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water quality, substrate, water depth at specific roost or feeding sites Iand at intervals along a transect, <br />visibility, vegetation, land cover, etc. Over 25 parameters were recorded for each site that was evaluated <br />(U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 1980). The Nebraska Field Office of the United States Fish and Wildlife <br />Service (USFWS) has maintained these data into 2 databases: 1 for observational sightings (containing <br />1352 confirmed sightings, 1943 -99) and site evaluation data (1060 sites, 1977 -99). <br />Data from the confirmed sightings and site evaluation databases have been used by a number of <br />researchers for various projects. Johnson (1982) used observational data to investigate the use and <br />significance of habitat in the Platte River valley for whooping cranes. Lingle et al. (1984) used <br />ze whooping crane use on the Platte River. Ziewietz <br />observational and site evaluation data to characteri <br />(1992) and Carlson et al. (1990) used roost and feeding site data to develop a habitat suitability model for <br />the Platte River. Roost site data was used by Stahlecker (1997) to correlate stopover habitat availability <br />with wetlands identified on National Wetland Inventory (NWI) maps. However, there has been no <br />comprehensive analysis of the USFWS databases to characterize roosting and feeding site use throughout <br />the flyway, to explore for temporal or spatial patterns, or to examine differences among social groups <br />(families, singles, or groups). Nor has there been a comprehensive review of the data sets for error <br />checking and corrections. <br />At the 1998 meeting of the Whooping Crane Recovery Team meeting in Calgary, Alberta., team <br />members recommended that while observational data should continue to be collected, no additional site <br />evaluations should be done until the existing data were analyzed. The analysis of habitat use for the Platte <br />River was identified as a high priority by the Technical Committee of the three -state Cooperative <br />Agreement. In a January 1999 letter to Mr. Wally Jobman, USFWS Nebraska Field Office, Whooping <br />Crane Coordinator Thomas Stehn (USFWS, Region 2) reiterated the need to analyze existing data as <br />expressed by the Recovery Team. As a result, a group of state and federal biologists and other interested <br />parties gathered together to discuss objectives for better understanding the USFWS database. The <br />5 <br />