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55 <br />maintaining habitat important to whooping cranes. Habitat management on private <br />lands needs to be accomplished through acquisition or cooperative agreements. <br />Adequate assessment of management practices requires that certain predetermined <br />measurements be taken to monitor accomplishments versus desired results. <br />Additional, unplanned results may occur and monitoring must be sufficient to <br />detect and measure those effects as well as to avoid potentially detrimental <br />impacts on the cranes or their habitat. <br />1431. Maintain upland water sour <br />About 20 freshwater ponds are present on Aransas NWR in areas used by <br />cranes. Cranes drink at upland freshwater ponds where surrounding <br />vegetation is kept low to the ground and aquatic emergent or floating <br />vegetation is sparse or absent. Such ponds provide a source of fresh water <br />when coastal waters are highly saline and may encourage cranes to utilize <br />upland food resources. These ponds should be maintained or new ponds <br />created to optimize distribution of upland use by cranes. <br />1432. Manage vegetation. <br />Cranes significantly use uplands in winter when relatively open feeding <br />conditions are maintained. Mowing and prescribed burning can provide such <br />areas. Such management practices promote the growth of or enhance the <br />detection and /or palatability of desired food items. Efforts to develop other <br />habitat management practices that increase the habitat base available in <br />wintering areas should continue. These techniques should emphasize use in <br />areas that are most protected from human encroachment and substrate <br />alteration. This task includes management of vegetation in essential or critical <br />roosting habitat on the migration route. In some instances these efforts will <br />require mechanical or chemical removal of established trees or other vegetation <br />that may be discouraging use by cranes. <br />1433. Maintain suitable riverine roosts. <br />This task refers to maintaining suitable roosting habitat on the Platte River, <br />Nebraska, or on other rivers used by migrating cranes, by ensuring adequate <br />flows that provide quality roosting habitat and are necessary for scouring <br />invading cottonwoods and willow from the riverbed. Mechanical and chemical <br />control of invading trees may also be required. Purchase or lease of lands <br />bordering key roosts may be necessary to protect the sites from human <br />disturbance. <br />144. Create wetland habitat. <br />The whooping crane wintering habitat on and near Aransas NWR should be <br />enhanced to provide for the welfare of an expanding crane population. These <br />efforts should include increased management activities to provide, in a prudent <br />manner, better use of existing protected areas. The paramount consideration <br />