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<br />the recently approved whooping crane recovery plan, the goal of which is two <br />separate populations of 40 breeding pairs each. <br />In 1975 the Fish and Wildlife Service proposed critical habitat for the <br />whooping crane,* designating Aransas National Wildlife Refuge and various sites <br />along the Central Flyway. The largest of the latter is the Big Bend Area of <br />the Platte. Final designation in 1978 included a 3-mile strip along the Platte <br />River from Lexington to Dehman, Nebraska. <br />This stretch of the Platte has several attributes that make it particu- <br />larly important as a stopover point for the cranes during their migrations. <br />According to the Fish and wildlife Service, <br /> <br />The Platte is an espec ially important stopover area <br />during the cranes' spring migration when they need open, <br />undisturbed expanses devoid of significant vegetation for <br />a radius of 75-100 yards for roosting. The sand and <br />gravel bars and shallow waters within the designated Cri- <br />tical Habitat are among the last suitable points for the <br />cranes to rest and feed before the last leg of their <br />journey to Canada's Wood Buffalo Park, where they begin to <br />lay eggs almost as soon as they arrive. <br />With the continuing loss of wetland habitat, <br />feared that--in years of poor rainfall--the Platte <br />may offer the only remaining feeding and roosting <br />for the cranes along the Central Flyway. <br /> <br />it is <br />River <br />sites <br /> <br />To say that MBPP will endanger the continued survival of the whooping <br />crane involves two separate claims: first, that the project will substantially <br />reduce the suitability of the Platte River Bottoms for use by the whooping <br />cranes during the fall and spring migration, and second, that the Platte River <br />channel is crucial to the survival of the cranes. <br />The first of these claims has to do with the biological opinion submitted <br />by the Fish and Wildlife Service on the effects of Grayrocks on the whooping <br />crane. The second is concerned with the designation of the Platte River Bot- <br />toms as critical habitat for the whoopers. Although this designation was not <br />an issue in the Grayrocks Case, it had been rather vigorously contested by many <br />of the inhabitants of this part of Nebraska during the rulemaking procedure. <br />The rulemaking record contains letters from Senator Carl Curtis and two Con- <br />gressmen, who question the necessity of a critical habitat designation and the <br />size of the proposed area. Although these efforts did not prevent the area <br /> <br />*40 F.R. 58308 (Dec. 16, 1975). <br /> <br />33 <br />