Contacts
Peter Butchko, Wildlife Services, 517-336-1928
Steve Lewis, Fish and Wildlife Service, 612-713-5473
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Wildlife Services
program and the Interior Department’s U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
have released the final Environmental Assessment (EA) spelling out plans
to reduce double-crested cormorant damage in Michigan.
Conflicts with human and natural resources--including commercial
aquaculture, recreational fisheries, vegetation, and other birds that nest
with cormorants--led to a decision by the Fish and Wildlife Service to develop
a management strategy for double-crested cormorants. In October 2003, following
four years of development and nearly 10,000 letters of comment, the agency
finalized an Environmental Impact Statement that addressed cormorant management
nationwide.
The Service issued regulations that established a public resource
depredation order allowing state wildlife agencies, tribes, and Wildlife
Services in 24 states, including Michigan, to conduct cormorant control for
the protection of public resources.
The EA is a step-down document to the Environmental Impact
Statement and examines the need for action and relevant issues, alternatives,
and environmental consequences of cormorant damage control in Michigan. Wildlife
Services and the Fish and Wildlife Service selected Alternative 1 in the
EA, which will use an Integrated Wildlife Damage Management approach to reduce
cormorant damage and conflicts to aquaculture, property, natural resources,
and human health and safety.
When appropriate, physical exclusion, habitat modification
or harassment will be used to reduce damage. In other situations, birds may
be humanely removed under the depredation order by shooting, egg oiling/destruction,
nest destruction or euthanasia following live capture.
“ This alternative was chosen because it provides Wildlife
Services the best opportunity to reduce cormorant damage with fewer impacts
to non-target species, which was a concern expressed by many who commented
on the draft EA,” said Peter Butchko, director of the Michigan Wildlife
Services Office. “In addition, it provides safeguards for public health
and safety, and reduces economic impacts on aquaculture resources and private
property.”
Five alternatives, including the “No Action” alternative
required under the National Environmental Policy Act, were examined in the
EA. The other alternatives involved more restricted roles for Wildlife Services
in managing cormorant damage. Written comments on the EA were solicited and
carefully considered. Wildlife Services was the lead agency, and the Fish
and Wildlife Service a cooperating agency, on the assessment.
Based on the analysis in the EA, the two agencies determined
that Alternative 1 would not significantly impact the quality of the human
environment, resulting in a Finding of No Significant Impact by each agency.
Wildlife Services and other agencies acting under the Fish
and Wildlife Service’s 2003 depredation order must have landowner permission,
may not significantly affect other migratory bird species or threatened and
endangered species in the course of their cormorant damage control activities,
and must satisfy annual reporting and evaluation requirements. The Fish and
Wildlife Service will ensure the long-term conservation of cormorant populations
and other birds nesting with them through oversight of the activities of
agencies acting under the order.
When management actions take place, Wildlife Services will
adhere to mitigation measures that were developed for the EA to avoid or
minimize potential adverse effects on other birds and threatened and endangered
species that may nest with or near cormorants. Mitigation measures include
working during times of the day that will cause minimal impacts to other
species; using noise-suppressed firearms that cause the least disruption;
keeping safe distances away from sensitive species such as piping plovers
and bald eagles; and consulting with the Fish and Wildlife Service and the
Michigan Department of Natural Resources to determine the locations of species
of concern.
“ We have given careful consideration to impacts on non-target
species and we believe that these measures will adequately protect them during
cormorant damage control activities,” said Steve Wilds, chief of the
Division of Migratory Birds for the Fish and Wildlife Service’s Great
Lakes-Big Rivers Region.
Wildlife Services’ National Wildlife Research Center
and the Michigan Department of Natural Resources will be studying the impacts
of cormorant control activities on cormorants, non-target bird species and
fish species (particularly yellow perch) that cormorants are thought to affect.
This will allow refinement of management approaches in the future.
Double-crested cormorants are large, fish-eating birds that
nest in colonies and roost in large numbers. A reduction in eggshell-thinning
pesticides (primarily DDT), increased protection under the Migratory Bird
Treaty Act, and abundant food resources on their breeding and wintering grounds
have caused cormorant numbers and distribution to increase greatly in the
last 30 years.
The current double-crested cormorant population in North America
is estimated at two million birds. The species is widespread throughout the
Great Lakes and about 115,000 pairs currently nest there. There are 48 known
double-crested cormorant breeding sites in Michigan, and biologists believe
about 30,000 breeding pairs nest in the state.
The EA can be obtained from Wildlife Services’ Michigan
state office at 517-336-1928 or viewed and downloaded (as of May 25) at the
following web site: http://midwest.fws.gov/nepa.
USDA’s Wildlife Services provides federal leadership
in managing problems caused by wildlife. Wildlife Services recognizes that
wildlife is an important public resource greatly valued by the American people.
By its very nature, however, wildlife is a highly dynamic and mobile resource
that can damage agricultural and industrial resources, pose risks to human
health and safety, and affect other natural resources. The Wildlife Services
program carries out the federal responsibility for helping to solve problems
that occur when human activity and wildlife are in conflict with one another.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the principal Federal
agency responsible for conserving, protecting and enhancing fish, wildlife
and plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American
people. The Service manages the 95-million-acre National Wildlife Refuge
System, which encompasses 544 national wildlife refuges, thousands of small
wetlands and other special management areas. It also operates 69 national
fish hatcheries, 63 Fish and Wildlife Management offices and 81 ecological
services field stations. The agency enforces federal wildlife laws, administers
the Endangered Species Act, manages migratory bird populations, restores
nationally significant fisheries, conserves and restores wildlife habitat
such as wetlands, and helps foreign governments with their conservation efforts.
It also oversees the Federal Assistance program, which distributes hundreds
of millions of dollars in excise taxes on fishing and hunting equipment to
state fish and wildlife agencies.
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