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PRRIP — ED OFFICE DRAFT 6 12/07/2009 172 context of this project — focused on whooping cranes or inclusive of wet meadows as a system. 173 The ED Office will provide the GC with a briefing document for the March 2010 GC meeting 174 that will discuss both points of view and provide information for the GC to consider. Purcell 175 asked Smith to provide a brief synopsis of the situation. Smith discussed his interpretation of 176 both viewpoints as discussed at the TAC level. Lawson said a key question is to address whether 177 the choice of wet meadow definition results in an expansion of what was envisioned and 178 intended for the Program. Czaplewski said one option may be to start with the priority definition 179 and be sure not to preclude broader -scale work in the future. Wingfield said this is an issue that 180 folks have been struggling with for some time but that as things move forward, we need to starl 181 on the right foot. Purcell asked if there will be monetary implications depending on direction. 182 Smith said it is likely that a broader -scale information review will cost more than the estimated 183 $50,000. Thabault said the Service believes it is important to capture the full range of wet 184 meadows first to help save time and money in the long run. 185 186 1 -D Modeling RFP — Steve Smith said the ED Office recommends Jeff Runge, Mike Besson, Jim 187 Jenniges, Steve Smith, and Jason Farnsworth for the Proposal Selection Panel. Doug Hallum 188 and Crystal Lesmeister were added to the panel from Nebraska; Alan Berryman was added from 189 Colorado. Strauch moved to approve the Panel; Thabault seconded. Proposal Selection Panel 190 approved. 191 192 Platte River Caddisfly 193 Bob Harms with the Service provided a presentation on the status of the Platte River caddisfly. 194 Barels asked why the species is in decline. Harms said there is no exact answer yet but 195 investigations are ongoing to determine that information. Harms noted that of six historic known 196 sites, four were gone. Barels asked if the historic sites were there but no caddisflies were 197 present. Harms said that is correct. Ament asked if phragmites is a factor. Harms said there are 198 suspicions that phragmites is choking out wetlands but there are no numbers yet to support that 199 suspicion. Freeman asked about the role of recent dry conditions and potential correlation with 200 fluctuating population numbers. Harms said drought could certainly play a role in population 201 numbers; other natural factors could be at work as well. Kolanz asked about variations in 202 surveying methods and timing. Harms said for the caddisfly, surveys generally include being on 203 your hands and knees looking for larvae in the wetland /grassland interface. Most of this survey 204 work is done May- August. Freeman asked if surveying has been opportunistic by access or is 205 there a survey plan. Harms said some of both, but much of it is opportunistic. Freeman asked if 206 there is a method yet for extrapolating survey results to population estimates. Harms said not at 207 this point. 208, 209 Thabault said part of the Service's job is to base decisions and actions on the best available 210 science. The Service also tries to balance conservation and stressors. The Service is still waiting 211 on funding to continue the Species Status Assessment. Thabault said he knows there are 212 concerns about major Program redirection based on a potential caddisfly listing. He said the 213 Service does not think this is the case, and even if the species fell under the Program umbrella 214 there would not be a major impact on Program actions. Czaplewski asked when the Service This document is a draft based on one person's notes of the meeting. The official meeting minutes may be different if corrections are made by the Governance Committee before approval. PRRIP GC Meeting Minutes Page 5 of 11