News Release
| Release Number: | 07-136 |
| Dated: | 11/5/2007 |
| Contact: | Amy Echols, 503-808-4510 |
PORTLAND, Ore. – The public comment period on the draft environmental assessment for the Fern Ridge Lake phase of a program to redistribute Caspian terns has been extended through Nov. 12, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced today.
The draft environmental assessment provides information to supplement and update previous National Environmental Policy Act documents. The document and the public notice are available on the Corps’ Web site at https://www.nwp.usace.army.mil/pm/e/en_plan_avian.asp.
The avian predation program aims to reduce the number of young salmon consumed by world’s largest breeding colony of Caspian terns in the Columbia River estuary and substantially improve the survival of fish listed as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act.
The redistribution project includes environmental documentation and detailed work plans for the development of Caspian tern nesting sites at six locations over the next five years. Three sites are in Oregon and three are located in San Francisco Bay. The Corps anticipates construction of the first site at Fern Ridge Lake in Oregon to begin in late 2007 with completion in early 2008.