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

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Executive Summary Study Period. The Third Party Impact Study includes an evaluation of impacts from protecting and managing 10,000 acres over a twenty -year study period from 2001 to 2020. This study period was based on some assumptions regarding the schedule for protection, restoration and management of habitat lands. The schedule for habitat protection and management was adapted from the Preliminary Draft — Milestones for First Increment of Proposed Plane River Recoven• Implementation Program, drafted by the FWS in October 1998. The assumptions made regarding the schedule were developed solely for the purpose of evaluating third party impacts and are as follows. ■ The Program will start in 2001 with the restoration and management of the Cottonwood Ranch property (2,650) that was acquired by the Nebraska Public Power District in 1992 for wildlife habitat. Restoration will continue as a phased program and was assumed to be completed by 2006. ■ The Program will protect, restore and manage an estimated additional 7,350 acres for endangered species as described for each of the habitat protection scenarios. All 10,000 acres will be restored by 2006. A twenty -year study period was chosen to capture the full effects of acquiring and/or protecting 10,000 acres during the first increment of Program Baseline Condition. The Baseline Condition represents current and expected future land uses on the potential 10,000 acres in the study area without the Program over the study period. The potential 10,000 acres are called the Habitat Protection Area. These land uses include agriculture, recreation, gravel mining and non - Endangered Species Act (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 uses and productivity over a certain representative period. Factors that may affect future land use include changes in farm policies and the demand for second homes and recreation sites along the Platte River. These factors and others were considered when defining the baseline condition. Under the baseline condition, land uses within the Habitat Protection Area will generally mirror current uses over the study period. This conclusion is based on information on land use trends in the nine- county study area. The central Platte region has traditionally been a relatively stable area with agriculture the dominant land use. While there are some indications that land use trends may be changing in the study area with additional development and the purchase of property for second homes, at this time it is not anticipated that the change in land use will be significant. Therefore, it is assumed that current land use conditions will continue over the study period. Habitat Protection Scenarios. Three habitat protection scenarios were defined for the purpose of evaluating third party impacts as follows. 1• Iwd.40210R009.doc ES -3 Third Party Impact Study Final Report