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(see WY2006 EA AOP, Table 2, for FWS Decision Matrix). It is important to note that this longer-term decision did not preclude the Service from making a shorter-term decision in WY06 to use the EA to facilitate a pulse flow event, if conditions were favorable, or for making EA releases for other purposes during 2006 water year. However, no EA releases were made for any purpose during the 2006 water year. During the 2006 water year, EA pulse flow planning efforts were primarily in working with the Platte River Program's Adaptive Management Working Group to develop a science-based Adaptive Management Plan (AMP) for the Program. The AMP includes hypotheses and management objectives and actions to test EA pulse flows. The Platte River Program Document also includes provisions for integrating management of the EA into the Platte River Program when it is implemented in January of 2007. After the 2005 irrigation season, flows at Grand Island slowly rebounded but never reached mare than 500 cfs until around the first of December. Except far two brief periods, December 12 to December 29 (1,150 cfs median flows; 2,050 cfs maximum flow) and March 30 to Apri14 (1,250 cfs median flows), flows never exceeded 1,000 cfs (USGS provisional gage data) during the entire 2006 water year. From November 1 through April 30, median flows at the Grand Island gage were about 500 cfs. During the WY06 whooping crane spring migration period (i.e., March 23 to May 10), flows averaged 585 cfs at Grand Island. It is important to note that during the non-irrigation season, daily flow averages at Grand Island provide a fairly good depiction of flow conditions at the downstream end of the habitat area. Daily flow averages at the upstream end (i.e., Overton and Kearney gages) provide a less reliable indicator of flow conditions as sub-daily hydrocycling peaks and ebbs are not captured. The variability of flow conditions between the upper reaches and lower reach of the habitat area is becoming more important in EA release decisions especially as drought conditions continue. For the sixth consecutive year, no discernable spring rise (i.e., pulse/peak flow) was experienced in the Platte River habitat reach during this time period.* The Districts' 2006 Water Year Operation Plan did not include provisions for pumping storage water into Elwood Reservoir in the spring for irrigation use. As in WY2005, Elwood Reservoir received some natural flow in February 2006 (about 8,000 af). Unlike WY2005, however, river flows fell below 500 cfs in the J-2 Return to Columbus reach during this time which required Central Platte Natural Resources District to waive their 500 cfs instream flow right. Based on continued and predicted very dry river conditions and past experience, the EA was not used to augment flows during the summer period (May 11 to September 15) for a fourth consecutive year. Current irrigation operations, system constraints, and drought limit effective EA augmentation throughout the summer/early fall low- to zero-flow period which makes securing the desired benefits for the riverine community difficult to achieve. Although drought conditions have made EA augmentation impractical during the past several years, improving flows during the summer period remains an overall Service priority. Without EA augmentation, flows at Grand Island went below 100 cfs in mid May, two months earlier than in WY2005. Flows remained very low through the rest of the water year with a median flow of 48 cfs occurring. USGS provisional gage data show 46 days of very low (<_10 cfs) to zero-flow at Grand Island between July 9 and August 10. With no EA releases made in WY06, 114,182 af of EA water was carried-over into WY07. Water Year 2007 EA AOP 4 January 19, 2007