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When side channels of the Platte River extend beyond the 3.5 -mile area, a 2 -mile area is included <br />around these channels. For pallid sturgeon, the study area consists of the lower Platte River <br />between its confluence with the Elkhorn River and its confluence with the Missouri River. The <br />design of the monitoring and research includes three spatial scales: system level, Program lands <br />level, and project level (e.g., a specific area being managed within Program lands). <br />• System level monitoring investigates the entire study area. The objective of this level of <br />monitoring and research is to evaluate the effects of the Program on the target species' <br />and their habitat throughout this portion of the associated habitats (see Platte River <br />Recovery Implementation Program, page 1, for description). This will be done through <br />analysis of correlations of species use, species abundance, use site characteristics and <br />other variables (e.g., resource availability, changes in land use, river stage, etc.). <br />Examples of system level monitoring include tracking trends in sediment transport, the <br />abundance of sand bars and islands, the abundance of wet meadows, and the abundance <br />of crane roosting sites and their physical and biotic characteristics throughout the study <br />area. System level monitoring allows the estimation of habitat selection (Manley et al. <br />2002) by target species, which is useful in the evaluation of the effectiveness of the First <br />Increment of the Program in meeting goals and objectives in the Program and evaluation <br />of hypotheses related to species habitat needs. <br />Program lands level monitoring and research will investigate specific actions taken to <br />implement the Land and Water Action Plans. The objective of Program lands level is <br />research and monitoring is to evaluate the effectiveness of the entire suite of management <br />practices implemented on each parcel of Program land. Examples of Program lands level <br />monitoring and research include determining plant species composition and abundance on <br />the entire property and more detailed measurements of sediment transport, channel <br />widths, and abundance of sandbars and islands. <br />• The objective of project level research is to evaluate processes (e.g., the relation of flow <br />to channel habitat maintenance) and management methods (e.g., a specific timber <br />clearing activity, wet meadow development, island creation). The IMRP identifies <br />several research areas and topics (IMRP Table 1) for the evaluation of processes and <br />methods. For example, the IMRP contains research items related to channel geomorphic <br />processes (e.g., sediment transport, island building, flows) and management methods to <br />influence channel geomorphology (e.g., sediment augmentation, island lowering) (see <br />Tasks 1 -4 in IMRP Table 1). Specific monitoring and research studies will be adopted <br />for each type of project. However, it is important that research be conducted as soon as <br />practical so that 1) knowledge gained related to processes can be used in other projects, 2) <br />successful methods can be implemented in other areas, as they are deemed appropriate, <br />and 3) sufficient time is available to allow meaningful research data to be collected <br />during the First Increment of the Program. It is also important to consider monitoring <br />and research needs when evaluating land protection options through the Land Action <br />Plan. <br />2 <br />