Threats to Wildlife and the Platte River

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p. 16 WII.,DLIFE the Earth are theirs." The gathering of Sandhill Cranes on the Platte, then, may be seen not only as one of the peerless spectacles on Earth, but also as one of the most precious because the loss of this habitat may be something that could never be recouped. Whooping Cranes Perhaps no other bird better exemplifies the plight of endangered species, and the efforts to save them, than does the Whooping Crane. Prior to European settlement, the species bred from Illinois through Iowa and northward into Alberta. Another population bred in southwestern Lou- isiana. These populations disappeared rapidly in the 19th and early 20th centuries due to pressures from human development. There are currently two populations; the "natural flock" (approximately 134 individuals in 1988) which breeds in Wood Buffalo National Park in northern Canada, and a smaller, experimentally established group (estimated at 19 individuals) which are hatched under Sandhill Crane foster parents in Idaho and migrate to New Mexico (Pratt 1988). Although some birds within the experimental flock are sexually mature, none of the birds have formed permanent pair bonds, and scientists do not know whether they will breed. The entire natural population currently migrates through Nebraska between their breeding grounds in northern Canada and their wintering grounds in Aransas National Wildlife Refuge in Texas. Whooping Cranes fly through Nebraska from the beginning of March to about May 9th on their spring migration north, and from late September to early December on their southward migration ( USFWS 1981, p 40). Whooping Cranes appear to use the river differently than do Sandhill Cranes. Whooping Cranes may stay on the Platte for 2 -7 days, but rarely longer.6 Most stops are for overnight stays or for two days in duration. Allen (1952), who critically analyzed records of Whooping Crane sightings reported between 1820 and 1948, concluded that the Platte was a major stopping area for Whooping Cranes. It has been suggested that, because Whooping Cranes are more aquatic than Sandhill Cranes, Whooping Cranes may have stayed longer in the Platte valley prior to the substantial draining of its wet meadows (Currier 1988, pers. comm.). While it is clear that the Platte is used by the cranes seeking a potentially secure place for resting, it is a matter of interpretation whether the activities of Whooping Cranes while stopped on the Platte constitute staging. In the Whooping Crane Recovery Plan ( USFWS 1986), the terms stopover and staging areas are used synonymously to describe the fact that the Whooping Crane makes regular stops to feed and rest during migration. USFWS (1981) has said that the average 6 One individual remained for 34 days in 1987 (Faanes and Lingle 1988).