FINAL ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT for the GREAT

FINAL ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT for the GREAT DISMAL SWAMP NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE MASTER PLAN Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge is a 107,000-acre forested wetland located in the coastal plain of Virginia and North Carolina. The following' Environmental Impact Statement evaluates four alternatives for the long-range management and development of the refuge, and identifies the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's proposed action. For further information contact Curtis A. Laffin, Chief of ,... ...,.... Technical Services, ( 61 7) 9 65-5100, ext. 222. • APPROVED BY: Regional Director PREPARED BY: U.S. FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE REGION 5 NEWTON ·coRNER,.MASSACHUSETTS 02158 -----, 1992 PREFACE At the turn of the century the Great Dismal Swamp covered 2,000 square miles of the Virginia-North Carolina coastal plain, and even then its size had been reduced by clearing and draining for agriculture. Today only 328 square miles of the swamp remain intact, a loss of 85 percent in as many years. The aftereffects of past disturbances continue to alter the natural balance of the swamp ecosystem. Despite these transitions, the Great Dismal Swamp is significant as the largest extant palustrine forest in the eastern United States. In recognition of its values and with growing concern about its future, the public rallied a decade ago to preserve the heart of the swamp as a unique ecosystem and nationally important natural area. The Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge was established by Congressional mandate in 1974 to protect and manage the swamp's plant and wildlife resources in a manner that would preserve and, where necessary, restore its ecological integrity. The following report describes the proposed master plan for long range management and development of Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge, and compares the proposed plan to other reasonable alternatives. This document has been prepared in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969. The Act requires that federal agencies give appropriate consideration to environmental values and amenities in decision • making, and that a statement of environmental impact be included in recommendations and proposals for major federal actions that significantly affect the quality of the human environment . • 1 SUMMARY The proposed long-range master plan for Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge consists of a comprehensive set of strategies that cover various facets of refuge management. These strategies respond to the laws, policies, and goals that direct the refuge's management; they also address environmental and public use issues. Great Dismal Swamp has a dual role as a national wildlife refuge, reflected by a parallel set of goals. Specific legislation establishes the refuge as a "unique ecosystem" and directs it to preserve the swamp ecosystem and provide for diversity and abundance of animals and plants. Great Dismal Swamp is also responsible for fulfilling its role as a unit of the National Wildlife Refuge System by contributing toward the System's broad goals. These goals focus on particular wildlife benefits for endangered and migratory species as well as public use of refuge lands. The refuge faces environmental issues that influence its management response to both sets of goals. During past decades the swamp has undergone a drying trend caused by disturbances such as water channelization, road construction, commercial timbering, fire suppression, and upstream development. Associated with this drying trend is accelerated vegetation succession leading to an upland rather than a wetland forest ecosystem. Water conservation constitutes the fundamental means of preserving the swamp's wetland integrity. However, successional trends already underway suggest the need for more active management intervention. Water management is considered the primary expedient to counteract these trends and, in conjunction with forest habitat management, to re-establish a desirable balance of swamp habitats. In addition to managing its natural resources, the refuge must provide an appropriate array of public use opportunities. Potential uses -- ranging from tours to trapping -- must conform to the fragile natural environment as well as to the competition among various management programs for limited funding. Such constraints are taken into account in the Proposed Action for the Great Dismal Swamp master plan. 2 THE PROPOSED ACTION: FULL MANAGEMENT ALTERNATIVE The thrust of the proposed master plan is to use water • conservation and forest management to restore and perpetuate the natural habitat diversity of the swamp. Integrated into this general direction are management activities directed toward specific wildlife and public use benefits. The plan and its environmental consequences are summarized below. Proposed Action Management Strategies o Contiguous swamp lands outside current refuge boundaries will be protected by acquiring full title or conservation easements from willing sellers. o Key water control structures in the refuge ditches will be operated to hold water throughout the swamp. Ditches may be dredged only to the extent necessary to maintain a surface water supply for fire suppression and facilitate habitat management operations. Temporary damming will be used to manipulate water levels in localized areas. Coordination with upstream communities will be promoted to protect the quantity and quality of surface water flowing into the swamp. Coordination with downstream communities is also important so they will be aware of the influences water management has on them. o Forest inventory and management activities will rotate annually among ten forest management compartments. Tree removal, prescribed burning, site preparation, planting, and natural seeding will be used to maintain or restore desirable habitats. Forest management activities will be contracted out whenever possible. Forest management will be limited to testing the different habitat management techniques on small small plots in order to test the feasibility, success, and the effects of different manipulation practices. o Wildfires will be prevented or immediately suppressed through continuing refuge firefighting capability and coordination with state resource agencies for assistance. To complement fire suppression, prescribed burning will be used to decrease fuel loads and maintain or restore desired habitat types. o Specific wildlife benefits will be derived from efforts to restore and maintain habitat diversity. These benefits include: 3 a sustained population of the threatened Dismal Swamp southeastern shrew through the maintenance of mid successional forests with grassy or shrubby • understories; provision of potential habitat for the endangered bald eagle and red-cockaded woodpecker through the retention of old growth trees; provision of habitat for area-sensitive migratory birds such as neotropical migrants, pileated woodpeckers, and black bears; improved habitat for waterfowl and other wetland dependent wildlife through wetland restoration and maintenance; improved habitat for upland dependent wildlife through the maintenance of scattered clearings and roadside edge habitat; and provision of food and denning areas for black bears 0 Large blocks of forest will be manipulated except for conserving water and controlling fires, including areas that are inaccessible from existing roads, control areas in each forest type, and a 7,500-acre designated Natural Area in the northeast quadrant of the refuge. • o Sensitive plant and animal species will be protected and/or enhanced. o A year-round fishery will be maintained in the lake, primarily as a food source for wildlife. o As warranted, public hunting and/or trapping programs will be implemented for selected species to enhance the condition of the population, control disease outbreaks, and/or prevent excessive habitat degradation. The annual controlled deer hunt will continue. o Studies and ecological monitoring geared toward an increased understanding of the swamp ecosystem will be conducted. A staff information coordinator will organize existing data and coordinate future studies. Management oriented research by agencies, academic institutions, and individuals will be encouraged. Study activities with defined management application will receive priority . • 4 0 Washington Ditch will be developed as the primary public access point for the refuge. Public use support facilities will be constructed and maintained in that area to enhance • the visitor's wildlife-oriented activities and provide more secure, better managed, and generally safer public use on the refuge. o Until public use support facilities can be developed, control of public access into the refuge will continue. General access will be limited to daytime boat, foot, and bicycle travel. Motorized vehicles will be developed only by special permit. o Jericho Lane and Railroad Ditch entrances will be developed as secondary entrances for bird-watching, hiking, bicycling, special interpretive programs, outdoor classrooms, and seasonal fishing access. o Consumptive uses, i.e., public fishing, hunting, trapping, and/or firewood cutting programs, will be supported insofar as they serve resource management needs and sufficient demand exists. o Appropriate support facilities will be developed and maintained, including: Development of additional water control structures for water conservation and rehabilitation of culverts as necessary for high water flow. Development of a motorized tour route

Load more