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significantly. For whooping cranes, the definition of the central Platte River in this <br />report is the same as in the Cooperative Agreement. The definition of the lower Platte <br />River for this report is the mouth of the Loup River to the confluence with the Missouri <br />River. The upper Platte River, as defined in this report, is from Lexington upstream to <br />North Platte, Nebraska. <br />M. SPECIES RECOVERY OBJECTIVES AND RECOMMENDATIONS <br />A. INTERIOR LEAST TERN AND PIPING PLOVER <br />A.I. Existing Recovery Plan Goals and Objectives <br />The Recovery Plan for the Northern Great Plains population of piping plovers <br />3 states <br />a goal of 465 piping plover pairs for all of Nebraska and 140 pairs (280 adults) <br />maintained for 15 years for the Platte River. The Recovery Plan for the interior least <br />tern4 states a goal of 1520 adults for all of Nebraska and 750 adult breeding birds <br />maintained for 10 years for the Platte River. It is recommended that the FWS <br />continue to recognize these as valid population recovery goals unless they are <br />changed through the FWS recovery planning process. <br />Both recovery plans were written without much knowledge or consideration of least <br />tern and piping plover activity on the North Platte River (including Lake <br />McConaughy) and the South Platte River in Nebraska.5 At the time the recovery <br />plans were written, the Recovery Teams did not consider the South Platte or North <br />Platte Rivers as central to recovery of the species.6 Therefore, the goals for the <br />Platte River in the existing recovery plans exclude North and South Platte River <br />birds. However, birds on the North Platte River (including Lake McConaughy) and <br />the South Platte River should not be ignored for their potential contribution to the <br />overall species recovery goals. <br />A.2. Relationship of Existing Recovery Plans to Recommended Objectives in <br />this Report <br />The purpose of this report is to identify species recovery objectives for the "central" <br />Platte River because it is this area where intensive management and monitoring will <br />be directed under the Platte River Cooperative Agreement and eventual Recovery <br />Program. Identifying objectives for the central Platte River is not intended to ignore <br />3 Department of the Interior, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Great Lakes and Northern <br />Great Plains Piping Plover Recovery Plan, May 12, 1988. <br />4 Department of the Interior, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior Population of the <br />Least Tern Recovery Plan, September 19, 1990. <br />5 John Sidle, U.S. Forest Service, Chadron, Nebraska. Personal Communication: <br />April 17, 2001. <br />6 Ross Lock, Nebraska Game and Parks Commission, Lincoln, Nebraska. Personal <br />Communication: April 18, 2001. <br />5 <br />