The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today announced they have signed Records of Decision (RODs) adopting the Services plan for managing Caspian terns in the lower Columbia River. Q&As
The plan calls for redistributing the worlds largest breeding colony of Caspian terns over a wider area and decreasing their numbers on East Sand near the mouth of the Columbia River. Aimed at reducing the number of young salmon eaten by terns, the plan also will benefit the terns by dispersing a large breeding concentration where the population is vulnerable to disease, human disturbance, predation and storms. About 70 percent of the entire western population of Caspian terns in North America nests on East Sand Island.
The RODs, signed November 21, 2006, document the agencies formal adoption of the Services Final Environmental Impact Statement for Caspian Tern Management to Reduce Predation of Juvenile Salmonids in the Columbia River Estuary and the selection of Alternative C of the Final EIS, as modified, as the preferred management alternative to reduce the predation of juvenile salmonids in the Columbia River estuary.
The FEIS was an interagency effort: The Fish and Wildlife Service took the lead role, while the Corps and National Marine Fisheries Services served as cooperating agencies.
RODS are written public records under the National Environmental Policy Act explaining why the agencies have decided upon a particular course of action. Issuance of the Caspian tern RODS clears the way for the Corps Portland District, contingent upon and subject to congressional authorization and appropriation for this action, to begin work on developing alternative nesting locations for Caspian terns and for the Service to begin long-term monitoring of the regional tern population.
The selected alternative includes development of Caspian tern nesting sites in Oregon at Fern Ridge (1 acre), and Summer Lake (1.5 acres) and Crump Lake (1 acre) and at three locations in San Francisco Bay: Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge (0.5 to 1 acre), Brooks (2 acres), and Hayward Regional Shorelines (0.5 acre).
All of the alternate sites are on public land and most already have some terns nesting.
The selected alternative differs in two ways from the preferred alternative identified in the FEIS released in January 2005: 1) A site at Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge in Clallum County, Washington, was dropped due to concerns about the potential for increased tern predation on Puget Sound Chinook salmon and Hood Canal chum salmon; and 2) the amount of nesting habitat remaining on East Sand will range from 1.5 to 2 acres instead of 1 to 1.5 acres to compensate for the removal of the Dungeness site.
The redistribution project is expected to cost about $2.4 million in first-year construction and habitat enhancement costs. Monitoring costs will range from $100,000 to $269,000 a year, depending on alternate site development and tern nesting activity.
The plan, once implemented, would substantially improve survival of juvenile Columbia River salmonids through the estuary, according to Corps biologists. At full implementation, an estimated 2.4 million to 3.1 million additional juvenile salmonids annually would survive their passage through the estuary. Snake River and Upper, Middle, and Lower Columbia River steelhead would benefit most from the proposed action. Other listed and non-listed Columbia River salmonids also are expected to benefit from the action.
A Caspian tern colony would be maintained at East Sand Island. As habitat is developed at the alternate locations, the available nesting habitat on East Sand would be reduced at a ratio of one acre for every two acres of developed alternative habitat. Habitat reduction would be accomplished through cessation of annual tillage on a portion of the colony location to allow for natural succession of vegetation. The Caspian tern colony size objective for East Sand is approximately 3,125 to 4,375 pairs compared to a present level of around 9,000 pairs.
The redistribution is expected to be completed between 2010 and 2015. Timing of actions at specific alternate sites will be phased, depending on available funding for habitat enhancement.
Development of the alternative habitat locations may require further NEPA, State and local compliance.
The Corps ROD and the interagency developed FEIS that was released in January 2005 are available on the Internet at http://www.fws.gov/pacific/migratorybirds/CATE.htm.
