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CONTENTS <br />SUMMARY............................................................................ ............................... <br />1 <br />1 <br />INTRODUCTION ............................................................. .............................15 <br />2 <br />REGIONAL CONTEXT FOR WATER AND SPECIES ................ .............................27 <br />Geography, 27 <br />Human Use of Platte River Basin, 28 <br />Hydrological Changes, 31 <br />Conflicts, 38 <br />Groundwater, 40 <br />Riparian Vegetation Changes, 45 <br />General Species Responses to European Settlement, 52 <br />3 <br />LAW, SCIENCE, AND MANAGEMENT DECISIONS .............. ............................... <br />58 <br />Legal and Institutional Background, 59 <br />Science and Uncertainty, 73 <br />Water Management: Connecting Law and Science, 80 <br />Lessons for the Platte From Other Water Conflicts, 84 <br />Summary and Conclusions, 84 <br />4 <br />SCIENTIFIC DATA FOR THE PLATTE RIVER ECOSYSTEM ... ............................... <br />86 <br />Science and Management Targets for Species, 87 <br />Basic Connections in the Platte River Ecosystem, 89 <br />A Model for River and Habitat Change, 108 <br />The Platte River as an Ecosystem, 116 <br />Summary and Conclusions, 121 <br />• 5 <br />WHOOPING CRANE .................................. ............................... ............................125 <br />Historical and Ecological Context, 125 <br />Difficulties in Defining Critical Habitat for the Whooping Crane, 129 <br />Current Databases, 130 <br />Characteristics of Critical Habitat, 139 <br />What do Whooping Cranes Gain from Central Platte Habitats? 143 <br />Summary and Conclusions, 149 <br />6 <br />PIPING PLOVER AND INTERIOR LEAST TERN .................. ............................... <br />151 <br />Piping Plover, 151 <br />Interior Least Tern, 170 <br />Summary and Conclusions, 181 <br />7 <br />PALLID STURGEON ............................................................. ............................... <br />183 <br />Species Distribution, 184 <br />Reproduction and Population Trends, 186 <br />Habitat Components Required for Survival, 187 <br />Current Platte River Conditions, 190 <br />Recovery of Pallid Sturgeon, 191 <br />Importance of the Lower Platte River to Pallid Sturgeon, 192 <br />Summary and Conclusions, 193 <br />8 <br />CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS .......................... ............................195 <br />Committee's Findings, 197 <br />Summary, 207 <br />• <br />REFERENCES......................................................................... ............................... 209 <br />xvii <br />