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Current Actions: Monitoring
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Least Tern and Piping Plover Monitoring Program
To fulfill a requirement of the 2003 Biological Opinion (BiOp), the Corps of Engineers conducts productivity
monitoring and an annual adult census of least terns and piping plovers on the Missouri River. The
productivity monitoring includes locating nest sites, tracking nests, determining nest fates and causes,
tracking chicks from hatching to fledging and recording chick and adult mortalities. The adult census
is a comprehensive count of adult least terns and piping plovers conducted during the third week in June.
Project Area and Status Update
The project area includes approximately 950 miles of the Missouri River from Fort Peck Lake in eastern
Montana to Ponca State Park in northeastern Nebraska. Surveys are conducted on eight segments of the
Missouri River as defined by the BiOp: Fort Peck Lake, the Missouri River below Fort Peck Dam, Lake Sakakawea, the Missouri River below Garrison Dam, Lake Oahe, Lake Francis Case, the
Missouri River below Fort Randall Dam, Lewis & Clark Lake and the Missouri River below Gavins Point
Dam to Ponca State Park. Productivity monitoring and an adult census have been conducted on the
Missouri River since 1988. These efforts will continue in 2008.
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Objectives
1. Survey all historic and potential habitat sites on the Missouri River from Fort Peck Lake to Ponca State Park.
2. Track all nests from discovery to termination and record all pertinent nest data.
3. Track all chicks from discovery to fledging and record all pertinent chick data.
4. Conduct an annual adult census.
5. Track all management actions undertaken during the nesting season.
6. Maintain a historic database of nest, brood, productivity, management actions and adult census records.
Data Collection and Reporting
Standardized field protocols have been established for data collection and all data collected are stored in the Interior
Least Tern and Piping Plover Data Management System (TPDMS). The TPDMS provides a single system for collection, storage
and dissemination of data. Standard data summaries provide information to managers for decision making and reporting.
The application is Web-based providing for data entry and distribution, and contains defined business rules and validation
to enforce data quality standards. Password-protected access provides appropriate, real-time information to partners
for use in decision-making processes.
Links
TPDMS
https://rsgis.crrel.usace.army.mil/intro/dms.dmsintro.main
Species Information
https://rsgis.crrel.usace.army.mil/intro/dms.dmsintro.species_info
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Pallid Sturgeon Population Assessment
The Pallid Sturgeon Population Assessment Project has been developed by the Pallid Sturgeon
Population Assessment Team (Team). The Team is comprised of representatives of State and
Federal Agencies and academia that collectively possess knowledge and expertise of the
Missouri River, pallid sturgeon and native Missouri River fishes, research, experimental
design and statistical analysis. |
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The project focuses on the endangered pallid sturgeon and a series of native Missouri River species as
required in the 2003 Biological Opinion.
Project Area and Status Update
The project area includes the riverine reaches of the Missouri River extending from Fort Peck Dam, Mont.,
to the confluence of the Missouri/Mississippi Rivers near St. Louis, Mo., and the Kansas River from Highway 7 to the
confluence of the Kansas/Missouri Rivers. Full implementation of the project was achieved in 2006.
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Objectives
1. Evaluate annual results and long-term trends in pallid sturgeon population abundance and geographic distribution
throughout the Missouri River System.
2. Evaluate annual results and long-term trends of habitat usage of pallid sturgeon and hatchery-stocked pallid
sturgeon by season and life stage.
3. Evaluate population structure and dynamics of pallid sturgeon in the Missouri River system.
4. Evaluate annual results and long-term trends in the population abundance of native target species and geographic
distribution throughout the Missouri River system. These target species include: shovelnose sturgeon
(Scaphirhynchus platorynchus ), blue sucker (
Cycleptus elongates), sauger (Zander canadense), plains and Western
silvery minnows (Hybognathus spp.), sand shiner (Notropis stramineus), and three main channel inhabiting cyprinids in the genus
Macrhybopsis. These three species, sturgeon chub (M. gelida), sicklefin chub (M. meeki), and speckled chub (M. aestivalis),
are the main forage for piscivorous pallid sturgeon and are rare themselves in some sections of the Missouri River.
5. Evaluate annual results and long-term trends of habitat usage of the target native species by season and
life stage.
6. Evaluate annual results and long-term trends in all remaining species (minimum of 50 fish collected/species)
population abundance and geographic distribution throughout the Missouri River system.
Independent Science Review
Sustainable Ecosystems Institute (SEI) conducted an independent science review of the Pallid Sturgeon Population Assessment
Project and other related projects on the Missouri River. Recommendations from the review have been incorporated into the
project.
Data Collection and Reporting
Standard operating procedures (SOP) have been developed for sampling and data collection on the Missouri River.
Initially, the SOP developed via the "Benthic Fishes Study" was utilized and then expanded to provide greater
detail and incorporate gears and components not included in previous sampling designs. This project and other
Missouri River projects utilize these protocols as the standard to increase the statistical power and overall
utility of the data being collected.
A standardized reporting template has been developed by the Team providing an overview of the findings in each segment
for pallid sturgeon and the target native species under evaluation for this project. All tables and figures between
segment reports are standardized facilitating easy comparisons between segments for the standard sampling requirements
of the program. Additional data collection efforts (beyond the standard requirements of the program) are also included
in appendices within these reports.
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| 2008 - Segment 1 | Missouri River | Fort Peck Dam downstream to the Milk River Confluence | | 2008 - Segment 2 | Missouri River | Milk River Confluence downstream to Wolf Point, Montana | | 2008 - Segment 3 | Missouri River | Wolf Point, Montana downstream to the Yellowstone River Confluence | | 2008 - Segment 4 | Missouri River | Yellowstone River Confluence to the headwaters of Lake Sakakawea | | 2008 - Segment 5 and 6 | Missouri River | Fort Randall Dam to the Niobrara River Confluence
Niobrara River/ Confluence to the headwaters of Lewis and Clark Lake | | 2008 - Segment 7 | Missouri River | Gavins Point Dam to Ponca, Nebraska | | 2008 - Segment 8 | Missouri River | Ponca, Nebraska to the Platte River Confluence | | 2008 - Segment 9 | Missouri River | Platte River Confluence to the Kansas River Confluence | | 2008 - Segment 10 | Missouri River | Kansas River Confluence downstream to the Grand River Confluence | | 2008 - Segment 11 | Kansas River | Lawrence, Kansas to Kansas River Mouth | | 2008 - Segment 12 (na) | Missouri River | Segment 12 has been incorporated into Segment 13; therefore, Segment 12 does not exist. | | 2008 - Segment 13 | Missouri River | Grand River Confluence to the Osage River Confluence | | 2008 - Segment 14 | Missouri River | Osage River Confluence to the Missouri River Mouth | |
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Age and Growth Reports for Target Native Species
Age and growth data were collected for a variety of native Missouri River species. The age and growth component of
the Project provides a means to evaluate biological changes (e.g., year class strength and productivity) against
river conditions over time. Age and growth reports are available for eight species
(Note: These reports are still
under review and the results should be considered preliminary):
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Habitat Assessment and Monitoring Project (HAMP)
The HAMP focuses on assessing the physical and biological
responses of habitat creation efforts in the channelized Missouri River. Physical responses are
characterized by diversity of depth, velocity, slope, substrate, etc., while biological responses are
characterized by various metrics related to pallid sturgeon and a series of native target species (i.e.,
sicklefin chubs, sturgeon chubs, speckled chubs, plains and western silvery minnow, young of the
year blue sucker and sauger).
Project Area and Status Update
The project area is the channelized Missouri River extending from river mile 750 near Ponca,
Neb., to the confluence of the Missouri/Mississippi River near St. Louis, Mo. A total of 44
bends are included in the project containing a range of diversity relative to bend length and
modified and unmodified structures. The project is broken into two reaches identified as the
Omaha and Kansas City Reaches based on the large scale differences in river width, hydrology and
magnitude of the structures.
Objectives of the Project
1. Evaluate annual and multi-year trends in physical diversity (i.e., depth, velocity, substrate) and change
in modified sites relative to control sites over time (a control site is a site that remains as unmodified from
its current status).
2. Evaluate annual and multi-year trends of fish metrics (i.e., catch per unit effort, presence/absence)
of pallid sturgeon and target species between modified and control sites.
Independent Science Review
Sustainable Ecosystems Institute (SEI) has a three-phase independent science review of the HAMP and other related projects on the Missouri River.
Recommendations from the review are being incorporated into the project.
Data Collection and Reporting
Standard operating procedures (SOP) have been developed for sampling and data collection on the
Missouri River. Initially, the SOP developed via the "Benthic Fishes Study" was utilized and then
expanded to provide greater detail and incorporate gears and components not included in previous
sampling designs. This project and other Missouri River projects utilize these protocols as the
standard to increase the statistical power and overall utility of the data being collected.
A standardized reporting template has been developed by the Pallid Sturgeon Population Assessment Team (Team) providing an overview of the
findings in the Omaha and Kansas City reaches. All tables and figures between segment reports
are (will be) standardized facilitating easy comparisons between segments for the standard
sampling requirements of the program. Additional data collection efforts (above and beyond the
standard requirements of the program) are also included in appendices within these reports.
Links
http://www.sei.org/sturgeon/index.htm
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Emergent Sandbar Habitat Evaluation (ESH)
The ESH project was developed to monitor and evaluate created and manipulated
sandbar habitat complexes to determine if the physical and biological requirements of the interior least tern
and piping plover are being met and identify and avoid collateral ecosystem impacts. The Missouri River Emergent
Sandbar Habitat Monitoring Plan developed by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center (NPWRC)
provides a general
framework for collection of biological data in support of the monitoring needs of the ESH Program. An Evaluation
Action Plan was developed in 2007 by a team of cooperating agencies and will be updated on a yearly basis to reflect
necessary changes to the monitoring effort.
Project Area and Status Update
Current efforts are focused on the Gavins Point, Lewis and Clark Lake, Fort Randall, and upper Lake Oahe segments
of the Missouri River where habitat manipulation and creation projects have taken place. Evaluation effort
is dependant on location of new and existing ESH projects; therefore, the extent of monitoring may change on a yearly
basis. No projects have been planned for the 2008 season beyond the segments mentioned above; therefore, the
monitoring will remain focused on those segments.
Goals and Objectives of the Project
Goal: To determine if managed emergent sandbar habitat is providing suitable habitat features for
nesting and foraging least terns and piping plovers, while not being deleterious to other ecosystem functions
or social values.
To accomplish this goal, three objectives are addressed in the 2007 work plan:
1. Evaluate the effects of ESH projects on nesting and foraging habitat and
productivity of least terns and piping plovers.
2. Identify potential important collateral effects of ESH projects on other
ecosystem attributes or social values.
3. Examine linkages between habitat features and productivity in relation to ESH
projects to provide guidance for future project planning and design.
Data Collection and Reporting
Implementation of the monitoring effort is being carried out internally by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps)
as well as through various
contracts. A standardized evaluation protocol has been developed by NPWRC for the habitat data collection and
is being implemented in the field by the Corps. All habitat data collected will be analyzed by NPWRC. Hydrographic
surveys are conducted by both Corps staff and through contracts with USGS WRD out of Huron, S.D. Mussel surveys are
being conducted by Ecological Services, Inc. End of year reports will be generated by all involved and combined to
form one comprehensive report before the next field season.
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