Under the federal Endangered Species Act, animals listed as endangered or threatened are protected from activities which result in take, which includes killing or harming them or destroying their habitat. With an approved Habitat Conservation Plan in place, Cinergy can continue its operationswhich have for years included conservation measures for the least ternwithout fear of penalties for an accidental take of a protected tern on its property.
When endangered least terns began nesting at Gibson Station, we were concerned that the Endangered Species Act might limit or impact our ability to generate and deliver power from our largest generating station said Tim Hayes, Senior Environmental Scientist at Cinergy. However, through close cooperation with the Fish and Wildlife Service and the Indiana Department of Natural Resources, we have developed this Habitat Conservation Plan which will protect and enhance tern populations while allowing us to continue providing power to our customers.
The Habitat Conservation Plan is a provision of the Endangered Species Act that allows flexibility for private landowners who have endangered species on their property. An approved HCP authorizes incidental take, or take that is incidental to but not the purpose of an activity, when the effects of the take are mitigated or minimized by conservation measures. With approval of the plan, the Service issued an incidental take permit to Cinergy, which will carry out conservation measures to help the endangered tern.
Cinergy has for years voluntarily undertaken extra responsibility to safeguard the future of Indianas only nesting colony of least terns, and the HCP will help them continue that work said William Hartwig, Regional Director for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. This plan is an excellent example of how the flexibility of the Endangered Species Act can promote conservation of species in trouble while ensuring that companies like Cinergy can continue to provide high-quality service to their customers.
Under the plan, Cinergy will continue to protect and manage the existing least tern nesting habitat that does not impact operations at Gibson Station, as well as to assist in the development of 187 acres of additional nesting habitat on the adjacent Cane Ridge Wildlife Area, a unit of Patoka River National Wildlife Refuge. In return, the Fish and Wildlife Service has issued an incidental take permit for a five-year period. The permit allows Cinergy to continue its normal operations with a minimal impact on the terns. For example, the tern colony has grown to the point where terns are now nesting in active work areas on the station. The permit allows Cinergy to continue working in these areas even with the possibility that an incidental take of a least tern may occur.
Least terns were listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act in 1985 due to habitat loss and nest disturbance. Endangered species are considered likely to become extinct in the foreseeable future throughout all or a portion of their range. The first pair nested at Gibson Station in 1986, and while the population varies somewhat annually, the colony averages about 60 birds.
In addition to being the first Habitat Conservation Plan to be signed in Indiana, the plan is only the third to be signed in the eight-state Great Lakes-Big Rivers Region of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Nationwide, there are more than 250 HCPs in effect, with more than 200 under development.
Cinergy Corp. is one of the nations leading diversified energy companies. It is the parent company of PSI Energy, Inc., Indianas largest electric supplier serving more than 655,000 customers in 69 of the states 92 counties.
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 93-million-acre National Wildlife Refuge System comprised of more than 500 national wildlife refuges, thousands of small wetlands, and other special management areas. It also operates 66 national fish hatcheries, 64 fish and wildlife management assistance offices and 78 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 Aid program that distributes hundreds of millions of dollars in excise taxes on fishing and hunting equipment to state wildlife agencies.
Interior Least Tern Fact Sheet
Following are some facts about endangered interior least terns:
- There are two populations of least terns in the United States: interior least terns and coastal least terns. Interior least terns nest in the interior portion of the country along large rivers, lakes and reservoirs, while coastal terns nest along the Atlantic and Pacific coasts.
- A single pair of interior least terns nested at Gibson Station in 1986. Since then, the colony has grown to about 60 birds.
- The colony of interior least terns at Gibson Station is the easternmost colony of interior least terns in the United States - one of only two known colonies east of the Mississippi River.
- Least terns usually nest on islands and sandbars along rivers or exposed flats near lakes and reservoirs. They lay their eggs right on the ground, in a shallow scrape, and rely on camouflage to hide the eggs from predators.
- At Gibson Generating Station, least terns nest from late May to mid-July, primarily on the gravel dike on Gibson Lake. Cinergy has enhanced habitat on the dike for nesting terns.
- Terns eat mostly small fish, and at Gibson Generating Station, threadfin and gizzard shad from the cooling lake make up the bulk of their diet.
See additional facts about the interior least tern at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Region 3 website http://midwest.fws.gov under the Endangered Species section.
