WSP03922

• File Number: 8460.400
• Description: Platte River Basin-Platte River Basin Endangered Species Issues-Platte River Management Joint Study
• Basin: South Platte
• Water Division: 1
• Date: 1/1/3000
• Title: Develop Criteria for Identifying Increments of Managed Land for Recovery Purposes
• Water Supply Pro - Doc Type: Report/Study

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B. Ilcck/Seqment present Water Xanaqam.nt

This alternative plan is described. as a plan that would develop
only the land resources of the Central Platte and water reeources
would be managed as developed to date. The conditions that are
the goal ot this alternative is to have a habitat management area
in each bridge seqment between LeXington, NE and Chapman, NE (see
Figure 2). The habitat management areas would vary in size with
, smaller segments ot land being managed in between large blocks of
land. The Biology work group 8sti2llated 4 })locks and 6 5eqments
should be developed for T&E species habitat. The block/seqment
plan conslsts ot one management area in ten bridge seqments
between Lexington and Chapman, Nebraska. There ara 12 bridge
seqments. A ..qment must contain an area of about 250 acres per
roost site of river channel tor Whooping cranes (1150 ft X 2
miles) plus 2000 acres wet meadow bUffar and. 110 acres of least
tern and piping plover habitat (includin; at least two 3.6 acre
nestin; islands). The resultinq areas.will ba approximately 2400
acres. Four of the segments must include .dditignal 1450 acres
of habitat for Whooping cranes, least terns, and piping plovers
to complete the block portion of the plan. Therefore, six
seqments will have management areas of 2400 acres and four
seqments will have manaqement areas of 3800 acres.

Li.ted below are the bridge segments considered in the management
plan:

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1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12

Brides Seament
Lexington to overton
Overton to Elm Cl'eek (Block)
Elm Creek to Odes.a
Odsssll to Kearney
Kearney to Nebr 10
Nebr. 10 to Gibbon (Block)
Gibbon to Shelton
Shelton to Wood River
Wood River to Ald. (Block)
AIda to U.S. 281 (Block)
U.s. 281 to U.S. 34
U.S. 34 to Chapman

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Because ot the nature of the river, i.e. small meanders, bends
ana wooded islands, it would be difficult to create a 2 mile
unobstructed view up and downstream for Whooping cranes.
Therefore, within each bridge segment, the widest and longest
section of the river will be use~ in ths habitat management plan.
Least terns and piping plovers require an unobstructed channel
width of at least 900 feet. UnObstructed channel widths of 1150
feet provide optimum roosting habitat tor whoopinq cranes in the
Platte River valley.

A subgroup of the Alternatives work group met in Grand Island, NE

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