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Tufted Puffin Recovery Plan and Periodic Status Review

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Tufted Puffin Recovery Plan and Periodic Status Review STATE OF WASHINGTON September 2019 Tufted Puffin Recovery Plan and Periodic Status Review T. Hanson, S.F. Pearson, P. Hodum, and D.W. Stinson In 1990, the Washington Wildlife Commission adopted procedures for listing and de-listing species as endangered, threatened, or sensitive and for writing recovery and management plans for listed species (WAC 220-610-110; Appendix A). The procedures, developed by a group of citizens, interest groups, and state and federal agencies, require preparation of recovery plans for species listed as threatened or endangered, and periodic review of listed species at least every five years. Recovery, as defined by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, is the process by which the decline of an endangered or threatened species is arrested or reversed, and threats to its survival are neutralized, so that its long-term survival in nature can be ensured. This document is the final Washington State Recovery Plan and Periodic Status Review for the Tufted Puffin. It provides an update to the status of Tufted Puffins in Washington, and prescribes strategies to recover the species, such as protecting populations and existing habitat, evaluating and restoring habitat, and initiating research and cooperative programs. Target population objectives and other criteria for down-listing to state Threatened and Sensitive status are also identified. As part of the State’s listing and recovery procedures, the draft recovery plan and status review was reviewed by researchers and technical staff from state, and federal agencies an dregional experts. This was followed by a 90-day public comment period. Responses to the public comments are included in Ap- pendix B; comments received were considered in the preparation of the final document. The Department presented a summary of the recovery plan and periodic status review to the Fish and Wildlife Commission at the June 14-15, 2019 meeting in Port Angeles. For additonal information about Tufted Puffins or other state-listed species, check our website, or contact us by at [email protected], or by mail to: Recovery Section Manager, Wildlife Program Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife P. O. Box 43141 Olympia, WA 98504-3200 This report should be cited as: Hanson, T., S. F. Pearson, P. Hodum, and D. W. Stinson. 2019. Washington State Recovery Plan and Pe- riodic Status Review for the Tufted Puffin. Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, Olympia. 53+vi pp. Cover photos by Peter Hodum; Tufted Puffin illustrations on cover and title page by Darrell Pruett. This work was supported in part by personalized and endangered species license plates Washington State Recovery Plan and Periodic Status Review for the Tufted Puffin Thor Hanson The SeaDoc Society, 942 Deer Harbor Road, Eastsound, WA 98245 Scott F. Pearson Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife Peter Hodum Biology Department, University of Puget Sound, 1500 N. Warner St., Tacoma, WA 98416 and Oikonos Ecosystem Knowledge, Tacoma, WA 98407 Derek W. Stinson Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife Wildlife Program P.O. Box 43141 Olympia, WA 98504-3200 September 2019 TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES ............................................................................................................. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ......................................................................................................................... iii EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ......................................................................................................................... iv INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................................ 2 DISTRIBUTION ........................................................................................................................................... 2 POPULATION AND HABITAT STATUS ................................................................................................. 3 Washington population. ....................................................................................................................... 3 Habitat status. ...................................................................................................................................... 4 CONSERVATION STATUS ....................................................................................................................... 5 FACTORS AFFECTING TUFTED PUFFIN POPULATIONS .................................................................. 6 Forage fish abundance ......................................................................................................................... 6 Squid and zooplanckton ....................................................................................................................... 7 Climate change effects ......................................................................................................................... 7 Miscellaneous factors ........................................................................................................................... 9 MANAGEMENT ACTIVITIES ................................................................................................................. 10 Surveys and monitoring ...................................................................................................................... 10 Interagency/partner coordination ...................................................................................................... 10 Restoration of puffins and habitat at colonies .................................................................................... 10 Recent research .................................................................................................................................. 10 RECOMMENDATION .............................................................................................................................. 11 RECOVERY ............................................................................................................................................... 12 RECOVERY GOAL ................................................................................................................................... 12 RECOVERY OBJECTIVES ...................................................................................................................... 12 Definitions .............................................................................................................................................. 13 Rationale ................................................................................................................................................. 13 IMPLEMENTATION PLAN ..................................................................................................................... 33 LITERATURE CITED ............................................................................................................................... 36 PERSONAL COMMUNICATIONS ............................................................................................................ 1 APPENDIX A. Washington Administrative Code 220-610-110. Endangered, threatened, and sensitive wildlife species classification. ............................................................................................................ 2 APPENDIX B. Responses to written public comments received on the Draft Recovery Plan .................. 49 LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES Figure 1. Range of the Tufted Puffin. ........................................................................................................... 2 Figure 2. Recent and historical Tufted Puffin colony locations in Washington. .......................................... 3 Table 1. High counts of Tufted Puffins in most recent year of boat-based surveys since 2000 at breeding sites and other locations in Washington (WDFW1). ........................................................................... 4 Figure 3. Tufted Puffin trends (birds encountered/km) during boat-based surveys (15 May- 31 July) along the outer Washington coast between Cape Flattery and Point Grenville, 2001–2018. Black line is the linear trend and the gray band is the 95% confidence interval of the trend (WDFW data). ......... 5 Figure 4. Comparison of rabbit free (left) and rabbit occupied (right) habitat on Destruction Island in 2011. Note the heavily grazed grasses, considerable slope slipping, and loss of soil needed for burrowing by seabirds in the right photograph (photos by P. Hodum) ............................................... 9 September 2019 ii Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife Figure 5. Predicted relative density of Washington’s Tufted Puffins during April-October (Menza et al. 2015). ................................................................................................................................................ 11 Table 2. Implementation plan for the recovery of Tufted Puffins in Washington. ..................................... 33 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This project was supported by the SeaDoc Society, a program of the Karen C. Drayer Wildlife Health Center, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis, thanks to a generous donation from Kathleen Dickenson. The draft was improved by comments by Heather Renner, Mark Hipfner, Sue Thomas, Gary Wiles, Michelle Culver, Dayv Lowry, and Lorna Wargo. The authors also thank Hannah Anderson, Joe Gaydos,
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