Species Recovery Objectives for Four Target Species in the Central and Lower Platte River

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the concept of protecting approximately 29,000 acres of suitable habitat in ten habitat complexes along the central Platte River from Lexington to Chapman. Increased whooping crane use of the central Platte River valley is anticipated as a consequence of habitat improvement and management.60 It will likely be decades before habitat improvement goals of the Cooperative Agreement are fully realized. As habitat is improved along the central Platte River, whooping crane use will likely increase as a traditional stopover area. However, even after the first decade of implementing habitat improvements, the increases in whooping crane use may not be fully evident for another decade. Given that the recovery goal for the AWP is 1000 whooping cranes, this report recommends that habitat on the central Platte River be managed for 100 percent of the recovered AWP (1000 birds). Whooping cranes are long - lived, and some live up to 25 years in the wild. In addition, whooping cranes learn to use "traditional stopover areas". 61 One prime example is Quivira National Wildlife Refuge in central Kansas. As habitat is improved further along the central Platte River, it will likely increase whooping crane use as a traditional stopover area. Therefore, it is anticipated that all of the whooping cranes in a recovered AWP (1000 birds) would be expected to stop over along the central Platte River at some time during their lifetime. All 1000 birds, however, certainly would not be expected to stop along the Platte River at the same time. The location of suitable whooping crane habitat may be more important than the amount of habitat. Whooping cranes in flight at Aransas National Wildlife Refuge are able to detect controlled burn sites five miles distant and are attracted to such sites because they are a ready source of insects, toasted seeds, acorns, and small vertebrates. Based on this sight distance in any direction, a crane migrating across the Platte River valley could probably see habitats within each 10 -mile bridge segment. In addition, it is important for whooping cranes to be spread out in suitable habitat distributed along the Platte River to reduce the potential for disease and for energy conservation. Therefore, from a spacial distribution standpoint, suitable habitat (i.e., open channel roost sites) in each of the 10 bridge segments seems sufficient if it were available. Although this report is not being done under the Platte River Cooperative Agreement, whooping crane experts considered proposed habitat protection 60 Strom, K. J. 1987. Lillian Annette Rowe Sanctuary - Managing migratory crane habitat on the Platte River, Nebraska. Pages 326 -330 in J. C. Lewis and J. W. Ziewitz, eds. Proceedings 1985 Crane Workshop. Platte River Whooping Crane Habitat Maintenance Trust and U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Grand Island, Nebraska. 61 Kuyt, E. 1992. Aerial radio - tracking of whooping cranes migrating between Wood Buffalo National Park and Aransas National Wildlife Refuge, 1981 -1984. Occas. Pap. 74, Canadian Wildlife Service, 53pp. 21