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importance of the Platte River to pallid sturgeon are unknown at this time. <br />Based upon the best available knowledge and the current understanding of the <br />requirements of the pallid sturgeon, the lower Platte River, from the confluence <br />with the Elkhorn River to the mouth of the Platte River at the Missouri River, should be <br />included in the Recovery Priority Management Area unit and should be considered when <br />implementing recovery actions for the pallid sturgeon. <br />Due to recent telemetry data on hatchery- reared pallid sturgeon, habitat quality and <br />similarity to the conditions of the Platte River below the Elkhorn River, the area of the <br />Platte River below the Loup River could also provide the conditions necessary for pallid <br />sturgeon survival and should not be ruled out for future recovery efforts. The importance <br />of this area to pallid sturgeon and its life history is currently unknown and may be <br />important to pallid sturgeon. Further information should be obtained to further quantify <br />its importance to the species. <br />Biologists are continually limited by the paucity of data available to answer two <br />fundamental questions: 1.) What is the importance of the Platte River to pallid sturgeon? <br />and 2.) How will recovery actions on the Platte River contribute to pallid sturgeon <br />recovery? Without sufficient data to address these questions, defensible quantifiable <br />recovery objectives for the pallid sturgeon in the Platte River are difficult to develop. <br />Additional studies will be required in order to obtain the data necessary to establish <br />specific quantifiable objectives for the pallid sturgeon in the lower Platte River. <br />The following recommendations are made regarding critical data needs in order to <br />develop specific recovery objectives: <br />1. Habitat Protection. Preserve, or restore where appropriate, the hydro - geomorphic <br />processes and functions that are responsible for creating or maintaining the physical <br />habitat template characteristic of the lower Platte River: a dynamic, sandy, free - flowing, <br />braided river. Recovery actions should attempt to restore or maintain natural hydrologic <br />regimes, including sediment discharge relationships, and work to capture the extent of <br />the natural variability inherent in these physical processes. Actions which alter these <br />processes or limit system variability should be examined both incrementally and <br />additively to determine the nature and extent of their impact to pallid sturgeon recovery. <br />2. Document, Characterize and Assess Pallid Sturgeon Habitat. Identify existing data <br />and collect additional information to determine the historic and current chemical and <br />physical habitat conditions and processes in the Platte River. Documentation and <br />characterization of quantifiable parameters should include baseline information on <br />hydrology, sediment transport, temperature, bed form, channel complexity and water <br />quality. Habitat conditions and processes should be related to habitat used by pallid <br />sturgeon. An assessment can then be conducted to determine the quality and quantity of <br />habitat for pallid sturgeon in the Platte River. <br />vu <br />