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caused continuous movement of the braided river channels and sandbars, resulting in a broad, <br />shallow, sandy, channel generally devoid of vegetation. This created an ideal habitat for many <br />avian species and was a key part of the Central Flyway, a bird migratory route stretching from <br />Canada to South Texas. <br />Platte River Basin Water Development <br />In the early days of the frontier, the trade route to the west beyond the Rocky Mountains <br />followed the North Platte River. Settlement in the North Platte Valley in western Nebraska <br />began in the early 1880's. Rainfall was scarce and private irrigation was built without storage <br />reservoirs. Shortly after the 1902 Federal Reclamation Act was passed, the Reclamation Service <br />started studying the North Platte Project. The project was subsequently authorized in 1903. <br />The North Platte Project's Pathfinder Dam is one of the first constructed by the <br />Reclamation Service. The water storage and irrigation service area for the North Platte Project <br />extend 111 miles along the North Platte River Valley from Guernsey, Wyoming to Bridgeport, <br />Nebraska. The project provides full service irrigation for about 226,000 acres divided into four <br />irrigation districts. Supplemental irrigation service is furnished to eight water user associations <br />serving a combined area of about 109,000 acres. Other smaller water projects have also been <br />developed in the basin. <br />Water development in the basin has caused significant changes in water flows and land <br />use. With changes in the hydrology of the river and the structure of riparian habitats, the <br />sustainability of migratory and resident birds and other animals has been compromised, and <br />habitat for the targeted species has been adversely affected. The Platte River Recovery <br />Implementation Program is designed to secure defined benefits for the target species and their <br />associated habitats while also providing ESA compliance for existing and certain new water - <br />related activities in the Platte River basin. <br />River Recovery Implementation <br />The focus of the habitat recovery program is the 95 miles between Lexington and <br />Chapman (Figure 1). Several listed species use the Central Platte River Valley for habitat, <br />including the four target species. In addition, the Central Platte River Valley is an important <br />migratory destination for the whooping crane. <br />Over the last 150 years as much as 90 percent of the habitat used by the three bird species <br />along the Central Platte River has been lost. The goal of the plan is to revitalize the Platte River <br />and increase downstream flows during certain times of the year by 130,000 to 150,000 acre -feet <br />to enhance habitat and reduce the likelihood that other species found in the area will become <br />listed as endangered or threatened. <br />Recovery Program (Title I of H.R. 146 <br />3 <br />