Nebraska Highlights

• Modeling Whooping Crane habitat: Many factors must be considered in managing water along the Platte River, including maintaining critical habitat for endangered species like the Whooping Crane. Habitat Suitability Index (HSI) models can help predict outcomes of certain management activities like flow regimes, and the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service, in cooperation with other agencies, has been developing such a model for Whooping Crane habitat for several years. Recently, the Fort Collins Science Center (Colorado) and the Service completed an evaluation of the model and associated procedures used to develop recommendations for Whooping Crane critical habitat. This team found that the habitat model requires modification so that new data over time would improve the models and enable managers to develop more scientifically accurate flow recommendations.

• The Conservation Reserve Program is the largest environmental program administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, with enrollment exceeding 34 million acres across all 50 states. In Nebraska, 1.2 million acres on 15,262 farms are in the CRP. Based on an average rental payment, the CRP brings in over $66 million per year to Nebraska’s farm economy. Improvement in program performance is an enduring goal of CRP administrators. For the past 9 years and continuing today, scientists from the Fort Collins Science Center have been working in partnership with the USDA Farm Service Agency to help improve program performance by evaluating program performance both socially (how is it working for CRP contractees) and ecologically (how is wildlife habitat improved?). In June 2004, FORT and the FSA sponsored a national meeting for more than 200 participants and presenters to address and present research on these issues as well as future CRP directions. The proceedings, The Conservation Reserve Program: Planting for the Future, was published in 2006.

• Protecting Playas: Playas are small, isolated wetlands found throughout the central and southern High Plains that support a significant portion of the region's biodiversity. They are also believed to play a vital role in recharging the Ogallala Aquifer. Agricultural activities, mineral extraction, and other land uses in the Playa Lakes Region, including western and southern Nebraska, have led to severe degradation and loss of playas due to sedimentation. Contaminants in runoff such as nutrients and pesticides also threaten playas. Buffer strips of native grasses can protect playas from runoff that contains sediments and contaminants. The Playa Lakes Joint Venture asked the USGS Fort Collins Science Center to develop a literature synthesis and annotated bibliography summarizing what is known about grass buffers and their protective capabilities for isolated wetlands. Both reports are helping decision makers determine optimal buffer design for the region, assess the potential for buffers to prevent runoff from filling playas, and better understand avian use of grass buffers.