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<br />December 18, 1984 <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />PLATTE RIVER MANAGEMENT JOINT STUDY <br /> <br />Introduction <br /> <br />On March 25, 1983, the Regional Directors of the Bureau of Reclamation <br />(Bureau), LM Region, and Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), Region 6, <br />established a cooperative working group composed of FWS and Bureau <br />representatives charged with developing a fish and wildlife management plan <br />for the Platte River system in central Nebraska. The management plan <br />objectives were developed for two phases. Phase I encompasses alternatives to <br />remove jeopardy, pursuant to the Endangered Species Act (ESA), for the <br />proposed Narrows Unit as it impacts the Federally listed endangered whooping <br />crane. Phase II addresses the needs of migratory and resident wildlife <br />dependent upon the Platte River. Phase II management plans are constrained by <br />the specific needs of the whooping crane and other Federally listed endangered <br />species and by habitat requirements of species listed under the Nebraska <br />Endangered Species Act. <br /> <br />Although the Phase I objectives address only whooping cranes and the Narrows <br />Project, the intention is to develop means and measures for addressing all <br />endangered species jeopardy situations arising from water development in the <br />Platte River Basin (Wyoming, Colorado, and Nebraska). Since the initiation of <br />the Narrows/Whooping Crane Plan of Action, additional Platte River water . <br />development project planning has become active and the Interior Least Tern and <br />the Piping Plover (whose distribution includes the Platte River) have been <br />formally proposed for listing under the Federal Endangered Species Act. <br /> <br />Phase I <br /> <br />The FWS and Bureau representatives have concluded that the habitat along the <br />Platte River in central Nebraska most closely reflecting the characteristic <br />needs of whooping cranes is deteriorating. It also has been determined that a <br />minimum flow, magnitude yet to be determined, is necessary during the fall and <br />spring periods of the year when the whooping crane may roost and feed on the <br />Platte river within the area of concern. This minimum flow may differ during <br />the fall and spring periods and may be influenced by the placement of water <br />control structures within the river channel at selected locations. <br /> <br />It has been concluded that none of the alternatives, including the plan <br />recommended in the biological opinion issued January 20, 1983, are completely <br />satisfactory due to the lack of certainty that, if implemented, the desired <br />results of providing for whooping crane habitat would be achieved. Therefore, <br />Phase I of the plan of action will identify and quantify existing and <br />potential roosting and feeding habitat, refine the habitat-flow relationship <br />information currently available, identify and test onsite management <br />techniques to aid in providing the desired habitat characteristics, develop <br /> <br />. <br />