monitoring tool for different organizations and agencies for work along the Platte River Corridor in Nebraska. Funds in the amount of $25,000 are being sought from the Platte River Recovery Implementation Program to complete the vegetation mapping and training data along the central Platte River in Nebraska.