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Conservation Groups Applaud Platte River Program 

Lincoln - December 7, 2006. The four conservation organizations involved in negotiating the Platte River Recovery Program welcomed the signing of the final agreement that will put the program in place on January 1, 2007. Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne announced today that he has signed the Recovery Program. . 

The National Wildlife Federation, Platte River Whooping Crane Trust, Nebraska Wildlife Federation, and American Rivers represent conservation groups on the Platte River Cooperative Agreement Governance Committee that negotiated the Recovery Program. 

"The signing of the Platte River Recovery Program is a landmark in the long history of the Platte River watershed," said Larry Schweiger, president and CEO of the National Wildlife Federation. "The Recovery Program represents new hope for the wildlife and people who depend on one of America's great rivers." 

Felipe Chavez-Ramirez, executive director of the Platte River Whooping Crane Trust and one of America's foremost authorities on crane biology, added that "now is the time to move beyond discussions and negotiations, and to see real habitat conservation on the land." The outline of the plan and details of the Program took more than 12 years of difficult negotiations. 

Duane Hovorka, Nebraska Wildlife Federation, cautioned that the signing of the Recovery Program is not the end of the process. "Congress must still approve and fund the Recovery Program, and Colorado, Wyoming and Nebraska must remain committed to the Program for it to succeed," Hovorka said. Governor Wayne Owens of Colorado, Dave Heinemann of Nebraska, and David Freudenthal of Wyoming signed the Recovery Program in recent weeks. 

Hovorka added that the Nebraska Legislature will need to create a long-term funding plan to implement the integrated water management plans now required in the Platte and other Nebraska watersheds. He said the Platte River Recovery Program is built on top of those water management plans and depends on them to succeed. 

Chad Smith, American Rivers field office director in Nebraska, said the plan was a fair compromise between the many parties involved. "This is good public policy -- many interests working together to chart a new course for the Platte, a course built around the needs of people and of fish and wildlife," Smith said. 

The Platte River Recovery Program will provide $187 million over 13 years to restore and protect critical habitat, better manage river flows, and carry out a research and monitoring plan. The Program is designed to benefit four federally protected species that rely on the Central and Lower Platte: the Whooping crane, Interior least tern, piping plover and pallid sturgeon. 

The Recovery Program would also provide benefits for the Sandhill Cranes that gather every March along the Central Platte, providing one of nature's most stunning wildlife spectacles. It would benefit the ducks, geese, and other wildlife that also rely on the Platte River. 

The Recovery Program will provide funds to protect and, where needed, restore 10,000 acres of habitat along the Central Platte, between Lexington and Grand Island, Nebraska. The Program will focus on restoring wide, open sandy river channels, like those that caused early pioneers to describe the Platte River as 'a mile wide and a foot deep'. It will also begin to restore wetlands and wet meadows along the River. 

The Program will eventually provide 130,000 to 150,000 acre feet of water that will be used to boost river flows that will benefit fish and wildlife. That amount is roughly 15 percent of current annual river flows at Grand Island, and most of the water would come from re-timing existing river flows. 

Colorado, Nebraska, Wyoming and the federal government also agreed to allow future growth in water use in the basin, but only in ways that do not further harm the minimum flows needed for fish and wildlife. Under the Program, Nebraska will need to find ways to offset the impact of new wells drilled since 1997 that would impact minimum river flows. 

The Platte River Recovery Program demonstrates how carefully balancing complex interests can help to resolve wildlife and habitat issues, using the Endangered Species Act to avoid an impending wildlife crisis. 

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More information on the Platte River Recovery Program is available on the Nebraska Wildlife Federation web site, www.NebraskaWildlife.org.

 

Old News
 
12/7/2006 Conservation Groups Applaud Platte River Program 
9/21/2006 Platte River Recovery Program Good Deal for Wildlife, People
8/1/2006, Federation's Hunting & Fishing Survey Shows Strong Support for Conservation
Hunting & Fishing Survey Results (pdf)
7/31/2006 Wildlife Federation Objects to Unneeded Delays in Platte Process
7/31/2006 Federation, Heron Haven Host Backyard Wildlife Workshop in Omaha
6/20/06 Biological Opinion gives Platte Plan Passing Grade
6/9/06 Wildlife Federation Calls CSP Signup "Lost Opportunity"
5/23/06 Platte River Plan 'Vital' for River, People, Wildlife
1/28/06 Federation Says: Water Budget Falls Short
12/21/2005 Congress Plays Scrooge With Farm Bill Conservation Cuts
10/26/05 Wildlife Federation Endorses Strong Management Plan for Niobrara Scenic River

Copy of Federation comments to National Park Service on Niobrara Scenic River

10/5/05 Wildlife, Farm Groups Oppose Proposal To Focus Farm Bill Cuts on Conservation

9/1/05 Pierce Farm Tour Highlights Wildlife-Friendly Livestock Production
8/1/05 Denton Native Prairie Tour Highlights Wildlife-Friendly Livestock Production

6/21/05 NWF: Waterfowl Population Threatened by Global Warming

6/21/05 NWF: Waterfowlers Guide to Global Warming full report (pdf)

6/21/05 NWF: Waterfowlers Guide to Global Warming executive summary (pdf)

6/5/05: Federation Calls for Changes to Environmental Quality Incentives Program

6/1/05 Steinauer Farm Tour Highlights Native Prairies, Grass-Based Livestock