Platte River Channel Becomes a Focus for Platte River Cooperative Program Studies2001

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various times, but measures related to sediment were not part of the 1997 Program. The focus of the Program outlined at that time was on providing increased river flows and land habitat, not on the channel's stability." The technical report also outlines approaches that could be undertaken to prevent further habitat loss. Morgenweck also noted that the other participants in the cooperative program have not yet reviewed or evaluated the report. The three states are in the process of selecting an independent contractor to review the report and to conduct an independent assessment of what, if any, channel related issues need to be addressed in the Program. That work will not be completed for several months. Morgenweck continued, "It's critical to the success of the cooperative recovery program that any continuing loss of river habitat be considered and addressed. It would be hard to build a successful habitat restoration effort if habitat was still being lost throughout the critical reach of the river." Some of the potential remedies discussed in the report are similar to habitat improvement activities that have been used for several years on the Central Platte. With the assistance of landowners along the river, organizations such as the Whooping Crane Trust, Audubon Society, and Fish and Wildlife Service have been clearing river islands of trees and vegetation to restore roosting and nesting habitat for the target species, while also improving habitat conditions for waterfowl and other migratory birds. One of the options considered in the report is to augment these efforts with leveling of some smaller islands back into the river channels. Maryanne C. Bach, Regional Director for the Bureau of Reclamation, stated that, "The option outlined in the report involves releasing river sand that has been trapped by vegetation on islands in the river channel, not moving topsoil from farms into the river." Bach noted that the Platte River Governance Committee is continuing its development of the proposed recovery program and that these issues will be discussed in that forum. The Department of the Interior, the three States, water user groups, and environmental groups are all members of the Governance Committee and that group will eventually need to come to a consensus about how to improve river habitat for the three threatened and endangered bird species. If successful, the recovery program would enable current levels of use of the Platte River waters for irrigation, municipal, industrial, and power generation to continue in compliance with the Endangered Species Act without additional obligations being imposed on the owners and operators of those current uses. The report, "The Platte River Channel: History and Restoration," and other information on the Cooperative Agreement program is available at www.platteriver.ora. For additional questions regarding this report, you may contact the Platte River EIS Office, in Lakewood, Colorado, at 303 - 445 -2096. -END -