Pallid Sturgeon and the Role of the Proposed Program

Home Browse Search

Water Depth: 1.97 -47.56 feet Turbidity: 31.3 -137.6 Nephelometric turbidity units; Secchi 39 -157 inches i1S THEIR INFORMATION FORM THE TWO FISH ED TRACKED THAT COULD BE ADDED HERE? I SHOULD KNOW THE ANSWER TO THIS BUT OBVIOUSLY I DON'T OR I WOULDN'T HAVE ASKED THE QUESTION! The above information suggests that the pallid could utilize environmental conditions similar to those present on the Platte but historic information indicates that they did not frequently use the Platte jBAILY AND CROSS REFE.RENCE21. The Service has I �� indicated that "...the Platte River provides some of the least altered habitat of these types in the central part of the species range" (USFWS, April 22, 2002 no author cited). The fact that the Service has concluded that the Platte provides some of the conditions that have been present at known use sites should not be used to make the case for creating a pallid sturgeon fishery in a place where it apparently did not exist and that historically was not critical to the pallids existence. Attempting to create a fishery and any potential future requisite hydrological or morphological parameters simply ignores the current body of information and potentially creates an inappropriate technical, economical and legal burden on the potential Program participants {THIS LAST SENTNECE SAYS A. MOUTH -FULL. IT GOES ALONG THE LINES OF JENNIGES' ANALOGY OF BIGHORN SHEEP AND WHOOPING CRANES. I LIKE THE CONCEPT BUT I'M�� NOT SURE WHERE IT GETS US. WOULD WE BE BETTER OFF SAYING THAT tr FOR NOW LET'S MONITOR THE FISH IN THE 1s. INCREMENT SO WE KNOW' HOW IF THE PROGRAM CAN BENEFIT THE SPP AT ALL`? . Mitigation for impacts to the Missouri River should not be the responsibility of the Proposed Program participants. If alternate habitats are necessary for mitigation it should be the responsibility of the entities impacting the habitat on the Missouri River not Platte River water users. At this time it appears that the Service may be suggesting a process that could culminate in the Platte River water users receiving a disproportional level of responsibility for the pallid. In light of the information summarized here and in the literature it is not clear that Platte River water uses have adversely modified habitat that is essential to the pallid sturgeon. However, in the interest of advancing a cooperative program and assisting other in understanding more about the pallid a monitoring and research program appears to be prudent. The focus of the monitoring and research for the first increment should be on: 1) documenting the exiting information both on the Platte and throughout it's range; 2) documenting use of the Platte by pallid sturgeon including documentation of habitat conditions at use sites; 3) monitoring of select water chemistry measurement at key sub - basin locations. To go beyond this effort would be premature and not in the long -term interest of the Proposed Program participants. Rev. 1 Sept. 3, 2002 Draft R.B. 4