Fishing News - 5/1/00
GREAT LAKES BASIN NEWS©
April 24, 2000
Contact: Great Lakes Basin Publications
staff@great-lakes.org
dan@great-lakes.org
630-941-1351 Ph.
630-941-1196 Fax
USFWS Schedules Meetings to Discuss Cormorant Management
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has scheduled a series of public meetings across the country to discuss concerns raised by increasing populations of double-crested cormorants and to solicit public comments on potential management options as the Service develops a nationwide strategy for managing the birds.
The Service will host those ten separate meetings to discuss the scope of an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) that will be developed to guide the agency's management decisions involving cormorants. A notice detailing the times and locations of these meetings was published in the April 14 Federal Register.
The EIS will evaluate the species' status, impacts on other resources, and potential management strategies. The document will also consider the administrative, logistical, and socio-economic impacts of various management strategies.
From 1970-1991, in the Great Lakes region of the US and Canada, double-crested cormorant nests increased from 89 to 38,000, with an average annual increase of 29%. By 1997, the Great Lakes population had reached 93,000 pairs. The total population of double-crested cormorants in the U.S. and Canada has most recently been estimated at more than 1 million birds.
While the Great Lakes population is the fastest growing population in the U.S., in contrast, the entire North American population, including all four subspecies, has grown at a limited rate of only 2% each year.
Ten public scoping meetings will be held in the following cities, at the announced locations and times:
Washington, D.C. April 25 - Dept of Interior bldg Main Auditorium, 1849 C St., N.W., 10 a.m. Portland, Ore April 27 - Red Lion Hotel Coliseum, 1225 N. Thunderbird Way, 7 p.m. Burlington, Vt May 9 - Clarion Hotel and Convention Center, 1117 Williston Road, 7 p.m. Watertown, NY May 10 - Dulles State Office Building auditorium, 317 Washington St., 7 p.m. Syracuse, NY May 11 - Carousel Center Mall, Skydeck, sixth level, 9090 Carousel Center Drive, 7 p.m. Green Bay, Wis May 15 - Ramada Inn, 2750 Ramada Way, 7p.m. Mackinaw City, MI, May 16 - Mackinaw City Public Schools gymnasium, 609 West Central, 7 p.m. Hauppage, NY, May 17 - Windham Watch Hotel, 1717 Vanderbilt Motor Parkway, 7 p.m. Jackson, Miss, May 22 - Primos Northgate, Convention Hall B, 4330 N. State St., 7 p.m. Athens, TX, May 23 - Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center, 5550 Farm Market Road, 7 p.m
You can also submit comments electronically or by mail. Written comments should be addressed to the Chief, Office of Migratory Bird Mgmt., USFWS, 4401 N. Fairfax Dr., Arlington, VA 22203. Comments via e-mail should include the author's complete mailing address and send to: cormorant_eis@fws.gov All written comments on the scope of the EIS should be submitted by June 16, 2000.
For further information contact the Office of Migratory Bird Management, (703) 358-1714.
The full text of their news release can be viewed at http://news.fws.gov/newsreleases Their site on cormorants is http://migratorybirds.fws.gov/issues/cormorant/cormorant.html
See also our column on "Cormorant issues" below.
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Cormorant Issues
USFWS has finally announced their long-awaited series of scoping meetings to develop management options on a nationwide strategy for managing cormorants. Here are some issues of concern, for the Great Lakes region and countrywide.
1. Their growth rate is disproportionate in the Great Lakes states to the other 42 states, with no control programs in place. 2. The average annual population increase in the Great Lakes is 29% vs. only 2%, including all four subspecies, in the remainder of the North American continent. How can USFWS develop a nationwide strategy for managing these birds? 3. There is no known predator to control this burgeoning population. 4. There is a devastating effect from the ecological imbalance created by their burgeoning population and lack of any cohesive management program by the Service. 5. There is no management program at the federal level. 6. Through bioaccumulation, their feeding exclusively on fish and subsequent excrement is polluting waters adjacent to their island rookeries, in obvious violation of the 1976 Clean Water Act standards. 7. The toxic waste from their guano is adversely affecting nearby potable water and residential wells. 8. Their burgeoning populations are affecting vegetation, trees, threatened and endangered species, game fish, forage fish, other wildlife, and island beauty. 9. FWS actions show great concern for aquaculture and commercial fish stocks. Similar concerns are not displayed for native or natural resources. 10.FWS actions, decisions and writings have created allegations of mismanagement, malfeasance and acquiescence to bird advocacy groups. 11.Final Environmental Assessment documents reflect bias toward bird advocacy than proper management. 12.Service generated verbal comments have reflected greater concern for possible lawsuits than implementing management control procedures
Consider any or all of these issues when responding to the USFWS on their proposed management options. Remember to get your comments in by June 16. E-mail them to cormorant_eis@fws.gov and you should include your complete mailing address. Or mail them to Chief, Office of Migratory Bird Mgmt., USFWS, 4401 N. Fairfax Dr., Arlington, VA 22203.
Dan Thomas, President Great Lakes Sport Fishing Council
