Spring 2001 Whooping Crane Migrational Survey Protocol Implementation Report

• Description: Platte River Endangered Species Partnership ‎(aka Platte River Cooperative Agreement [CA]; aka Platte River Recovery Implementation Program [PRRIP])‎ Technical Advisory Committee ‎(TAC)‎
• State: CO
• State: NE
• State: WY
• Basin: South Platte
• Water Division: 1
• Date: 11/19/2001
• Author: Platte River Cooperative Agreement Technical Advisory Committee
• Title: Spring 2001 Whooping Crane Migrational Survey Protocol Implementation Report
• Water Supply Pro - Doc Type: Report/Study

Draft
Monitoring whooping crane migrational habitat use in the
central Platte River valley
I. INTRODUCTION
The States of Colorado, Nebraska and Wyoming and the Department of the Interior (DOI)
agreed to participate in a basin -wide cooperative program relating to four target species (interior
least tern, piping plover, whooping crane and pallid sturgeon) and their associated habitats in the
Cooperative Agreement for Implementing a Platte River Recovery Implementation Program
(Program). One of the primary purposes of the Program is to "implement certain aspects of the
FWS' recovery plans for the target species that relate to their associated habitats by providing for
the following: 1) securing defined benefits for the target species and their associated habitats to
assist in their conservation and recovery through a basin -wide cooperative approach that can be
agreed to by the three states and DOI... ". The Program builds upon the July 1, 1997 Cooperative
Agreement for Platte River Research and Other Efforts Relating to Endangered Species Habitats _
Along the Central Platte River, Nebraska (July 1997 Cooperative Agreement).
Program implementation will follow a process of adaptive management to address areas of
scientific uncertainty. Monitoring is an integral part of the adaptive management process. The
adaptive management approach will allow for efficient modification of management actions in
response to new and changing environmental conditions. The Program's Technical Committee
will monitor and document, relative to the habitat and species conditions that existed as of the
effective date of the Cooperative Agreement, habitat and species responses to habitat
improvement activities. With scientific advisory assistance, the Technical Committee will
review monitoring results and make recommendations to the Program's Governance Committee
regarding the effects of Program activities on whooping crane habitat use in the study area. The
Governance Committee, using the Technical Committee's input, will evaluate projects and the
overall Program to determine what, if any, changes are needed in the management.
This monitoring protocol will be used by the Technical Committee to gather information on
whooping crane habitat use in the study area. It is understood that regardless of survey method
not all cranes are certain of being detected during migration and therefore full implementation of
this or any other protocol will not represent complete use of the central Platte River valley.
Information from this protocol will be used to help evaluate the biological response of whooping
cranes and habitat to the land and water management activities of the Program.
The National Wildlife Federation, working with the Nebraska Wildlife Federation, will be
funding and conducting a repeated ground survey for whooping cranes in the study area. The
Federation will follow a Technical Committee consensus protocol. The ground survey will
consist of volunteer observers driving predefined routes on a regular schedule while looking for
whooping cranes in all types of habitats. Sightings from these efforts will be included in the
opportunistic locates as described in the following protocol.
This monitoring protocol addresses several July 1997 Cooperative Agreement milestones: