Identification and Evaluation of Potential Thrid Party Impacts Related to the Habitat Component of the Proposed Platte River Recovery

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3.0 Definition of Baseline Condition 3.0 Definition of Baseline Condition Hazen and Sawyer worked with the Third Party Impact Subcommittee, the FWS and others to define habitat protection scenarios that describe the potential land use changes that would result from the proposed Program The third party impacts for each habitat protection scenario were evaluated relative to a baseline (no program) condition. Therefore, the baseline condition scenario was very important to the analysis. During the scoping process for the Third Party Impact Study, the committee recognized a certain degree of uncertainty associated with defining the baseline condition especially when considering the level of habitat protection that will take place if the Program is not implemented. Therefore, the committee identified two baseline condition scenarios that were to be considered during this study. The first Baseline Condition was described as current and future land uses in the study area without the protection of additional habitat over the study period (2001 - 2020). An alternative baseline was considered where current and future land uses would be modified to include the expected mitigation measures of the FWS if the proposed Program is not implemented. This would involve defining the expected Endangered Species Act (ESA) mitigation measures of the FWS with respect to protecting endangered species and their habitat along the Platte River in the nine county study area. Upon further discussion with the FWS and the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (BOR), it was determined that the alternative baseline condition can not be clearly defined at this time. Therefore, this analysis considered only one baseline condition. 3.1 Baseline Condition The Baseline Condition represents current and expected future land uses on the potential 10,000 acres within the study area without the Program over the study period (2001- 2020). These land uses include agriculture, recreation, gravel mining and non - ESA - related habitat protection efforts by private and public entities that are likely to occur without the Program Current conditions are represented as the average land productivity over a certain representative period. Current Land Use Conditions. An understanding of the current land use conditions was drawn from two different sources. First, relevant economic data from the nine county study area was reviewed to gain an understanding of the significant industries within the study area. The discussion provided in Section 2.0 highlights the importance of agricultural production. Land coverage data and GIS maps provided information on existing land uses in the general area along the Platte River where Program lands would be sited. This general area is referred to in this report as "The Habitat Protection Area". This area includes a 3.5 mile -wide track of land on each side of the Platte River from Lexington to Chapman, Nebraska. The area includes approximately one to two miles of floodplain on each side of the river. A buffer area of upland habitat would extend beyond the floodplain. Hwd.•40210R012.doc 3 -1 Third Party Impact Study Final Report