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<br />048S <br />. <br /> <br />of the flight). (Fish and Wildlife Service, 1977) <br /> <br />Basically, flow depletions have transformed the Brady-Lexington reach <br />of the Platte River from a wide, shallow, unvegetated channel with <br />excellent visibility to a narrow, timber-choked channel with poor <br />visibility (Fish and Wildlife Service, 1976). Such degradation renders <br />the river habitat useless for cranes (Fish and Wildlife Service, 1977). <br /> <br />This habitat deterioration may ,be readily verified by a comparison of <br /> <br />, <br />1938 and 1969 aerial photos of the Platte River. Fish and Wildlife <br />personnel in the Grand Island office h~~~anged 19 such comparison <br />transects, each 2 miles wide. Th~/t~n~~~~~re selected on a <br />stratified-random basis and re~sent.abJl?t a 23 percent sample (Fish <br />/,' '" <br />and Wildlife Service, 1977)::' '/ <br />,<, -' <br /><,^' . , <br />, -'. <br />As mentioned previ~~~'t~;7~;oachment of woody vegetation is <br />inhibited by scour dUr~~igh flows, and by ice jam washouts and ice- <br />induced scouring. The relative importance of the usual peak flows during <br />April-June versus those occurring during the December-March ice-affected <br />period in providing scour is not known (Geological Survey, 1975). <br /> <br />However, according to the Fish and Wildlife Service (1976), severe <br /> <br />flow depletions, such as those which have occurred between Brady and <br /> <br /> <br />Lexington, negate the river's natural capacity to prevent tree <br /> <br /> <br />encroachment. And, this coupled with a constriction of the river <br /> <br />. <br />channel eliminates sandhill crane use. Sandhills will completely shun <br />, <br /> <br />, <br />