News Release
| Release Number: | 00-005 |
| Dated: | 1/20/2000 |
| Contact: | Matt Rabe, 503-808-4510 |
Portland, Ore. – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has been given a mission: Keep Caspian terns off Rice Island.
The Corps of Engineers – working closely with a working group of federal, state and tribal fish and wildlife agencies – has drawn up its action plan, as well as an environmental assessment to address the environmental, cultural and social impacts associated with the plan. Through its action plan, the Corps proposes to preclude Caspian terns from nesting on Rice Island, at rivermile 21 of the Columbia River, by actively harassing birds that try to roost, loaf or nest there.
The public and interested agencies and organizations are invited to review and comment on the proposed actions.
Questions or comments on the draft EA, or a request for a copy of the EA, may be directed to Robert Willis, Environmental Resources Branch, Portland District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, at (503) 808-4760, Lynne Hamilton at (503) 808-4772, or mailed to: District Engineer, Portland District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineer District, Portland, Attn: Lynne Hamilton, CENWP-PM-E, P.O. Box 2946, Portland, Ore., 97208-2946. The draft EA also is available on the Internet at http://www.nwp.usace.army.mil/pm/e/.
Comments must be postmarked by Feb. 18, 2000, and should reference Public Notice Number CENWP-PM-E-00-02, Caspian Tern Relocation FY 2000 Management Plan and Pile Dike Modification to Discourage Cormorant Use, Lower Columbia River, Oregon and Washington
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dated Jan. 19, 2000.The line was drawn in the sand – the latest effort in the battle to save threatened and endangered Columbia basin salmon and steelhead – in the Sept. 15, 1999, Biological Opinion issued by the National Marine Fisheries Service.
That document calls for the Corps to "modify the habitat on Rice Island by April 1, 2000, so that it is no longer suitable as a nesting site for Caspian terns or provide for the hazing of terns off the island in a manner that will preclude their nesting."
In addition to keeping terns off Rice Island, the Corps, in cooperation with the Caspian Tern Working Group, will maintain about four acres of suitable tern habitat on East Sand Island, near the mouth of the Columbia River. The Corps also will install devices on top of 9,590 linear feet of Corps-maintained pile dikes in the lower Columbia River estuary to prevent double-crested cormorants from resting during their foraging activities. The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife will develop tern habitat at former colony nesting locations in Grays Harbor as possible relocation sites for part of the colony.
Caspian tern breeding was first documented in the Columbia River estuary in 1984 when about 1,000 pairs were reported nesting on fresh dredged material on East Sand Island, near the mouth of the Columbia River. Prior to 1984, the species was a non-breeding, summer resident of the Columbia River estuary.
Most of the colony moved to Rice Island in 1986, probably because of vegetation development on East Sand Island, according to biologists. Since that time, the colony’s population has expanded to more than 9,500 nesting pairs.
Juvenile salmon and steelhead make up a large portion of the fish terns consume at Rice Island – about 75 percent, compared to a much smaller percentage at East Sand Island – about 44 percent. Biologists estimate terns, cormorants and other sea birds consumed 6 million to 25 million salmon and steelhead in 1997, and 7.4 million to 15.2 million salmon and steelhead in 1998.
In 1999, as part of a pilot project to manage terns, the Corps of Engineers, working with federal and state wildlife agencies, attempted to relocate the majority of the colony from Rice Island to East Sand Island. A combination of efforts was used, including planting vegetation and installing fencing on Rice Island, and removing vegetation and using social attraction devices on East Sand Island. The project was partially successful, resulting in 1,400 nesting pairs of terns using East Sand Island during the 1999 breeding season.
Future tern management plans will be developed based on the results of this year’s actions.
The Corps has consulted with the appropriate agencies to assure compliance with the Endangered Species Act of 1973; the Coastal Zone Management Act; the Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act; the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, and Cultural Resources acts.
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