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longevity or fitness due to unforseen genetic factors. <br />Productivity estimates for plovers on the Missouri River from 1986 to 2000 ranged from a low of 0.09 <br />chicks /pair in 1986 to a high of 1.61 chicks /pair in 1998. Three years of record flows (1995 to 1997) <br />on the Missouri River affected river morphology such that in the succeeding normal flow period an <br />abundance of habitat complexes were created on the river. These complexes provided the necessary <br />conditions that resulted in the highest fledge ratios to date; 1.61 chicks /pair in 1998 and 1.58 <br />chicks /pair in 2000. These fledge ratios are either recognized as sufficient to meet population stability <br />(Ryan et. al. 1993, Melvin and Gibbs 1994, and Prindiville - Gaines and Ryan 1988) or are just shy of <br />that mark (Haig and Plissner 2000). The average productivity for plovers on the Missouri River from <br />1986 to 1999 is 0.735 fledged chicks /pair which is far below that which has been estimated to provide <br />population stability. <br />Importance of the Missouri River to the Piping Plover - During the 1991 and 1996 International <br />Piping Plover Census, the number of adult plovers nesting on the Missouri River accounted for <br />approximately 31 percent and 12 percent respectively, of the Northern Great Plains population. <br />Nesting has been documented on the Missouri River main stem from Valley County, Montana, to <br />Dixon County, Nebraska. Most nesting occurs along the flowing reaches between Garrison Dam and <br />Lake Oahe in North Dakota (26.1 percent) and between Gavins Point Dam and Ponca, NE (27.2 <br />percent). Plovers also nest along beach shorelines of the reservoirs when habitat is available. The <br />Missouri River is extremely important for providing nesting habitats during droughts when most of the <br />ephemeral alkali wetland nesting habitats in the prairie pothole region are dry. The importance of the <br />Missouri River to piping plovers as a migratory corridor is unknown. Plovers have been seen staging <br />on the river in the fall and large flocks of plovers have been seen at tributary deltas during spring <br />migration <br />Importance of the Kansas River to the Piping Plover - The first known breeding record for the <br />piping plover on the Kansas River occurred in 1996 when two pairs of plovers nested on sandbar <br />habitat. This habitat was on a new channel created by the high water in 1993. Success of piping <br />plovers since the initial 1996 nesting has been tenuous. Because much of the flow in the Kansas River <br />has been controlled since the 1950s, sandbar habitat is usually not available for the plovers. The <br />importance of the Kansas River to piping plovers is virtually unknown. <br />Pallid Sturgeon <br />Historic and Current Distribution in the Action Area - Today, pallid sturgeon only are occasionally <br />found in a few selected areas. Since 1980, reports of most frequent occurrence are from the Missouri <br />River: (1) between the Marias River and Ft. Peck Reservoir in Montana; (2) between Ft. Peck Dam <br />and Lake Sakakawea (near Williston, North Dakota); (3) within the lower 70 mi (113 km) of the <br />Yellowstone River downstream of Fallon, Montana; (4) in the headwaters of Lake Sharpe in South <br />Dakota; and (5) near the mouth of the Platte River near Plattsmouth, Nebraska; and (6) from the lower <br />Env. Baseline -PS 155 <br />