News Release
| Release Number: | 08-008 |
| Dated: | 1/11/2008 |
| Contact: | Amy Echols, 503-808-4510 |
Media invited to tour island January 16
PORTLAND, Ore. – Construction of island habitat for nesting Caspian terns is now underway at Fern Ridge Lake in Eugene, Ore., the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced today.
This construction project is the first of six in a program to redistribute the world’s largest breeding colony of Caspian terns and reduce their consumption of juvenile salmon in the Columbia River Estuary. The program aims to substantially improve the survival of fish listed as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act.
This new 1-acre island along the terns’ natural migratory path will create a more natural, dispersed population than that found on East Sand Island. The area will offer a diet of fewer Columbia River salmon and supports federal agencies’ continued efforts to restore ESA-listed fish in the Columbia River basin.
The Corps and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service previously determined that redistributing terns from the estuary’s East Sand Island to other nesting locations in the region is the most biologically sound method to reduce the terns’ impact on salmon migrating to the Pacific Ocean. This redistribution is also expected to benefit the terns by reducing the potential risk of exposing a large segment of the regional tern population to predators, storms and disease.
Media Tour
The Corps invites interested media representatives to visit the new area and meet with project staff on Wednesday, January 16 at 11 a.m. Please contact the Portland District Public Affairs Office by Monday, January 14 at 503-808-4510 to confirm your attendance.