Threats to Wildlife and the Platte River

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P. 10 WILDLIFE The habit of prolonged stopover during migration is known as "staging." This period of seemingly relative leisure is actually a time of intense activity and is critical to the birds because they initiate courtship and feed intensively (Tacha 1987). Initiating courtship on the staging grounds allows them to breed within the severe time constraints imposed by the short northern season (Tacha et al. 1984, p 1032). Intensive feeding allows them to build the energy reserves they will require to complete their strenuous journey to nesting grounds and to successfully meet the rigors of breeding. In addition to providing important habitat for the Sandhill Crane, the central Platte lies in the flyway of the Whooping Crane, an endangered species. The Platte has been and still is considered a major stopover site for migrating Whooping Cranes, and, not surprisingly, more Whooping Cranes have been shot there than anywhere else in North America (Allen 1952). Platte habitat and nearby Rainwater Basin wetlands also are used by 7 -9 million ducks and geese in migration (Currier et al. 1985, p 43), and tens of thousands winter in ice -free areas. The Platte River is a main staging area for the mid - continental population of Greater White- fronted Geese (USFWS 1981, p 49) and was their primary staging area until the early 1960s when vegetative encroachment made most of the river unsuitable for them (H. Miller 1988, pers. Comm.). It is also winter habitat for endangered Bald Eagles. Sandbars in the river channel are used as nesting sites by endangered Interior Least Terns and threatened Piping Plovers, and the river is utilized throughout the year by an array of other wildlife ranging from songbirds to white - tailed deer. Many migratory bird species depend upon the diverse aquatic life, such as river fish and various invertebrates in the Platte and in adjacent wet meadows. Riparian habitats (rivers and their associated natural communities in and near the river channel) concentrate wildlife, making these habitats particularly valuable and the wildlife that use them particularly vulnerable. Migratory birds must often cross hundreds of thousands of acres of unsuitable habitat before finding a watercourse that offers them a chance to rest, feed, and rebuild their reserves enough to survive the next leg of their journey. The health of wildlife is an indicator of overall health of the environment; thus it is particularly disturbing that fewer and fewer areas afford suitable resting places for migrating birds. Wildlife Habitat Suitability Today, only a few reaches of the Platte retain the characteristics of the original braided river. Approximately seventy percent of the flows destined for the central Platte River are now removed upstream (Kroonemeyer 1979 in Krapu et al. 1982, Faanes, in press), and this depletion in flow has substantially altered riverine wildlife habitats over the years. For example, before development,