Specific Comments on Platte River Draft EIS

Home Browse Search

In his classic monograph on the species ("T] eliminated records involving at least 77 percent 1912-1944, including approximately 68 percent approximately 92 percent of the birds reported t records, Allen made his decisions primarily on tl were numerically within reason and rejected sig: the years in question. However, in doing so, A sightings by the same individuals - in effect, al identifiers. Consequently, the integrity of the pr impaired with remaining uncertainty. Whooping Crane", published in 1952), Allen f the whooping cranes sighted in Nebraska from F the birds reported by Swenk (1912-1933) , and Brooking (1934-1944). In revising the Nebraska basis of numbers: i.e., he accepted sightings that ngs that involved too many whooping cranes for ?n at times accepted and at other times rejected -nately endorsing and refuting their reliability as 1950's Nebraska records, as revised by Allen, is Confirmed Si2htings (Section 3.2): Because of identification problems associated with the early sightings data, more stringent criteria for confinin whooping crane sightings along the flyway were developed by the Whooping Crane Recovery Tea in 1978. The current version of the Confirmed Sightings cranes recorded on or near (within 1 mile o fl the number of birds was not specified for one sighti: over the river. In this regard, 8 confirmed sigh observed on the Platte River from 1940-1984, w percent of the total whooping cranes reported in observed on the river over this 45-year period cc 1 bird every 2 years. Given that the flock size di sighting frequency is perhaps better expressed as ist includes 14 sightings of at least 39 whooping latte River over the 45-year period 1940-1984; the . Some of these sightings were of migrants flying igs involving 24 whooping cranes were actually ch represent 9 percent of the total sightings and 9 ebraska during this time. The 24 whooping cranes espond to an average sighting frequency of about ng migration averages approximately 3 birds, this ne sighting of 3 birds every 5 to 6 years. Sighting Trends (Section 3.3): Disregarding the full tally of past to present whooping crane sight adding appropriate 1940-1984 records from the C accepted by Allen. This compiled list includes whooping cranes observed on or near the Platte : number of birds was not specified for two sightir no fewer than 127 whooping cranes (80 percent Platte River from Lexington Nebraska to about 21 as critical habitat on May 15, 1978. roblematic nature of the pre-1950 `s data base, a igs on or near the Platte River was compiled by ?nfirmed Sightings List to the 1912-1948 records a total of 43 sightings involving at least 158 iver over the entire period from 1912-1984 (the ;s). Of these, 34 sightings (79 percent) involving were observed within the 54-mile reach of the miles east of Kearney designated by the Service The compiled list of records for the 73-year perio 1912-1984 includes 31 sightings totaling at least 120 whooping cranes that were actually observe on the Platte River. Of these, 26 sightings (84 percent) involving no less than 101 birds (84 perce t) were observed within the critical habitat zone. It is noteworthy that among the records of whoo ing cranes sighted on the Platte River, markedly higher percentages of birds were observed withi the critical habitat zone in the 36-year period 1912-1949 (91 of 100 birds, or 91 percent) than i the subsequent 35-year period 1950-1984 (10 of 20 birds, or 50 percent). This is likely influencedI to some extent, by locational bias in the pre-1950 records stemming from the fact that most of these arlier sightings were compiled by Swenk and