Six public scoping meetings are scheduled in April and May as the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the National Marine Fisheries Service and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers begin work on an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for Caspian Tern Management in the Columbia River estuary. The proposed study area includes the states of Oregon, Washington, California, Idaho and Nevada, which comprise a portion of the Pacific Coast/Western range of Caspian Terns.
The EIS will address Caspian Tern predation of young salmon (smolts) in the Columbia River estuary; the management of Caspian Terns in the Pacific Coast/Western region, particularly the tern colony on East Sand in the Columbia River estuary; and the long-term ownership and management of East Sand Island.
The study also will evaluate whether Caspian Tern habitat should be created, or existing habitat enhanced, elsewhere in the Pacific Coast/Western region as a means of dispersing some of the population from East Sand Island. The Fish and Wildlife Service has conducted a feasibility study evaluating 77 possible sites, mostly on State or Federal land. The study can be found at
Among the areas evaluated are sites in or around San Diego Bay, San Francisco Bay, Monterey Bay, Humboldt Bay, Mono Lake, Tule Lake, and Tulare Basin in California; Coos Bay, the Umpqua River estuary, Fern Ridge Reservoir and inland islands in the Columbia River in OregonWillapa Bay, Grays Harbor, and Puget Sound in Washington; Blackfoot Reservoir, Mormon Reservoir and Bear Lake in Idaho; and Pyramid Lake and Carson Sink areas in Nevada.
No decisions will be made about any of the possible sites until the EIS is completed and the public has had a chance to comment.
To begin the EIS process, two public meetings each are planned for California, Washington and Oregon. At the public meetings, members of the public will be asked to submit written comments, information and suggestions on the scope of issues that should be considered in the EIS. No oral testimony will be taken.
Each meeting will be from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. The meetings are scheduled for:
April 14, 2003
1001 Broadway
Oakland, California
April 15, 2003
East Park Road
Arcata, California
April 28, 2003
1620 Edward P. Smith Drive
Aberdeen, Washington
April 29, 2003
211 West 21st Avenue
Olympia, Washington
May 5, 2003
2021 Marine Drive #200
Astoria, Oregon
May 6, 2003
1000 N.E. Multnomah Boulevard
Portland, Oregon
Nesting by Caspian Terns in the Columbia River estuary has grown significantly since it was first documented in 1984. Caspian Terns have concentrated in the estuary because historic nesting sites have been lost elsewhere in the Pacific Coast/Western region and human-created dredge-spoil islands offered stable nesting habitat close to abundant supplies of fish. Approximately 70 percent of the entire Pacific Coast population of Caspian Terns now nests on East Sand Island, near the mouth of the Columbia River.
The large concentration of terns may have impacts on listed young salmon and steelhead migrating through the estuary to the Pacific Ocean. The listed salmon and steelhead are protected by the Endangered Species Act and efforts are underway to recover these stocks. The concentration of terns in this single location also may place the Pacific Coast tern population at risk of injury from storms, predators, human disturbance and disease.
The EIS will explore whether management actions are necessary to protect young salmon and steelhead and the Caspian tern colony in the Columbia River estuary. Federal and State agencies and conservation groups have agreed to explore the need and opportunity to restore, create and enhance nesting habitat for Caspian Terns elsewhere in the Pacific Coast/Western region as one means to reduce and disperse the large tern colony on East Sand Island. The benefits of this action would reduce the level of tern predation on out-migrating Columbia River salmon and steelhead smolts and lower the vulnerability to catastrophic events of a significant portion of the breeding Caspian Tern population in the Pacific Coast/Western region.
A draft EIS is expected to be released in July 2004 for 60 days of public review. Another series of public meetings will be held in August 2004. The final EIS is expected in January 2005.
Written comments on the scope of issues that should be considered in the Environmental Impact Statement may be submitted by May 22, 2003, to Nanette Seto, Migratory Birds and Habitat Programs, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 911 N.E. 11th Avenue, Portland, Oregon 97232 or faxed to 503-231-2019.
