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Chapter I: <br />INTRODUCTION <br />Water is a scarce resource in the semi -arid climate of the West. The Platte River system <br />flows through Colorado, Wyoming, and Nebraska as the South Platte, North Platte, and Platte rivers, <br />respectively (see figure la), and is the lifeblood of hundreds of thriving communities along its <br />arteries. But for many thousands of years before human settlement, the river waxed and waned <br />with the pulse of spring snowmelt and thunderstorms, and millions of birds annually paused in their <br />spring migrations to roost in its flowing waters and feed in its fertile bottomlands. Then, as now, <br />the voices of hundreds of thousands of cranes rose in chorus with the dawn of spring. In winter, <br />eagles hunted the open channels and pools near springs and the headwaters. <br />The Platte River valley is .a perfect example of a river ecosystem with many values. As <br />with many water sources of the West, its use and distribution have been a matter of public concern <br />and a source of intense conflict and competition since European settlement of the West began. The <br />natural availability of water in the Platte River basin is subject to fluctuation and uncertainty, so it <br />is captured behind dams, stored, and re- routed in canals and ditches over hundreds of miles to <br />irrigate farmland and supply water to numerous communities along the river. Water is moved from <br />one basin to another, via channels, pumping stations, and even tunnels under mountains. Because <br />of such intense use and redistribution, parts of the Platte at certain times of the year are unnaturally <br />reduced to a trickle, while huge reservoirs exist where there once was prairie, and there is cropland <br />where once there were expansive wetlands and grasslands. While such development helps local <br />economies grow, only recently has wildlife been recognized as a casualty in this war to rewater the <br />West. This is unfortunate because the Platte is truly one of the world's outstanding wildlife rivers, <br />even today, supporting wildlife populations of international significance. <br />A Wildlife River <br />Hundreds of thousands of Sandhill Cranes and millions of ducks and geese of many species, <br />funnelling from vast areas, converge on this unique river and its environs during their long northward <br />migration in spring. On a continental map, the mid - continental migration route of Sandhill Cranes <br />resembles an hourglass, with the Platte River at its waist (see figure lb). Here, in a wildlife spectacle <br />that ranks among Earth's greatest, they spend several weeks during which they feed heavily. This <br />