Questions Posed by the Management Alternatives Group

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2 pairs. Data from the central Platte River included 70, 44, and 65 breeding pairs. A population goal of 160 breeding pairs is recommerided for the central Platte River. This would represent an increase of 90 to 116 pairs from current conditions. We cannot rely solely on numbers of birds as a goal; the recommendation must include flows as a component of habitat. Currently there are about 1100 bald eagles wintering statewide each year in Nebraska. The proportional distribution included 15% in the Lexington to Grand Island reach, 10% on Lake McConaughy, and 10% in the Sutherland Canal area; 35% of the statewide population occupies Platte River-related habitats. The Biology Workgroup recommends that we.should provide nocturnal roost sites and adjacent foraging areas in the central Platte River for 15% of the wintering bald eagle population in Nebraska. The goal selected for whooping cranes is to provide a sufficient number of stopover opportunities for a recovered population. The goal for forage fishes is to provide an adequate riverine environment to sustain the maximum diversity and abundance of forage fishes needed to support the recovery goals for endangered species. 2. Define the quantity and quality of habitat needed for each endangered species on the Platte River -- For the whooping crane, we decided that quality is defined by the four components of the whooping crane model. These four components are to be well distributed up and down the river. We proposed to define the quantity of roosting habitat as units of optimum unobstructed width of 1150 feet as described in the model. The unobstructed width may not necessarily be exactly 1150 feet, but as determined by each selected site. These units would occur in areas of unobstructed upstream and downstream visibility of'l to 2 miles, and be distributed be.tween Lexington and Chapman, Nebraska. The Workgroup decided that the optimum configuration for wet meadow habitats would be a core area of 640 acres of wet meadow surrounded by a buffer zone at least 0.5 miles wide. Size of these areas would fall between 2.25 and 3.0 square miles (assuming one side is lined with trees) or between 1720 and 2200 acres per managed roost site. The bald eagle recommendation is included above in the memorandum. We decided that there is no way to quantify forage fish habitat. Habitat quality is described in the model- components and includes some flow needed to maintain the fishery. For least tern and piping plover, we agreed to use the components described in Sidle and Ziewitz (in press). The combined total of breeding pairs for both species in our goal is 215 nests in the