Final Minutes
Technical Committee Meeting
September 12-13, 2002
NGPC Visitor Center, Ogallala, Nebraska
Agenda and Minutes
Paul Tebbel, Technical Committee (TC) Chair, called the meeting to order. No changes to the agenda were made. The May TC minutes were approved as modified.
Status Reports
Governance Committee and Finance Committee - Dale Strickland reported on recent Governance Committee (GC) and Finance Committee (FC) activities. The GC continues to work on the Program Agreement and Program Document. The next GC workshop will focus on depletions plans and regime of the river. The FC approved the proposed budget for fall whooping crane surveys and the pre-proposal for conducting black and white aerial photography in the fall-winter of 2002/03.
DEIS/BO Update - Sharon Whitmore reported that a revised version of the Program Description and No Action Alternative were distributed for discussion. Conference calls have been scheduled to discuss the revised documents. The EIS Team also gave a presentation on the species impacts section of the EIS at the last GC workshop. In general, preliminary analysis indicates that the Program has positive impacts for whooping cranes, neutral to slightly negative impacts for terns and plovers, and neutral to positive impacts for pallid sturgeon. At an earlier workshop it was presented that the river overall will be able to maintain a wider, more open configuration with implementation of the Program.
Tern and Plover Monitoring - Jim Jenniges, Mark Czaplewski, and Mark Peyton provided updates on tern and plover monitoring they conducted in 2002. Sharon Whitmore noted that the FWS did not locate any nests during their river survey. There was minimal discussion on database management and development of the 2002 report.
Whooping Crane Monitoring - Clayton Derby reported that three firms submitted bids to implement the protocol in fall 2002: AIM, Thunderbird, and Greystone. Greystone was awarded the contract and will begin surveys on October 9, 2002.
Other - Clayton noted that he plans to begin posting final reports, such as from protocol implementation, on the Platte River web site and the TC agreed. Databases will not be posted. The TC agreed that it would be a good idea for the Executive Director's office to present the methods and results of implementing the Whooping Crane protocol at the North American Crane Working Group meeting in January.
Pallid Sturgeon
Dale Strickland reported that the Pallid Sturgeon Working Group met just before the TC meeting. There remain some areas of general agreement and some areas of disagreement with the draft pallid sturgeon monitoring and research plan. Some of the major concerns are the low likelihood of capturing an adequate sample of fish and with measuring physical parameters in the lower Platte River (e.g., sediment grain size, channel widths) until enough knowledge is gained to know what parameters should be measured. It was suggested that the GC should not be provided just the monitoring and research plan but also some background information. It was generally agreed that background information (e.g., baseline section) should be provided to the GC along with the plan, so they can consider the plan in context with what is known about the pallid.
Whooping Crane Monitoring Alternative
Felipe Chavez Ramirez, Platte River Trust, presented an alternative method to monitor whooping crane use along the central Platte using marine surveillance radar. He indicated that the major advantage with radar compared to conventional aerial or ground surveys is the continuous detection regardless of weather or time of day. Felipe agreed that ground clutter would make detection of roosting birds impossible and that only flying birds would be detectable. Ground crews would still be needed to confirm whether or not "targets" detected with the radar are indeed whooping cranes. Felipe is currently seeking funding to implement a pilot test using the radar. The TC agreed that it would be useful to support Felipe with a letter or other means if it would help secure funding from outside sources. Dale agreed to ask the GC for their concurrence and will draft a letter when needed.
Cottonwood Ranch Property Monitoring and Research
The GC asked the TC to begin looking into implementing some of the channel investigations developed through the Parsons-EIS Team effort at NPPD's Cottonwood Ranch Property. Jim Jenniges provided the TC with color photos identifying the tree clearing activities for this fall/winter and areas identified for establishment of tern and plover nesting habitat. Jim noted that the current plan does not envision pushing a great deal of sand directly into the river channel. When the larger tern and plover nesting areas are established the material from one side of an island will be pulled back onto the other side to create a clean, bare sand substrate across the entire area. Some smaller tern and plover nesting areas will be created by slightly leveling islands. The TC generally agreed that given the current predicted water year further direct sediment augmentation would not be pursued.
The TC discussed possible research options, including continuing the current USGS effort. Paul Kinzel will be asked to attend the next TC meeting to discuss future research. Specifically, is the current level of effort too much, not enough, how long should it be continued now that management is more detailed, how much funding, etc.
September 13, 2002
Protocols
Vegetation Monitoring Protocol and Report
Clayton noted that a draft Vegetation Monitoring protocol was distributed prior to the meeting. The protocol includes portions from the old "General Monitoring" protocol pertaining to vegetation as well as knowledge gained during vegetation monitoring at Cottonwood Ranch and Jeffrey Island in 2001. The final report detailing vegetation monitoring conducted at the Phase I area of Cottonwood Ranch for the TC was also distributed prior to the meeting. There was no discussion of either document.
Geomorphology
Clayton reported that based on direction received at the last TC meeting, a meeting between the Executive Director's office and those commenting on the last version of the protocol will be held September 25. The intent is to flesh out any remaining comments so the protocol can be revised.
Aerial Photography
The FC approved the pre-proposal to conduct black and white aerial photography in the fall/winter of 2002-03. Both the FC and GC will review the full proposal at their September meetings. There was some discussion regarding the need to revisit the use of digital photography rather than traditional aerial photography. The TC asked that additional information be provided to them and that a presentation, possibly by the USGS, on the two methods be scheduled for an upcoming meeting.
Peer Review
Paul Tebbel reported that the GC asked the TC to begin peer reviewing specific protocols, as they will not be reviewed as part of the larger review effort currently begin discussed by the GC. The reviews will not be done to determine if monitoring should be done or not, rather reviews will focus on insuring the correct approach, methods, etc. are being used to achieve the objectives stated in the protocols. The TC selected the Whooping Crane protocol as the first to be reviewed. The Executive Director's office will identify potential peer reviewers through previous suggestions sent in by TC members, literature, and personnel contacts. The list will include both whooping crane experts, general ornithology experts, and design experts. Each person on the list will be asked to submit a short biography/resume for consideration by the TC in selecting the reviewers. Reviews will include not only the protocol but also any finial protocol implementation reports completed to date.
Budget
The 1997 Cooperative Agreement milestones identify development of both monitoring and research protocols during the Cooperative Agreement period. The TC has made the decision to focus on monitoring protocols during the Cooperative Agreement and wait to develop research protocols until specific research areas/topics are better identified, as was done for the Cottonwood Ranch research effort. The Executive Director's office received a budget augmentation to assist the TC in developing seven monitoring protocols and this budget is nearly exhausted. Dale distribute a table describing the point to which each of these protocols is developed as well as what was done at the request of the TC on protocols not identified in the original scope of work. Dale asked that the TC decide whether or not the Executive Director's office has completed their scope, if additional work on the identified protocols is needed, or if additional protocols should be added. The TC asked that the issue be fully addressed at the next meeting and in preparation asked that the list be expanded to include rough budget estimates to complete identified protocols, identify monitoring protocols not on the current list, and effort needed to revised protocols based on peer review comments.
Baseline
Pallid Sturgeon
Several written comments were submitted prior to the meeting. Comments generally focused on the need to use correct references, focus on pallid sturgeon, number of fish identified in the lower Platte, and the need to include more information on the species range. Additional comments were requested by October 4.
Tern and Plover
The TC asked that data collected and reported by Gary Lingle for his FWS permits be included in the baseline. Additional comments were submitted prior to the meeting.
Other Species of Concern
The TC asked that the "Other Species of Concern" section in the Baseline include just a table identifying the species and a column explaining why they are on the list (e.g., federally threatened). There should also be some text explaining the overall criteria used to develop the list, such as all species are part of the federal/state threatened or endangered species lists, on the NGPC species of concern list, etc.
Integrated Monitoring and Research Plan
The Executive Director's office reviewed the data needs in the R3-1 Table to the data being collected through the current protocols and identified several holes. Since FWS TC members had to leave the meeting early the topic will be placed on the next agenda.
Charter
A draft Program Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) Charter based on previous Program committee charters was distributed prior to the meeting. General comments expressed during the meeting included the need to identify how the Peer Review Guidelines will be administered, insure lines of communication between Executive Director and committees are consistent with the Structures Document, clarify how TAC interacts with GC, and clarify how involved the TAC will be in implementing protocols. Comments on the protocol are due October 4.
Future Meetings
September 16, 10 a.m. - 5 p.m., Eagle Viewing Center, Ogallala, Nebraska
Adjourn - 11:00 a.m.
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