Platte River Management Joint Study Final Report

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3 The Bialogy Workgroup first met in September 1985 and adopted the following statement of purpose: "Identify the conditions in the Platte River basin necessary for maintenance and recovery of the four endangered species, and the role of the Platte River Basin in the maintenance and recovery of the four species." The four threatened'(t), and endangered (e) species considered'in the statement of purpose were the whooping crane (e), (Grus americanus), bald eagle (e), (Haliaeetus leucocephalus), interior least tern (e), (5terna antillarum), and piping plover (t), (Charadrius melodus). Although the Eskimo curlew (Numenius borealis) and peregrine falcon (Falco peregrinus) are occasional migrants in the Platte River Valley, those*two species are not being conside-red in the development of the.Joint Study management plan. If additional information suggests that management plans are needed for the Eskimo curlew or peregrine falcon, those plans will be developed when appropriate. Species subsequently listed as endangered or threatened will also be included in the management plan. The Biology Workgroup was originally assigned eight tasks to accomplish. The present report is'the culmination af the ef torts of the Biology Workgroup. Specific objectives of the Workgroup report are described laterin the introduction. d 2. Backctround on Habitat Use Amonq Threatened an Endanciered Species on the Platte River. , The historic and current ranges of the whooping crane, interior least tern, bald eagle, and piping plover in Nebraska suggest that some portion of their populations use habitats on and adjacent to the-Platte-River during some stage of their life cycle. The whooping crane., least,tern, and piping plover use broad expanses of largely unvegetated,Platte River sandbars for roosting, nesting, or feeding. The whooping crane uses adjacent wet meadows as foraging sites. The least tern, piping plover, and bald.eagle use various reaches of the river or its banks for roosting and foraging. Habitat needs of the forage fishes consumed by bald eagles and least terns, as well as the wet meadows used by whooping cranes, are also considered in the Joint Study management plan. 3. Need to Develop an InteQrated Habitat Manaqement Plan for Threatened and EndanQered Species on the Platte River. Endangered species using habitats in the Big Bend reach of the Platte River occur there throughout the year (Table 2). Each