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3. changes in habitat variables such as "open view" across each transect, <br />"total open water", "bare sand", "channel width", "channel depth", "flow <br />velocity". <br />3. FWS Mountain Prairie Region Instream Flow RecommendatiQns and Proposed <br />Usage for the Platte River Recovery Implementation Program - The U.S. Fish <br />and Wildlife Service has developed Instream Flow Recommendations for the <br />central Platte River (Platte River Recovery Implementation Program, Attachment <br />5, Section 11), which they believe are necessary to "achieve the flow-dependent <br />goal of "rehabilitation and maintaining the structure and function, patterns and <br />processes, and habitat of the central Platte River Valley ecosystem"," for the <br />purpose of creating and maintaining habitat for the three target avian species. The <br />instream flow recommendations include species and annual pulse flows, and <br />periodic annual peak flows. The species flows are provided for "wet," "normal," <br />and "dry year" minimum flows for various periods of the year. The species flows <br />are considered necessary to meet the "habitat needs of native biotic components <br />of the ecosystem," including the maintenance of reproductive habitat, including <br />nesting substrate and forage, for the least tern and piping plover, and roosting and <br />feeding habitat for the whooping crane during migration stopovers. Annual pulse <br />flows are the reoccurring higher flows, and these flows along with Peak flows are <br />considered necessary "to maintaining the physical structure and other <br />characteristics of the river for biological benefits." Peak flows are the highest <br />flows maintained for five consecutive days in any given year. Species and annual <br />pulse flows are to be achieved through a combination of natural flows and <br />management of Program water. Peak flows will typically be natural flows <br />augmented by Program water management within bankfull channel capacity in the <br />habitat reach, and natural, un-augmented flows in excess of bankfull channel <br />capacity. The Instream Flow Recommendations are used to develop Program <br />Target Flows, the flow levels that the Program "actively seeks to establish <br />through provision of Program water and re-timing of river flows." Program target <br />flows "are used as the basis for "scoring" the water-related benefits of'Program <br />activities relative to the 130,000 - 150,000 acre-foot/year First-Increment goal for <br />reductions in shortages to targets." <br />4. Central Platte River OPSTUDY Model -"The Central Platte River OPSTUDY <br />Model (CPR Model) was developed by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and the <br />U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as a tool for evaluating management alternatives <br />affecting flows in the central Platte River in Nebraska (Attachment-91 (F) of the <br />DEIS). The CPR Model is a water accounting model for tracking gains, losses, <br />diversions from and accretions to the central Platte River system. The model <br />allows assessment of a wide variety of water management scenarios on a monthly <br />time step and simulates river conditions based on inflows to, outflows from, and <br />demands on the river system. The CPR Model allows alternatives to be compared <br />on terms of estimated river flows, power generation, irrigation diversions, <br />reservoir storage and release, return flows, losses associated with evaporation and <br />seepage, and other measures." The CPR Model was used in evaluating various <br />alternatives analyzed in the DEIS and the preliminary analysis of these <br />alternatives in the draft Biological Opinion. In these analyses "model comparisons