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. . Endangered and Threatened Species of/he Platte River The committee concluded that current habitat conditions on the central Platte River adversely affect the likelihood of survival of the interior least tern-in much the same fashion as they affect the likelihood of survival of the piping plover-and that on the basis of available information, current habitat conditions on the central Platte River adversely affect the likelihood of recovery of the interior least tern. Reliable population estimates indicate that the total (regional) population of interior least terns was at the recovery goal of7,000 in 1995, but some breeding areas, including the central Platte River, were not at identified recovery levels. The central Platte subpopulation of least terns declined from 1991 to 200 I. The number of tems using the Platte River is about two-thirds of the number needed to reach the interior least tem recovery goal for the Platte. The interior tem is nesting in substantial numbers on the adjacent lower Platte River, but numbers continue to decline on the central Platte, reflecting declining habitat conditions there. The decline in the tern population on the central Platte River has been coincidental with the loss of numerous bare sandbars and beaches along the river. Control of flows and diversion of water from the channel are the causes of these geomorphic changes. Woodland vegetation, unsuitable as tern habitat, has colonized some parts of the central Platte River, Altemative habitats such as abandoned sand mines or sandy shores of Lake McConaughy are not suitable substitutes for Platte River habitat because they are susceptible to disturbance by humans and natural predators. The shores of Lake McConaughy are available only at lower stages of the reservoir, and they disappear at high stages. 6. Do current habitat conditions in the lower Platte (below the mouth 0/ the Elkhorn River) affect the likelihood o/survival of the pallid sturgeon? Do they limit [adversely affect) its recovery? Current habitat conditions on the lower Platte River (downstream of the mouth of the Elkhorn River) do not adversely affect the likelihood of survival and recovery of the pallid sturgeon because that reach ofthe river appears to retain several habitat characteristics apparently preferred by the species: a braided channel of shifting sandbars and islands; a sandy substrate; relatively warm, turbid waters; and a flow regime that is similar to conditions that were found in the upper Missouri River and its tributaries before the installation of large dams on the Missouri. Alterations of discharge patterns or channel features that modifY those characteristics might irreparably alter this habitat for pallid sturgeon use. In addition, the lower Platte River is connected with a long undammed reach of the Missouri River, which allows access of the pallid sturgeon in the Platte River to other segments of the existing population. Channelization and damming of the Missouri River have depleted pallid sturgeon habitats throughout its former range, so the lower Platte may be even more important for its survival and recovery, The population of pallid sturgeon is so low in numbers, and habitat such as the lower Platte River that replicates the original undisturbed habitat of the species is so rare that the lower Platte River is pivotal in the management and recovery ofthe species. 7. Were the processes and methodologies used by the USFWS in developing its central Platte River lnstream Flow Recommendations (i.e. species, annual pulse flows, and peak flows) scientifically valid? . . USFWS used methods described in an extensive body of scientific and engineering literature. Reports of interagency working groups that addressed instream flow recommendations cite more than 80 references that were in wide use and generally accepted in the river science 8