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<br />(GGCJ <br /> <br />Review of the Geological Survey's stream gaging records of the Platte <br />River near Overton for tne period 1940 to 1970 indicates that ice jams <br />influence the river stage at the stream3gage location, particularly <br />when river flows are less than 2,500 ft Is. Ice jams, which are formed <br />generally between December and March, cause ponding and temporarily <br />higher river stages of from 1 to 2 feet. The effect on the water table <br />of a 1 to 2 foot rise in river stage at the gage near Overton is 3 <br />approximately equivalent to having a flow of from 3,000 to 6,000 ft Is. <br />This type of temporary ponding probably occurs throughout the reach of <br />the Platte River from Overton to Chapman during the December-to-March <br />peri od. <br /> <br />Whoopi ng Cranes <br /> <br />As of January 1, 1978, the count of whooping cranes wintering on the <br />Texas Gulf Coast at the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge was 71. This <br />remnant natural population is the flock which utilizes the Central <br />Flyway of North American, whi ch incl udes the "big bend" area of the <br />Platte River. <br /> <br />The Central Flyway's 71 whooping cranes migrate 2,600 miles between <br />nesting sites in northern Alberta's Wood Buffalo Park and wintering <br />grounds in Aransas National Wildlife Refuge on the Texas Gulf Coast, <br />The Platte River in Nebraska provides important resting and feeding <br />nabitat for the whoopers along their arduous migration route. <br /> <br />Exhibit 4 shows the whoopers' present migratory route through the <br />lower 48 states and year of last recorded sightings in surrounding <br />states lA~len, 1952), Nebraska has recorded more confirmed sightings <br />of the whooping crane than any other State with the exception of <br />Texas where the entire flock spends the winter, The locations of some <br />of these confirmed sightings, which have occurred in Nebraska during <br />the years 1922-1975, are shown on exhibit 5. It should be noted that <br />this exhibit may not present an entirely accurate distribution pattern <br />for the whooping crane in Nebraska. The preponderance of confirmed <br />sightings in the "big bend" (i .e., Overton to Chapman reach) of the <br />Platte River may be due to the fact that this river reach is intensively <br />suveyed each spring by professional wildlife biologists, <br /> <br />34 <br />