Protecting Coastal Ecosystems

"Let's go to the beach!" Such a popular refrain about such a popular destination. In fact, coastal areas have become so popular that many people have decided to live there year-round. The coastal zone is home to over one-third of the U.S. population, and that proportion is expected to grow to 75 percent in the next 15 years. Many of the characteristics that attract people to coastal areas also make these areas prime habitat for fish and wildlife resources. Although they comprise less than 10 percent of the Nation, coastal ecosystems are home to nearly two-thirds of the Nation's fisheries, half of the migratory songbirds, and one-third of our wetlands and wintering waterfowl. The coasts also harbor 45 percent of all threatened and endangered species, including three-fourths of the federally listed birds and mammals.

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Can our crowded coastlines provide enough high-quality habitat for people, other animals, and plants? How can we restore threatened and endangered coastal species? How can we keep other coastal species from reaching low population levels? A search for answers to these and other questions led the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) to create the Coastal Ecosystems Program (Program). The Program integrates many FWS programs and authorities and focuses them on 11 of the Nation's highest priority coastal watersheds. It encompasses both open coastal areas and inland portions of watersheds, looking broadly at living resource interactions within an ecosystem.

The goal of the Coastal Ecosystems Program is to eliminate or reduce threats to coastal habitats and species. Since no single agency can manage entire coastal ecosystems on its own, the FWS works with Federal, State, and private partners to conserve and protect important coastal habitats. Program funds support a variety of projects: gathering and distributing information for use by local decision-makers; targeted education to catalyze volunteer action; and, most importantly, on-the-ground actions to conserve and restore habitats.

From the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of Maine and on to the Pacific Ocean, the Program has funded dozens of projects in support of threatened and endangered species.

Texas

The sandy, marshy shoreline of Galveston Bay is home to not only several threatened and endangered species, but also over 3 million people, the world's second largest concentration of petrochemical facilities, and one of the nation's busiest ports. Despite all the surrounding industry, the Bay has significant natural vitality and productivity. Shorebirds, wading birds, endangered brown pelicans (Pelecanus occidentalis), and other birds flock to Galveston Bay's shores. At the same time, a tradition of broad public access exists in Texas, including a State law mandating that beaches be open to the public. One challenge undertaken by the Galveston Bay/Texas Coast Ecosystem Program is to channel the access of thousands of people away from the most sensitive habitats, especially at critical times such as nesting.

Working closely with local government officials, the Program built traffic barriers to limit vehicle access to one stretch of beach, and created the 210-acre (85 hectares) Big Reef Nature Park, which includes a wetland/dune/lagoon complex. These traffic barriers reduced the stress the birds feel from close contact with humans and reduced the amount of litter within the park. To compensate for the closure of public beach access, the partners built a pedestrian boardwalk over the dunes and added interpretive signs to educate the public about the importance of the habitat to endangered species and other wildlife. Brown pelicans, Arctic peregrine falcons ( Falco peregrinus tundrius), and numerous shorebirds can be seen foraging and seeking shelter in the park. Plans are in place to revegetate the dunes, improve shorebird nesting habitat, build observation areas in the Park, and create similar parks in two other spots along Galveston Bay's barrier islands.

Little Pelican Island is the largest and most productive colonial waterbird rookery on the Texas Coast. In past years, hundreds of brown pelicans roosted and attempted to nest on the island, but with little success. Together with the Houston Audubon Society, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, and others, the Program designed and installed large signs advising boaters, campers, and anglers to stay off the island during nesting season. After this seemingly simple action, pelicans had a very productive year, with 125 nesting pairs. Preliminary estimates for 1995 show an increase to 200 nesting pairs.

Maine

Maine's craggy headlands are a far cry from beaches in the Gulf of Mexico, yet they too provide sites for the Coastal Ecosystems Program to help conserve endangered and threatened species. The rocky islands off the coast of Maine offer breathtaking scenery and exceptional habitat for colonial shorebirds, including endangered roseate terns (Sterna dougallii), wading birds, waterfowl, threatened bald eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus), and other raptors. The rugged beauty and location of these islands has also attracted tourists with plans for development of seasonal homes.

Long-term monitoring of bird habitat, along with outreach programs to educate local people about the ecological importance of these habitats, were conducted by the Coastal Ecosystems Program and the Petit Manan National Wildlife Refuge, setting the stage for action. Sharing this information with groups such as the Maine Audubon Society, the Maine Coast Heritage Trust, the Damariscotta River Association, the Island Institute, and The Nature Conservancy was a critical first step toward protecting these islands. Partnerships with these local land trusts have led to conservation easements and acquisition to protect about 125 acres (51 hectares) of highly significant habitat for threatened and endangered birds. Some islands are now owned by the land trusts, and some have been added to the FWS's National Wildlife Refuge System. The most significant nesting sites are protected, but access is allowed for environmental education and some recreation.

California

Southern California attracts even more people and provides habitat for more listed species than the Texas Coast. The "River of Birds" along the Pacific flyway has lost most of its native, undisturbed habitat for nesting, resting, and feeding. A partnership with the San Diego County Parks Department, State agencies, and local conservation groups is attempting to reverse the trend by restoring tidal flow to a degraded coastal lagoon. Restoration of the San Elijo Lagoon will likely benefit three endangered species, the California least tern (Sterna antillarum browni), light-footed clapper rail (Rallus longirostris levipes), and tidewater goby (Eucyclogobius newberryi); two threatened species, the western snowy plover (Charadrius alexandrinus nivosus) and coastal California gnatcatcher (Polioptila californica californica); and Belding's savannah sparrow (Passerculus sandwhichensis beldingi), a species of concern.

Pacific Northwest

While most of the Nation's salmon populations are not currently listed as threatened or endangered, stocks are not as abundant as they once were. Salmon populations in the Northwest have fallen tremendously from the levels of a few decades ago. Projects in four priority embayments within Puget Sound are restoring tidal and intertidal wetlands vital to the survival of juvenile and adult salmon during migration. These efforts will provide direct benefits to salmon populations, helping to keep them from shrinking to the point where the salmon will require protection under the Endangered Species Act. The projects in Puget Sound also serve to demonstrate effective conservation techniques for other coastal managers.

Despite the success of the Coastal Ecosystems Program, it has become clear that to overcome the increasingly rapid pace at which coastal areas are being altered, more innovative, comprehensive, and preventative approaches are necessary. Through its leadership of the Program, the FWS is reaching out to other Federal, State, and local agencies and all interested citizens to come together for the restoration and protection of our Nation's precious coastal resources.

Steve Glomb is a fish and wildlife biologist in the FWS Division of Habitat Conservation in Washington, D.C.

• Portions of the Connecticut River, Delaware Bay, and Chesapeake Bay have been designated as "wetland complexes of international importance," largely because of their significance to migratory birds along the Atlantic flyway. Several partnerships are already in place, and others are being formed to protect these areas from urban encroachment and to restore degraded marshes.
• If you are getting the idea that this program is strictly "for the birds," on the Eastern Shore of the Chesapeake Bay, 10 northern diamondback terrapins (Malaclemys terrapin terrapin), a species of concern, quickly moved into an area that the Program protected from erosion and dredge disposal.
• Atlantic white cedar forests, a globally rare plant community, are being restored along the shores of Albemarle-Pamlico Sounds. These forests will provide additional areas for many migratory songbirds whose habitat has been shrinking throughout their migratory pathways.
• Wetland restoration in San Francisco Bay, soon to move from the planning to the implementation stage, will provide similar benefits to endangered, threatened, and candidate species on the west coast.

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