Description
This second quarter Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) meeting is centered on reviewing monitoring results, evaluating science questions (EBQs), and guiding management decisions for the Platte River Recovery Implementation Program.
Items of focus include:
- Species monitoring (cranes, sturgeon)
- Predation and habitat management strategies
- Sediment and hydrology processes
- Prioritization of future research and actions within the Program
Day 1 (April 21)
- Administrative items: introductions, agenda updates, and approval of January 2026 minutes.
- Target species updates:
- Review and discussion of the 2025 Whooping Crane fall monitoring report (with recommendation for approval).
- Brief update on bat monitoring.
- Predator management discussion:
- Focus on reducing predation using nest furniture, chick shelters, and vegetation, including experimental design considerations.
- Science (Extension Big Questions):
- Updates on germination suppression and sediment augmentation.
- Major discussion on sediment augmentation, J2 channel, and habitat restoration obligations.
- Initial results on Whooping Crane stopover vs. flyover behavior.
- Pallid sturgeon update, including timelines and implications for the Program.
Day 2 (April 22)
- Predation impacts modeling:
- Consider shifting from evaluating management effectiveness to predictive modeling of predation impacts.
- Wet meadow hydrology:
- Peer review updates, policy discussion, and a proposed EPA-funded monitoring effort.
- Program prioritization:
- Discussion of Extension Science Plan priorities.
- Land management updates:
- Nesting site rehabilitation progress.
- Moving Complex Approach (MCA) island strategy review and future direction.
- Concludes with final wrap-up and action items.
