Draft Marianas Trench Marine National Monument Management Plan and Environmental Assessment
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Draft Marianas Trench Marine National Monument Management Plan and Environmental Assessment November 2020 Prepared by: Marianas Trench Marine National Monument National Oceanic and US Fish & Wildlife Service CNMI Department of Lands Atmospheric Administration P.O. Box 8134, MOU-3 and Natural Resources NOAA Inouye Regional Center Dededo, GU 96912 Division of Fish and Wildlife 1845 Wasp Blvd., Bldg 176 P.O. Box 10007 Honolulu, HI 96818 Saipan, MP 96950 Blank page Draft Marianas Trench Marine National Monument Management Plan and Environmental Assessment Table of Contents 1. Introduction 1.1. Monument Features Overview ............................................................................................... 1 1.2. Monument Establishment ....................................................................................................... 4 1.3 Global and Regional Significance .......................................................................................... 4 1.4 Purpose and Need for Management Plan ............................................................................... 5 1.5 Management Framework ........................................................................................................ 5 1.6 Scope of the Management Plan and Review Process............................................................ 11 2. Goals and Management Alternatives 2.1 Goals, Objectives, and Strategies ......................................................................................... 13 2.2 Management Alternatives .................................................................................................... 16 2.3 Action Plans ......................................................................................................................... 19 3. Affected Environment 3.1 Physical Environment .......................................................................................................... 79 3.2 Biological Environment ..................................................................................................... 120 4. Cultural & Socioeconomic Resources 4.1 Introduction… ................................................................................................................... 153 4.2 Archeological Record and Maritime Zone ........................................................................ 155 4.3 Global Encounters ............................................................................................................. 157 4.4 The Administration and Militarization of the Mariana Islands .......................................... 160 4.5 Joint Region Marianas and Coast Guard Sector Guam ...................................................... 162 4.6 Demographic and Economic Setting in Guam and the CNMI ........................................... 163 4.7 Ecotourism .......................................................................................................................... 164 4.8 Cultural and Socioeconomic Importance of Fishing ......................................................... 165 5. Environmental Effects Analysis 5.1 Overview of Effects Analysis and Terminology ............................................................... 169 5.2 Summary of Effects ........................................................................................................... 170 5.3 Effects Analysis ................................................................................................................. 170 5.4 Cumulative Effects Assessment ........................................................................................ 180 i Draft Marianas Trench Marine National Monument Management Plan and Environmental Assessment 6. Appendices Appendix A. Known Species Lists ............................................................................................. A-1 Appendix B. USFWS Compatibility Determinations and Appropriate Use Findings...............B-1 Appendix C. Implementation Plan.............................................................................................C-1 Appendix D. Wilderness Review for Mariana Trench and Mariana Arc of Fire NWRs...........D-1 Appendix E. Best Management Practices & Biosecurity........................................................... E-1 Appendix F. Legal Documents................................................................................................... F-1 Appendix G. Mariana Trench Monument Advisory Council.....................................................G-1 Appendix H. Acronyms and Abbreviations................................................................................H-1 Appendix I. Mandates.................................................................................................................. I-1 Appendix J. Statement of Compliance........................................................................................ J-1 Appendix K. Public Scoping...................................................................................................... K-1 ii Draft Marianas Trench Marine National Monument Management Plan and Environmental Assessment Gasses spew from the high-temperature white smokers at Champagne Vent site, NW Eifuku volcano. Photo: NOAA Chapter 1. Introduction 1.1 Monument Features Overview Enormous submarine mud volcanoes, an underwater pool of liquid sulfur, dense apex predator populations, and spectacular coral reef systems…these are but some of the distinctive characteristics of the Marianas Trench Marine National Monument (Monument). Monument features are marked by the region’s complex geological processes in the Earth’s most active volcanic system, the Pacific Ring of Fire. These geological phenomena create unique underwater environments that support dynamic biological ecosystems. Spectacular volcanic undersea vents, also known as “smokers,” support a wide variety of marine life, including some of the earliest known microbial life forms on Earth. Also found here is the Mariana Trench, the world’s deepest, in which Mount Everest could fit with a mile of water to spare.1, 2 Spanning 95,216 square miles of submerged lands and waters, the Monument is located on the western edge of the Pacific Ocean and east of the Philippines in the vicinity of the Mariana Archipelago of islands. Here, the oldest species on our planet thrive amidst magnificent mud volcanoes, and strange new species defy our old concepts of existence. The world’s first discovery of hydrothermal vent fish was made in a boiling undersea lake of liquid sulfur on one of the Monument’s seamounts. The submerged caldera at Maug is one of the few places on Earth where photosynthetic and chemosynthetic communities of life are known to exist together, fueling a microbial biodiversity hotspot of extraordinary complexity. This area provides a natural laboratory for studying ocean acidification and a potential coral refuge for climate change. Chapter 1. Introduction 1 Draft Marianas Trench Marine National Monument Management Plan and Environmental Assessment The unspoiled waters surrounding these islands are home to sharks, whales, dolphins, and colorful deep-water fish, along with several species of endangered and threatened populations of sea turtles. Sharks and other apex predators drive smaller fish to the surface, creating the bait balls upon which many species of pelagic seabirds feed. More than two dozen species of seabirds inhabit the area and enrich the nutrient load of coral communities, fertilizing the shores with energy from the sea. The Monument complements the protections of adjacent wildlife conservation reserves in the three northernmost islands of the U.S. Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) and presents a remarkable opportunity to protect every link in this complex and fragile chain—birds, seamounts, predatory fish and corals—as an integrated ecosystem. The Monument consists of three units: Trench Unit, Volcanic Unit, and Islands Unit. Two of these units have also been designated as national wildlife refuges. The Trench Unit and Volcanic Unit are managed both as part of the Monument and also as the “Mariana Trench National Wildlife Refuge” and “Mariana Arc of Fire National Wildlife Refuge”, respectively. This document identifies these areas as the “Trench Unit/Refuge” and “Volcanic Unit/Arc of Fire Refuge”. The Islands Unit is not managed as a part of the National Wildlife Refuge System (NWRS) and is identified only as the “Islands Unit”. We have used these names throughout this plan in accordance with their legal and regulatory structure. The Trench Unit/Refuge stretches approximately 940 nautical miles (nmi)* long and 38 nmi wide along the Mariana Trench sea floor, and includes Sirena Deep– at about 35,000 feet the second deepest point on Earth– remarkable for its steep walls, distinctive geologic features, and deep ocean life forms. Xenophyophores resembling giant amoebae, deep-sea jellyfish, shrimplike amphipods, and translucent sea cucumbers have found a home in this harsh environment amid shaggy bacterial mats. Xenophyophores in the Trench Unit/Refuge. Photo: NOAA The ocean floor at such depth consists of a biogenous ooze composed of microscopic plankton shells from both animal and plant plankton. The deepest areas of the Mariana Trench are likened to an inverted chain of islands, where each “peak” points downward, but like islands, each feature can be geologically and biologically unique. The Volcanic Unit/Arc of Fire Refuge – an arc of 18 undersea mud volcanoes and