Documentation of Existing Conditions in the Central Platte Valley

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SECTIOHONE introduction The endangered species and wildlife resources of the Central Platte Valley of Nebraska have been a focus for study and protection for more than 20 years, principally because of the potential for water development projects to jeopardize certain Platte River species. In the 1970s, the proposed Grayrocks Dam on the Laramie River in Wyoming led to a court- approved settlement which established the Platte River Whooping Crane Maintenance Trust in 1978. The Platte River Management Joint Study originated from a jeopardy opinion on the Narrows Project, and it was ongoing from 1985 to 1993. Beginning in 1984, the proposed relicensing of the Kingsley Dam and the North Platte/Keystone Diversion Dam by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) resulted in a prolonged permitting process. These and other conflicts between the ESA and water development led eventually to the July 1997 Cooperative Agreement for Platte River Research and Other Efforts Relating to Endangered Species Habitats Along the Central Platte River, Nebraska (Cooperative Agreement). Attachment I of the Cooperative Agreement lists milestones by year and subject. This report has been prepared to address Research Milestone Rl -1 of the Cooperative Agreement. Rl -1 requires the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) to document the habitat and species conditions existing in the Central Platte Valley as of July 1, 1997, to compare against future changes /improvements in habitat and species status. This report will be referred to as the "baseline" and is intended to provide a description of the existing quantity and quality of habitat for target species and other important resources in the Central Platte River Valley. This Baseline Report is also designed to help support other milestones, specifically R2 -1 (habitat and species monitoring and research), and R3 -1 (means of ascertaining biological responses to mitigation measures). To assist in interpretation of the data provided, a summary is presented at the end of each section that briefly reviews the ability of the existing baseline to support future monitoring. Since the species and habitat monitoring program for the Cooperative Agreement is under development at the time of this writing, evaluation of data adequacy to support monitoring is preliminary and �. will be revised as needed. The assessment of adequacy was based on past monitoring recommendations of the Platte River Management Joint Study (FWS 1990), working papers from the Technical Committee, and general considerations of habitat quantity and quality and species population size and structure. The Cooperative Agreement covers four target species listed as threatened or endangered pursuant to the Endangered Species Act (ESA, 16 USC 1531 et seq.), and their associated habitats. For purposes of the Cooperative Agreement and its attachments, the term "associated habitats ", means the following: • For whooping crane, interior least tern, and piping plover, associated habitats includes the Platte River Valley from the junction of U.S. Highway 283 and Interstate 80 (I -80) near Lexington, Nebraska, extending eastward to Chapman, .Nebraska, and including designated critical habitat for the whooping crane. • For pallid sturgeon, associated habitat means the lower Platte River between its confluence with the Elkhorn River and its confluence with the Missouri River. $wi 68F0D9728600/r1.dx 601999(9:52AM)/URSGWCFS12 1-1