Category Archives: Refuge Issues

June 24, 2010 — A 19-pound Asian carp has been found near the shore of Lake Michigan, above a navigation lock that regional political leaders had been demanding the Army Corps slam shut to try to keep the invaders out of the world’s largest freshwater system.

The fish confirms what DNA evidence had been telling fishery managers for months – that Asian carp had indeed breached an electric fish barrier on the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal, considered the last line of defense for Lake Michigan. Read the following four articles to get the details.

“Michigan Attorney General and gubernatorial hopeful Mike Cox said the find means that the region’s “worst fears” have been realized, and he is considering further legal action.”

“We have zebra mussels which have clogged water intake pipes and whose effect on Great Lakes water users in the United States and Canada may total several billion dollars spent on machinery to stop them from clogging pipes. We have the Asian carp which are threatening to follow zebra mussels as the latest foreign species to invade and unbalance the lakes by competing for the same food supply that feeds game fish and thus supports the sport fishing industry. We have longstanding fish consumption advisories resulting from chemical contamination. So yes, it would be a very good idea for the mayors, governors, premiers, and federal governments to get together and talk about disaster plans and about the disasters we already have.”

“One invasive bighead Asian carp has been found in Lake Calumet along the Chicago Area Waterway System – the first fish that has been found above the U.S. Army Corps of Engineer’s electric barrier system built to keep out the voracious exotic species.”

“There’s an underwater war underway in the Midwest – an offensive to keep the ravenous Asian Carp out of the Great Lakes. On Wednesday, it became clear: The carp are winning.”

Mississippi River

U.S. Rep. Ron Kind (D-WI) today held an event with U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) to highlight and call for the passage of the Upper Mississippi River Basin Protection Act, legislation calling for the development of a coordinated, public-private approach to studying and reducing nutrient and sediment runoff in the Upper Mississippi River Basin. Legislation Kind authored, the bill also establishes a water-quality monitoring system and a computer modeling program to analyze data.

“The river plays a vital role in our economy and our quality of life in western Wisconsin,” said Rep. Kind, founder and Co-chair of the Upper Mississippi River Basin Congressional Task Force.  “Increased sediment and nutrient flow into the upper basin poses a very serious threat to the long-term health of the entire Mississippi River system. This bill will lay the scientific foundation necessary to ensure the future quality and beauty of the Mississippi for generations to come.”

The accumulation of excess sediment from increased soil erosion and nutrients, such as fertilizers and animal waste, in the Upper Mississippi River Basin degrades aquatic and wetland habitat and imperils a wide variety of fish and waterfowl.  The increased soil erosion causes applied fertilizer from area farms to wash into the river, resulting not only in dangerously high nitrogen and phosphorous levels, but also a reduction in the long-term sustainability and income of family farms, and the plaguing of farmers annually with $300 million in unnecessary costs.   In addition, sediment accumulation fills the main shipping channel of the river and valuable wetlands throughout the basin, reducing the value to wildlife and their capacity as nutrient filters and costing the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers more than $100 million annually in dredging costs.

The Upper Mississippi River Basin Protection Act aims to produce the data needed to better understand sediment and nutrient flow from its source in the landscape to its destination in rivers and lakes and drive the innovation needed to solve the excess sediment and nutrient problem in the Mississippi River System.  The legislation establishes a sedimentation and nutrient reduction monitoring network and an integrated computer modeling program that, when combined, will provide the baseline data needed to make scientifically sound and cost-effective decisions to improve the Upper Mississippi River’s ecosystem.

“While there is no easy solution to stopping the runoff of sediment and nutrients into the Upper Mississippi River Basin, this legislation will make significant strides toward reducing this flow of harmful pollutants into the river,” said Rep. Kind. “I have worked closely with farmers, industry, sporting groups, conservation organizations, and government agencies to develop this effective, basin-wide, and non-regulatory approach.  Having passed the House recently, I am confident that with Senator Klobuchar’s help, the bill will find support in the Senate as well.”

The bill passed the House of Representatives on March 19, 2010.  Under Senator Klobuchar’s sponsorship, the Senate held a hearing on the bill on June 9, 2010.  The Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works is expected to mark up the bill in coming months.

“It doesn’t matter what side of the river you’re on, we all have a stake in protecting our land and water,” said Senator Klobuchar.  “Every time soil and nutrients run off the land, it increases the cost of farming and the cost of maintaining navigation on the Mississippi River.  These costs add up to hundreds of millions of dollars every year.  This legislation will ensure that objective, scientific data is available for everyone to work together to safeguard our natural resources for multiple uses, whether it’s farming, industry, transportation, recreation or hunting and fishing.”

The Upper Mississippi River system, with tributaries and a basin encompassing much of Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, Illinois, and Missouri, is widely recognized as one of our nation’s great multi-use natural resources. The Mississippi River and its tributaries provide drinking water to approximately 22 million Americans and the system’s 1,300 navigable miles transport millions of tons of commercial cargo via barges.  In addition, 40 percent of North America’s waterfowl use the wetlands and backwaters of the main stem as a migratory flyway, illustrating the environmental significance of the system as well as recreation capabilities.

The Midwest Region of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) is beginning a National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) review of farming programs in an eight state region (Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio, and Wisconsin). Through this process, the Service will evaluate the use of farming and genetically modified crops on lands of the National Wildlife Refuge System (refuges).
Historically, farming has been an important tool used to manage refuge lands. Refuge managers used farming to provide high quality, energy rich foods for many wildlife species including migrating waterfowl. Additionally, because of the cold, long winters typical in the Midwest, agricultural crops are also used to provide food for resident wildlife. In addition to providing food for wildlife, farming is often utilized on refuges to prepare areas for restoration of native habitats. Because most refuge units farm relatively small acreages and lack specialized equipment required for crop production, share cropping or cooperative farming arrangements are often used to administer refuge farm programs. Generally, local agriculture producers plant designated areas on a refuge and harvest a predetermined share of the crop. The remaining crop is left in the field to provide food resources for wildlife.
Locally, the La Crosse District of the Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge, has been utilizing cooperative farming as a starter for restorations. Most of the farmed acres to date are on newly acquired tracts, with a few acres on lands that need restoration a second time. Farming of corn and soybeans allows the land to be prepped and held at a manageable state until restoration can be accomplished. Farming discourages undesired and highly competitive vegetation from taking hold under the annual disturbances from machinery, until natives can be planted. Under the Comprehensive Conservation Plan
(2006), farming is allowed, but for the purpose of habitat management for only a short-term basis (5 years or less).
Recently, the Service has committed to review farm programs on refuges across the nation. We will be reviewing the appropriateness of farming on refuges and the administration of refuge farm programs. During this review, we will also be evaluating the use of genetically modified crops on refuges. Further information on this effort can be obtained through your local refuge {to find a phone number for a specific refuge the following web site has links to every Midwest Refuge (http://www.fws.gov/midwest/Refuges/)} or through the regional website at the following address: http://www.fws.gov/midwest/planning/FarmingNEPA/. Comments for the review are requested no later than close of business on July 9, 2010. Comments may be provided by email to Sandra_Siekaniec@fws.gov This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or may be mailed to the following address: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Attention: Sandra Siekaniec, BHW Federal Building, 1 Federal Drive, Ft. Snelling, MN, 55111.

GREAT LAKES:

Heidi Keuler from the La Crosse Fish and Wildlife Conservation office on the Illinois River

On 1/21, Rep. Dave Camp (R-Mich.) introduced a bill that would close some Chicago-area waterways in an effort to halt the advance of invasive Asian carp to the Great Lakes.On 1/19, the Supreme Court denied Michigan’s request for a preliminary injunction to close the waterways, which provide the fish a link from the Mississippi River to Lake Michigan.

Migrating ducks, geese and swans were provided more resting and feeding areas, combined with less human disturbance, during their stop-over on the Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge during the fall of 2007.

The birds responded to new management actions that modified the current system of areas closed to waterfowl hunting along the 261-mile refuge.   “The closed areas are like stepping stones for the birds as they make their way south,” said Eric Nelson, refuge biologist. Nelson explained that, “the new system takes into account decades of survey work that has shown an unequal distribution of the birds, food and hunting opportunity in Pools 4-14 of theMississippi River. Having all the ducks in a few pools is not ideal for the birds, nor ideal for waterfowl hunters.”   Birds concentrated in a few areas are susceptible to disease outbreaks, sudden habitat loss, and human disturbance. This concentration also means that the birds are not equally available for hunting or wildlife observation through the length of the Refuge.   The 2007 changes are part of the Refuge’s new 15-year Comprehensive Conservation Plan, approved in 2006. More high-energy food resources found in refuge backwaters were secured for the birds by adding new closed areas and modifying the boundaries of others.   To reduce disturbance, new management provisions do not allow the use of motors in closed areas less than 1000 acres in size and also ask people to voluntarily avoid entering all closed areas from October 15 to the end of the duck hunting season. Seven of 24 closed areas are less than 1000 acres.   Duck hunting success continued to be good even as new areas were closed to hunting.    Birds Response Was Good in Most Places One area with increased duck use was at the new Spring Lake closed area near Buffalo CityWis. in Pool 5.  Canvasback and mallard use doubled over the 2006 counts when the area was open to hunting. Counts were made by airplane and ground crews.   Bird use also increased at the existing Goose Island no hunting zone which was expanded by 108 acres in 2007. Tundra swans, gadwalls, canvasbacks and redheads were more numerous than previous years.   At the new Wisconsin River Delta special hunt area near Prairie du Chien, Wis. in Pool 10, duck hunting was closed early, November 1, nearly a month after the season opener.   Bird numbers went from 460 birds (mostly coots) in October, to 2,652 (mostly mallards) by mid-November and reached a peak of 3,275 waterfowl in late November. In recent years, before the November 1 hunting closure was in effect, counts totaled only a few hundred birds.   Change in duck use was not as dramatic at the new Kehough Slough closed area in Pool 12, north of Bellevue Iowa and the new Beaver Island closed area in Pool 14, near Clinton,Iowa. These areas had a lack of food resources caused by late-summer flooding that killed aquatic plants and more high water in October that forced birds to move on.   At the existing Elk River closed area (Pool 13, near Sabula, Iowa), effects of new voluntary avoidance provisions on bird use were inconclusive. While aerial surveys showed 40% more puddle duck use in 2007 than in 2006, use by Canada geese, tundra swans and diving ducks was lower in 2007.    Public Compliance Was High Waterfowl disturbance studies were made at eight closed areas. Observers, often perched on bluff tops over-looking the closed areas, noted boating activity and how waterfowl reacted to disturbance caused by boater intrusions.   Observer time was allocated to various mornings, evenings, weekends, weekdays, and holidays, October to December.   Nelson noted that, “Public compliance to voluntary avoidance and no motor provisions was quite good.” Observers reported no disturbance of the birds in some closed areas, includingSpring Lake in Pool 5 and Kehough Slough in Pool 12.   Disturbance did occur at the Wisconsin River Delta Special Hunt Area, as noted in 56 hours of observation. In this case, 15 of  17 boating intrusions into the area caused minor bird disturbance. These boats were destined for a fishing hot-spot at the edge of the closed area.   A detailed study at the Wisconsin Islands closed area, in Pool 8 near Brownsville, Minn.indicated that boating disturbance levels were tolerable. In 267 hours of observations, researchers from the U.S. Geological Survey in La Crosse Wisc. documented 33 boating intrusions into the area. These intrusions caused an average of one major disturbance once every third day, less than the critical average of one every day, which would call for tighter restrictions in the future.   Observers were also stationed on bluffs above the Elk River closed area in Pool 13. Only three minor disturbance events were recorded in 51 hours of  observation conducted during 11 days between October 6 and November 27, 2007.   Results of disturbance studies will be used to enhance public education about the needs of migrating waterfowl on the Refuge.   More details of bird use and disturbance studies are posted on the Refuge web site: http://www.fws.gov/midwest/UpperMississippiRiver/   New updates will be posted as other reports become available.   The mission of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is working with others to conserve, protect and enhance fish, wildlife, plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. We are both a leader and trusted partner in fish and wildlife conservation, known for our scientific excellence, stewardship of lands and natural resources, dedicated professionals and commitment to public service. For more information on our work and the people who make it happen, visit http://www.fws.gov