WSPC03939

• File Number: 8460.500
• Description: Platte River Basin - Endangered Species Issues - South Platte Recovery Program
• State: CO
• Basin: South Platte
• Water Division: 1
• Date: 12/5/1995
• Author: Matthew J Cook
• Title: South Platte Agreement - Groundwater Recharge as Augmentation for Restoring Wetlands Along the Central Platte River Nebraska - Final Report
• Water Supply Pro - Doc Type: Report/Study

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000661

3.0 LITERATURE REVIEW
3.1 Scope of Area Affected
The Platte River basin drains an area of approximately 90,000 square
miles located within the states of Nebraska, Wyoming and Colorado (Wesche et.
al. 1988). This drainage system is composed of three major segments: the North
Platte River, the South Platte River, and the main portion of the Platte River
(Figure 1). The main portion of the Platte River begins at the confluence of the
North and South Platte Rivers, and flows in an easterly direction across the
plains of Nebraska until its confluence with the Missouri River near Omaha,
Nebraska. The central portion of the Platte River forms a wide bend from the
confluence of the North and South branches to Columbus, Nebraska. This
reach of the river is often referred to as the "Big Bend" section of the River
(Figure 1). Throughout this section, the Platte River has formed into a wide,
braided channel with numerous islands.
Contained within these islands and adjacent cultivated fields are many of
the wet meadows available for the migratory whooping crane and sandhill crane.
The other wet meadows are found in low-lying areas within the Platte River
valley. Currently only 27,353 acres of wet meadow vegetation remain, of which
18,828 acres are located in the Big Bend reach (Currier et. al. 1985).

3.2 Background of Problem.
Although decreasing flows in the Big Bend reach of the Platte River can
be attributed to several factors that will be discussed later, the many studies that
have been done concerning this problem really began after the whooping crane
was listed as an endangered species on March 11, 1967 (32 Federal Register
4001). The listing of the whooping crane as endangered became very
significant in 1973 with the passage of the Endangered Species Act. The
Endangered Species Act (ESA) is a revolutionary document. It was the first
piece of major legislation that sought to protect endangered species

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