Guadalupe-Nipomo Dunes National Wildlife Refuge
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U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Final Comprehensive Conservation Plan and Environmental Assessment Guadalupe-Nipomo Dunes National Wildlife Refuge Hopper Mountain National Wildlife Refuge Complex 2493 Portola Road, Suite A Ventura, CA 93003 http://www.fws.gov/refuge/guadalupe-nipomo_dunes/ Guadalupe-Nipomo Dunes California Telecommunications Relay Service Voice/TTY: 711 National Wildlife Refuge U.S. Fish & Willdife Service 1 800/344-WILD http://www.fws.gov Final Comprehensive Conservation Plan August 2016 and Environmental Assessment August 2016 Photo: Ian Shive Vision Statement Propelled by relentless ocean waves and strong onshore winds, small grains of sand scour and accumulate to form the impressive migrating dunes of the Guadalupe-Nipomo Dunes National Wildlife Refuge (Refuge). Harsh, but dynamic processes create unique habitats among the dunes for imperiled plants and animals such as La Graciosa thistle, marsh sandwort, California red- legged frog, and western snowy plover. The Refuge lies within the Guadalupe-Nipomo Dunes Complex (Dunes Complex), an 18-mile- long stretch of coastal dunes located north of Point Sal and south of Pismo Beach. To conserve the dynamic landscape and imperiled natural resources of the Refuge and the Dunes Complex, the Service works cooperatively with other agencies, non-profit organizations, local businesses, private landowners, and private citizens. Working together, we instill stewardship through activities that include habitat restoration, protection of cultural resources, recovery of threatened and endangered species, and opportunities for high-quality visitor experiences in this unique and spectacular dunes landscape. Such cooperative efforts enable all partners to share limited resources to meet common goals, thereby achieving much more together than we could alone. Originally envisioned by conservation-minded individuals who valued solitude and the satisfaction of spending time outdoors, we protect the Dunes Complex for everyone’s enjoyment, including future generations. Together with our partners, we coalesce like grains of sand to ensure that wildlife-dependent recreation, environmental education, interpretation, and wildlife photography opportunities exist for the public, and that these activities are balanced with our conservation goals for cultural resources, plants, and animals of this treasured landscape. Disclaimer CCPs provide long term guidance for management decisions and set forth goals, objectives, and strategies needed to accomplish refuge purposes and identify the Service’s best estimate of future needs. These plans detail program planning levels that are sometimes substantially above current budget allocations and, as such, are primarily for Service strategic planning and program prioritization purposes. The plans do not constitute a commitment for staffing increases, operational and maintenance increases, or funding for future land acquisition. U.S. Department of the Interior Fish and Wildlife Service Pacific Southwest Region FINDING OF NO SIGNIFICANT IMPACT Environmental Assessment for Management of Guadalupe-Nipomo Dunes National Wildlife Refuge San Luis Obispo County, California The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) has completed the Comprehensive Conservation Plan (CCP) and the Environmental Assessment (EA) for the Guadalupe-Nipomo Dunes National Wildlife Refuge (Refuge). The CCP will guide Refuge management for the next 15 years. The CCP and EA (herein incorporated by reference) describe the Service’s proposals for managing the Refuge and their associated effects on the human environment under their alternatives, including the no action alternative. Decision Following comprehensive review and analysis, the Service selected a modified Alternative A for implementation. The selected alternative is consistent with the following criteria: • Forwards the mission of the Refuge System; • Addresses the purposes for which the Refuge was established; • Provides guidance for achieving the Refuge’s vision and goals; • Protects the sensitive native habitats and listed species present on the Refuge; • Adheres to scientific principles of sound fish and wildlife management and listed species recovery; and • Complies with all applicable legal mandates. Alternatives Considered The following is a brief description of the alternatives for managing Guadalupe-Nipomo Dunes Refuge, including the selected alternative (a modified Alternative A). For a complete description of each alternative, see the EA. Alternative A Under this alternative, the current management actions, including habitat management, wildlife- dependent recreation opportunities, and environmental education, would be continued at the Refuge. Habitat and wildlife management activities would continue to be focused on conservation of listed species, invasive weed control, barrier fencing, planting native vegetation, and baseline surveys. Limited guided tours and self-guided access to support wildlife observation and photography would also continue under Alternative A. Volunteers would continue to be an important component to support refuge management. The western snowy plover breeding habitat would continue to be closed to the public during the breeding season. The Service would work with partners to support the goals of the Dunes Complex. Current staffing and operating costs would remain the same. This alternative was not selected because it does not address predator threats to listed species on the Refuge. Guadalupe-Nipomo Dunes National Wildlife RefugeFinding of No Significant Impact 1 Alternative B Alternative B would include those actions described in Alternative A; in addition, the Refuge would moderately expand wildlife and habitat management while incrementally increasing visitor service and environmental education activities. For this alternative, Refuge Priority Management Areas (RPMAs) were established that represent unique habitat types or provide habitat for listed or rare species on the Refuge that deserve conservation attention. Additional wildlife management activities, such as management of ponded wetlands, feral swine control, and increased monitoring, would be implemented for the purpose of improving western snowy plover hatch rate; protecting existing populations of the listed La Graciosa thistle and California red-legged frog; and aiding in the recovery of marsh sandwort and Gambel’s watercress. The development and implementation of future step-down plans, an Integrated Pest Management Plan and Predator Management Plan, are also proposed. Of the Service’s “Big 6” public uses, wildlife observation, photography, interpretation, and environmental education, would be enhanced on the Refuge, and an action to redirect public access around snowy plover breeding habitat would also be implemented. Refuge staff would develop a dedicated volunteer crew to support Refuge management and outreach. An invasive plant early detection and rapid response program to address the introduction of new invasive weeds on the Refuge would also be developed. This alternative also proposes the future establishment of an office at or near the Refuge. Additional staff and funding would be needed to implement this alternative. This alternative was not selected since it would require substantial increases in staffing and funding which are not feasible in light of the Service’s declining budget. Since 2010, the Refuge System budget nationally has declined by over $20 million while costs have continued to increase. Over the same period, staffing has been reduced by about 12 percent. Alternative C Alternative C, which was developed to take into consideration the forecasted decline in budgets for the National Wildlife Refuge System, would reduce or eliminate many of the current management activities occurring on the Refuge, as well as close the Refuge to all public access. Under Alternative C, the Service’s management actions would be limited to the minimum necessary to meet statutory responsibilities under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 and National Wildlife Refuge System Improvement Act of 1997. The Refuge would be placed in caretaker status, with wildlife and habitat management activities limited to installing and maintaining permanent Refuge closure signs at the beach, maintaining existing perimeter fencing and fencing installed to protect listed species, and inspecting site conditions and implementing sign and fence maintenance three times per year (i.e., spring, summer, fall). This alternative was not selected because of public opposition and limited scope of managing our trust species. Selected Action (Modified Alternative A) The selected action is a modification of Alternative A. Under this alternative, we would continue current management activities, but also include components from Alternative B including implementing the feral swine control plan and developing and implementing a predator management plan to protect western snowy plover as well as California least tern. Because the Refuge would not be staffed locally, we would reduce seasonal western snowy plover monitoring and invasive vegetation control to when staffing resources or partnerships allow. We would annually monitor for the listed La Graciosa thistle and marsh sandwort, collecting and Guadalupe-Nipomo Dunes National Wildlife RefugeFinding of No Significant Impact 2 outplanting seed when possible. Invasive vegetation control would be focused on Refuge Priority Management Areas and priority invasive vegetation. We would also develop and implement an invasive