Abstract

The Lower Platte River and its major tributaries provide important nesting and migratory stopover habitat for two bird species of special conservation concern: the state and federally endangered Interior Least Tern (Sternula antillarum athalassos) and threatened Piping Plover (Charadrius melodus). The Tern and Plover Conservation Partnership (TPCP), based at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln School of Natural Resources, and Nongame Bird Program (NBP), based at the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission (NGPC), work cooperatively on tern and plover monitoring, research, management, and outreach activities in Nebraska. The TPCP and NBP focus monitoring and research efforts along the Lower Platte, Loup, and Elkhorn rivers in the eastern part of the state. We also work on tern and plover issues across the state, including Lake McConaughy, and region.

The Interior Least Tern is the smallest of the terns found in North America. The species was first described in 1847 from a type specimen collected in Guadeloupe, West Indies (American Ornithologists’ Union 1998). Meriwether Lewis and William Clark recorded their first observation of an Interior Least Tern on 5 August 1804 along the Missouri River, near present day Omaha, Nebraska while on their 1803—1805 “Voyage of Discovery” across North America. The species was placed on the Endangered Species List on 27 June 1985 (50 Federal Register 21784–21792), and a Recovery Plan was issued in September 1990. As a result of this listing status, the Interior Least Tern is protected by the Federal Endangered Species Act (1973) and the Nebraska Nongame and Endangered Species Conservation Act (Neb. Rev. Stat. § 37-801-11). A review of the species’ population status has recently been completed by the USFWS (P. Hatfield, pers. comm.) and on-going monitoring plans are being developed (J. Bart, pers. comm.).