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water related activities on the occurrence of Service target flows and the effectiveness <br />of the Program in reducing shortages to those flows. <br />Even upon successful implementation of the Program, a minimum amount of incidental <br />take of listed species may directly or indirectly result from existing and new water <br />related activities covered by the Program, habitat alteration performed by the Program, <br />or surveys conducted by the Prograin. The resulting potential take is further described <br />below for each species. The Service acknowledges that there are "Acts of God" or <br />"Acts of Nature" that are beyond the operational control of the Program participants; <br />and that type of take is not incident:al take and is not addressed as such. Incidental <br />take in excess of the amounts identified below will result in reinitiation of section 7 <br />consultation with the scope limited to the unanticipated, higher quantity of incidental <br />take. <br />Estimating the number of least tems, piping plovers, whooping cranes, and pallid <br />sturgeon taken in the manner described below is difficult to quantify for the following <br />reasons: a) determining whether an individual foregoes breeding as a result of <br />Program activities versus natural causes would be extremely difficult to deternune; b) <br />the species are sensitive to human activities, thus take is difficult to monitor and <br />detect; c) finding dead or injured individual would be difficult, due to the expanse of <br />the project area and because carcasses are subject to scavenging; d) low sample size <br />and natural fluctuations in abundarice may mask project-caused effects; and e) effects <br />that reduce productivity are difficult to quantify. According to Service policy, as <br />stated in the Endangered Species Consultation Handbook (March 1998) (Handbook), <br />some detectable measure of effect should be provided. Therefore, for some of the <br />species described below, we have developed a surrogate measure to estimate the <br />amount of anticipated take. <br />A. Least Tern and Piping Plover <br />Al. Amount or Extent of Incidental Take Anticipated <br />Incidental take of least terns and piping plovers may directly or indirectly result from <br />actions by covered water-related activities or outlined in the Program or by monitoring <br />of habitats and populations. Such take includes killing, harming, and harassing of <br />individuals (adults, eggs and/or chicks) and activities resulting in reduced recruitment. <br />In the event of take, if possible, the specimen should be collected and stored in a dry, <br />frozen condition, and delivered to the Service's Field Office in Grand Island, <br />Nebraska, when the incident is reported; notification must be within 24 hours of such <br />take. Upon notification of such tak:e, additional protective measures may be added to <br />the section 10(a)(1)(A) permits held by involved researchers. No take resulting from <br />unauthorized human activity is exempt under this biological opinion.