Endangered and threatened species of the Platte River / Committee on Endangered and Threatened Species in the Platte River Basin, Board on Environmental Studies and Toxicology, Water Science and Technology Board, Division on Earth and Life Studies, National Research Council of the National Academies.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

National Research Council (U.S.). Committee on Endangered and Threatened Species in the Platte River Basin.

National Academy of Sciences (U.S.)

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

United States. Bureau of Reclamation.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Endangered species--Nebraska--Platte River Watershed.

Endangered species.

Freshwater ecology--Nebraska--Platte River Watershed.

Freshwater ecology.

Riparian animals--Nebraska--Platte River Watershed.

Riparian animals.

Platte River Watershed (Neb.).

Physical Description:

1 online resource (336 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Washington, D.C. : National Academies Press, c2005.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

The tension between wildlife protection under the Endangered Species Act and water management in the Platte River Basin has existed for more than 25 years. The Platte River provides important habitat for migratory and breeding birds, including three endangered or threatened species: the whooping crane, the northern Great Plains population of the piping plover, and the interior least tern. The leading factors attributed to the decline of the cranes are historical overhunting and widespread habitat destruction and, for the plovers and terns, human interference during nesting and the loss of riverine nesting sites in open sandy areas that have been replaced with woodlands, sand and gravel mines, housing, and roadways. Extensive damming has disrupted passage of the endangered pallid sturgeon and resulted in less suitable habitat conditions such as cooler stream flows, less turbid waters, and inconsistent flow regimes. Commercial harvesting, now illegal, also contributed to the decline of the sturgeon. Endangered and Threatened Species of the Platte River addresses the habitat requirements for these federally protected species. The book further examines the scientific aspects of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (TM)s instream-flow recommendations and habitat suitability guidelines and assesses the science concerning the connections among the physical systems of the river as they relate to species (TM) habitats.

Contents:

FrontMatter

Acknowledgments

Review Participants

Cover Art

Preface

Abbreviations and Acronyms

Contents

Boxes, Figures, and Tables

Summary

1 Introduction

2 Regional Context for Water and Species

3 Law, Science, and Management Decisions

4 Scientific Data for the Platte River Ecosystem

5 Whooping Crane

6 Piping Plover and Interior Least Tern

7 Pallid Sturgeon

8 Conclusions and Recommendations

References

Appendixes

Appendix A Biographical Information on Committee Members

Appendix B Bird Species of Conservation Concern in Nebraska

Appendix C Confirmed Whooping Crane Sightings in Central Platte River Study Area, 1942-2003

Appendix D Input Data for Figures 5-6A and 5-6B.

Notes:

" ... supported by ... National Academy of Sciences and the Fish and Wildlife Service and Bureau of Reclamation ..."--T.p. verso.

Includes bibliographical references (p. 258-275).

ISBN:

9780309532639

9786610176069

9780309166140

0309166144

9781280176067

1280176067

9780309532631

0309532639

OCLC:

58723336