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Evaluation of Effects of the Platte River Recovery Implementation Program
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Evaluation of Effects of the Platte River Recovery Implementation Program
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Last modified
7/26/2013 4:06:56 PM
Creation date
3/6/2013 11:05:50 AM
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Template:
Water Supply Protection
Description
related to the Platte River Endangered Species Partnership (aka Platte River Recovery Implementation Program or PRRIP)
State
CO
NE
WY
Basin
South Platte
Water Division
1
Date
6/16/2000
Author
PRRIP
Title
Evaluation of Effects of the Platte River Recovery Implementation Program (In Fulfillment of Milestone 113 -1 by U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service)
Water Supply Pro - Doc Type
Report/Study
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new depletions to the Platte River system are likely to jeopardize the continued existence of the <br />whooping crane, piping plover, interior least tern and pallid sturgeon, and adversely modify <br />designated critical habitat. In order to avoid the likelihood of jeopardy to the target species, the <br />Program must address the causes of jeopardy resulting from Platte River depletions. The <br />jeopardy biological opinions issued by the Service since 1994, are based on two types of adverse <br />effects resulting from depletions to Platte River flows. <br />1) The first type is the immediate and direct effect on aquatic river habitats used by federally <br />listed species. Physical habitat characteristics, such as water depth, velocity, temperature, <br />width of water in the channel, and wetted surface area, are related to discharge and river <br />stage. Changes in these variables affect the amount and distribution of roost habitat <br />available for migrating whooping cranes. These variables also determine the extent of <br />riverine nesting habitat to terns and plovers and quality of foraging habitat available to the <br />species. <br />2) The second type is the effect on the interrelated biological, physical, and temporal properties <br />of the river system. Since 1992, the Service and ecologists have emphasized the importance <br />of maintaining the structure and functions of the Platte River processes. To reduce the <br />decline of Platte River endangered species habitat, measures must be taken to improve: a) <br />hydrologic processes that reincorporate sediment transport and vegetation removal; b) open <br />channel and sandbar creation and maintenance for roosting, nesting, and wading birds, as <br />well as instream aquatic habitat diversity; c) aquifer recharge for wetland maintenance; d) <br />backwater flooding for nutrient cycling; fish spawning, refugia, and distribution; and e) <br />water temperature and other water quality factors. <br />Cumulative depletions of normal high flows in the spring, which are elemental to the structure and <br />function of the Platte River ecosystem, include: <br />Reduction in frequency and duration of normal high flows in February /March and May /June. <br />These reductions adversely affect the formation and maintenance of wide, alluvial channels; <br />promote seedling establishment and expansion of riparian woodlands along the river. <br />Vegetation of sandbars and attachment of sandbars to river banks reduces the amount of <br />roosting habitat available for whooping cranes during migration, and nesting and feeding <br />habitats for terns and plovers. <br />Depletions to high flows adversely affect wet meadows adjacent to the river. In February <br />and March, rising groundwater levels thaw the soil and initiate biological responses of soil <br />organisms. Flow depletions during April, and in particular, May and June incrementally <br />reduce groundwater levels and decrease the frequency and duration of soil column <br />saturation. Groundwater levels during the growing season are important for maintaining the <br />long -term biological functions of wet meadows for federally listed species and other fish and <br />wildlife species. Incremental and cumulative changes of wet meadows toward more xeric <br />conditions adversely affects the productivity of aquatic and semi - aquatic wet meadow <br />communities, and contributes to fragmentation of the habitat via conversion of wet meadows <br />4 <br />
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