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' EXECUTIVE SUMMARY <br />tU.S. FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE BIOLOGICAL OPINION <br />On The <br />' <br />FEDERAL ENERGY REGULATORY COMMISSION'S PREFERRED ALTERNATIVE <br />' FOR THE PROPOSED RELICENSING OF <br />KINGSLEY DAM AND NORTH PLATTE /KEYSTONE DIVERSION DAM <br />(FERC PROJECT NOS. 1417 AND 1835) <br />Formal Section 7 Consultation <br />On February 14, 1996, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Commission) <br />requested initiation of formal consultation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife <br />Service (Service) on a preferred alternative (proposed action) for relicensing <br />hydroelectric projects owned and operated by the Central Nebraska Public Power <br />and Irrigation District and the Nebraska Public Power District (Districts). <br />This request is pursuant to section 7(a)(2) of the Endangered Species Act of <br />1973 (Act) which requires a federal action agency to formally consult with the <br />Service after a determination has been made that a proposed action may affect <br />federally listed species or designated critical habitat. The Service is then <br />required to issue a biological opinion which provides detailed information as <br />to how the proposed action affects federally listed species or designated <br />critical habitat. If. the biological opinion concludes that a proposed action <br />is likely to jeopardize the continued existence of federally listed species or <br />destroy or adversely modify designated critical habitat, the Service must <br />suggest reasonable and prudent alternatives, if available, which the federal <br />action agency should implement to avoid the likelihood of jeopardy or adverse <br />modification. <br />Biological Opinion <br />The Service concludes in this biological opinion that the effects associated <br />with the proposed action are likely to: a) jeopardize the continued existence <br />of the endangered whooping crane, least tern, and pallid sturgeon, and the <br />threatened piping plover; and b) result in the destruction or adverse <br />modification of federally designated whooping crane critical habitat along the <br />central Platte River. In addition, the proposed action may adversely affect <br />but is not likely to jeopardize the continued existence of the bald eagle, <br />Eskimo curlew, American burying beetle, and the western prairie fringed <br />orchid. The effects associated with the Commission's proposed action are also <br />likely to jeopardize the continued existence of the sturgeon chub which is <br />