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TO: Finance Committee and Governance Committee <br />FROM: Technical Committee <br />RE: Proposal for Fall 2002, Spring 2003, and Fall 2003 Whooping Crane Monitoring <br />DATE: June 26, 2002 <br />Project Title: Fall 2002, Spring 2003, and Fall 2003 Whooping Crane Monitoring <br />Purpose: 1) Augment baseline information related to whooping crane use of the Platte River, 2) <br />Detect and describe whooping crane habitat use along the central Platte River. <br />Proposal: <br />During their May 30 -31, 2002 meeting the Technical Committee discussed future Whooping <br />Crane Monitoring Protocol implementation. The Technical Committee decided by consensus to <br />propose packaging the next three survey periods (fall 2002, spring 2003 and fall 2003) into one <br />request for proposal and subsequent contract. The packaging of the next three survey periods is <br />proposed as a means to attract more bids from qualified contractors. In the past each survey <br />period has been bid separately (spring 2001 and spring 2002) and resulted in only one bid being <br />received as a result of open advertising and notices. The Executive Director's office was also <br />asked to implement the survey during one period (fall 2001) as part their existing scope. <br />The protocol proposed for implementation will be very similar to the December 20, 2001 draft <br />that was implemented during the spring 2002 period. There may be slight modification based on <br />the spring 2002 implementation but it is anticipated that the overall design, scope, timeframes, <br />and major data collection efforts will remain the same. Any modification will be agreed upon by <br />Technical Committee consensus prior to implementation. The attached proposal contains cost <br />estimates for both the spring and fall survey efforts. This proposal includes implementation of <br />the protocol in the fall 2002, spring 2003, and fall 2003 for a total estimated budget of $242,490. <br />The actual budget will depend on the proposals received and number of survey days completed <br />due to weather conditions. For example, the total budget for the past three survey periods (spring <br />and fall 2001 and spring 2002) was approximately $233,000 but the total actual cost for these <br />periods was approximately $178,000 (NOTE: these periods had slightly different survey <br />windows than those contained in the current protocol). If cooperators (e.g., FWS, Districts, Trust, <br />NGPC) provide technicians, vehicles, housing, etc. for the purpose of implementing this <br />protocol, the budget will be correspondingly adjusted. <br />Daily aerial surveys to locate whooping cranes during the spring 2003 period will be conducted <br />between March 21 and April 29. Daily surveys to locate whooping cranes during the fall 2002 <br />and fall 2003 periods will be conducted between October 9 and November 10. Crews will be <br />available at these times to conduct movement tracking, activity monitoring, and site evaluations <br />for whooping cranes located through protocol implementation or from public reports. The aerial <br />survey portion of the protocol calls for two planes to be used, one departing from Grand Island <br />and the other departing from Kearney. Two observers, in addition to the pilot, will be in each <br />plane. Four crewmembers will also be located on the ground during the air survey to receive <br />radio reports from the aircrews on possible whooping crane locations. Ground personnel will <br />