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10. Habitat suitability models should be developed and used as additional tools <br />to evaluate habitat and habitat changes for whooping cranes. <br />11. Several research and monitoring needs are recommended: <br />a. Continue and improve surveys of whooping crane use and associated <br />habitat. <br />b. Continue to refine the habitat roost model and techniques for evaluating <br />habitat quality for whooping cranes as a management tool. <br />C. Continue to monitor sandhill crane use as one measure of habitat suitability <br />and management progress. <br />d. Whooping crane behavior, habitat use, and time - budget data should be <br />studied regarding use of the central Platte River to help managers interpret habitat <br />preferences and the well -being of whooping cranes that use the Platte River. <br />C. PALLID STURGEON <br />1. The lower Platte River, from the confluence with the <br />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 <br />when implementing recovery actions for the pallid sturgeon. <br />2. The area of the Platte River below the Loup River could also provide the <br />conditions necessary for pallid sturgeon survival and should not be ruled out for <br />future recovery efforts. <br />3. Preserve, or restore where appropriate, the hydro - geomorphic processes and <br />functions that are responsible for creating or maintaining the physical habitat <br />template characteristic of the lower Platte River: a dynamic, sandy, free - flowing, <br />braided river. <br />4. Identify existing data and collect additional information to determine the <br />historic and current chemical and physical habitat conditions and processes in the <br />Platte River. <br />5. Develop baseline information on pallid sturgeon for the Platte River, <br />including the abundance, distribution and population structure of pallid sturgeon in <br />the Platte River. <br />6. Criteria addressing minimum viable population size and demography for <br />Recovery Priority Management Area 4 must be determined to develop quantifiable <br />population recovery objectives and to guide and monitor recovery actions. <br />7. Effective habitat assessment tools and effective sampling techniques for <br />pallid sturgeon should be developed. <br />36 <br />