FISH SPRINGS NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE Dugway, UT ANNUAL
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
FISH SPRINGS NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE Dugway, UT ANNUAL NARRATIVE REPORT Calendar Year 1994 U.S. Department of the Interior Fish and Wildlife Service NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE SYSTEM REVIEW AND APPROVALS FISH SPRINGS NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE Dugway, Utah ANNUAL NARRATIVE REPORT CALENDAR YEAR 1994 iMmzL ihiV. Re/fu^e Manager Date Refuge'Supervisor Review Date Regional 0 Approval Date INTRODUCTION Fish Springs National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1959 at the southern end of the Great Salt Lake Desert in western Utah. It encompasses 17,992 acres between two small mountain ranges. The Refuge is located in Juab County, 78 miles northwest of Delta and 105 miles west and south of Tooele. Postal and commissary services are available at Dugway Proving Ground, a military base, 61 miles northeast of the Refuge. There is evidence of continued Indian use of the area before the 19th century. Jedediah Smith visited the area in 1827. The Central Overland Stage, Pony Express, transcontinental telegraph and Lincoln Highway followed within one hundred years and left their marks within the present Refuge boundary. The Refuge was established primarily to provide waterfowl nesting, wintering and migratory habitat in the Pacific Flyway. However, the Refuge is also important for other species of marsh birds, raptors and passerines, with 250 species being recorded since the Refuge was established. Many species of mammals native to the Great Basin also reside here or utilize the Refuge on a seasonal basis. The Utah chub and speckled dace are the only native fish, and they are apparently responsible for the name of the area. Five major springs and several lesser springs and seeps flow from the base of the eastern front of the Fish Springs Range. These warm, saline springs provide virtually all of the water for the 10,000 acre marsh system. The springs flow eastward into the marshlands and then east and northeast into the desert. The development of nine shallow water impoundments was completed in 1964. The area contains approximately 8,905 acres of saline marsh, 7,084 acres of mud and alkali flats, and 2,003 acres of semi-desert uplands. At optimum water levels, there is approximately 3500 surface acres of water in a complex of pools, sloughs and springs. The saline and alkaline soils support relatively few species of plants. Vegetation in the marsh is primarily Olney's three-square bulrush, alkali bulrush, hard-stem bulrush, wirerush, and saltgrass. Widgeongrass, muskgrass, and coontail are common in the springs and ditches. The upland areas support saltgrass, horsebrush and shadscale. INTRODUCTION Page TABLE OF CONTENTS A. HIGHLIGHTS 1 B. CLIMATIC CONDITIONS 1 C. LAND ACQUISITION 1. Fee Title Nothing to report 2. Easements Nothing to report 3. Other Nothing to report D. PLANNING 1. Master Plan Nothing to report 2. Management Plan Nothing to report 3. Public Participation Nothing to report 4. Compliance with Environmental and Cultural Resource Mandates 3 5. Research and Investigations .... Nothing to report 6. Other 5 E. ADMINISTRATION > 1. Personnel 6 2. Youth Programs Nothing to report 3. Other Manpower Programs Nothing to report 4. Volunteer Program 9 5. Funding 11 6. Safety 12 7. Technical Assistance 14 8. Training/Miscellaneous 14 9. Other 15 F. HABITAT MANAGEMENT 1. General 16 2. Wetlands 16 3. Forests Nothing to report 4. Croplands Nothing to report 5. Grasslands Nothing to report 6. Other Habitats Nothing to report 7. Grazing 19 8. Haying Nothing to report 9. Fire Management 20 10. Pest Control 21 11. Water Rights 22 12. Wilderness 'and Special Areas . Nothing to report 13. WPA Easement Monitoring Nothing to report G. WILDLIFE 1. Wildlife Diversity Nothing to report 2. Endangered and/or Threatened Species 23 3. Waterfowl 23 4. Marsh and Water Birds 29 5. Shorebirds, Gulls, Terns and Allied Species 30 6. Raptors 3 2 7. Other Migratory Birds 32 8. Game Mammals 3 5 9. Marine Mammals Nothing to report 10. Other Resident Wildlife 36 11. Fisheries Resources 37 12. Wildlife Propagation and Stocking 37 13. Surplus Animal Disposal Nothing to report 14. Scientific Collections 38 15. Animal Control 38 16. Marking and Banding 38 17. Disease Prevention and Control 39 H. PUBLIC USE 1. General 42 2. Outdoor Classrooms - Students 42^ 3. Outdoor Classrooms - Teachers . Nothing to report 4. Interpretive Foot Trails Nothing to report 5. Interpretive Tour Routes 44 6. Interpretive Exhibits/Demonstrations 44 7. Other Interpretive Programs 48 8. Hunting 49 9. Fishing Nothing to report 10. Trapping 49 11. Wildlife Observation Nothing to report 12. Other Wildlife Oriented Recreation Nothing to report 13. Camping Nothing to report 14. Picnicking 50 15. Off-Road Vehicling Nothing to report 16. Other Non-Wildlife Oriented Recreation Nothing to report 17. Law Enforcement 50 18. Cooperating Associations Nothing to report 19. Concessions Nothing to report I. EQUIPMENT AND FACILITIES 1. New Construction 52 2. Rehabilitation 53 3. Major Maintenance 58 4. Equipment Utilization and Replacement 60 5. Communications Systems 62 6. Computer Systems 62 7. Energy Conservation 63 8. Other Nothing to report J. OTHER ITEMS 1. Cooperative Programs Nothing to report 2. Other Economic Uses Nothing to report 3. Items of Interest 63 4. Credits 66 K. FEEDBACK L. INFORMATION PACKET - - - (Inside back cover; This lonely track, a remnant of the Lincoln Highway found on the Refuge, is still visible today and serves as a memorial to those intrepid adventurers who traveled through this area on that route between 1913-1920. 94FS-JB A. HIGHLIGHTS Sandhill Cranes return to the Refuge as a possible breeding species. (Section G.) Colonial wading bird inventories mark a new direction for Refuge biological program (Section G.) Refuge becomes "payloader central" for Region Six. (Section I.) Refuge hosted fourth annual Open House. (Section H.) Refuge pyros continue aggressive prescribed burning efforts (Section H.) Military aircraft overflight problems continue with no resolution. (Section J.) B. CLIMATIC CONDITIONS Weather conditions in 1994 were characterized by milder than average temperatures and above normal precipitation. Temperatures ranged from 105° F on August 5 to 3° F on January 31. f While most of Utah remained in drought conditions for most of 1994, localized precipitation resulted in the Refuge having the highest total since 1986. This yearly total was aided considerably by two separate thunderstorm events which dropped .9" and 1.06" of rain in less than one hour! Both events resulted in causing "blowouts" of the Pony Express Route on the south end of the Refuge. Snowfall totalled 8.15". This total was barely half of our "normal" annual snowfall of 15.1" Table 1 summarizes Refuge temperatures and precipitation for 1994. Table 1. 1994 Weather Conditions Temperature (0F) Precipitation Month Hicrh Low Aver Depart* Total Depart* January 59 3 35.1 + 7.4 .15 - .23 February 66 4 34 .1 -0.7 .46 + .03 March 73 13 46 .1 + 3 . 3 1.27 + .51 April 88 31 50.8 + 0.1 1.71 + .76 May 95 36 64 .4 + 3 .6 .14 - .91 June 104 46 74 .9 +4 . 0 1. 06 + .38 July 104 49 81.3 + 1.8 .60 + .05 August 105 61 80 .7 + 3.6 1.35 + .73 September 95 41 70.5 -4.5 .44 - .34 October 7*9 23 51.7 -1.1 1.16 + .32 November 68 8 33.5 -6.5 . 54 + .01 December 54 12 32.5 + 1.9 .22 - . 18 Avg/Total 83 27 54 .6 +1.1 9 .10 +1. 04 * Departures from 34-year average for temperature and precipitation. 2 D. PLANNING 4. Compliance with Environmental & Cultural Resource Mandates Underground storage tank issues continued unabated during 1994, but (fortunately) did not occupy nearly as much time as they had in 1993 . We were finally able to see that the Utah Department of Environmental Response and Remediation (UDERR) received a copy of the site assessment that was done in August of 1993. This report identified that there was no groundwater contamination, virtually no possibility of future groundwater contamination, no opportunity for the limited contamination at the site to migrate to adjacent property owners, and no threat to the biotic community from the contamination. This elm tree, growing in the cavity where underground storage tanks were removed, in now over four feet tall! 94FS-JB 3 Accordingly, the Refuge officially requested that the site be released from any further remedial actions and that we be allowed to fill in the giant cavity next to the office that has been a safety hazard since mid-1992 when the tanks were removed. However, this request was not approved by UDERR, and they are recommending additional remediation efforts. The entire process has been turned over to the Regional Contaminants Coordinator who fully supports the Refuge position. While this goes on, we continue to have a gaping cavity that now sports a rapidly growing elm tree! Brad England, from England Construction in Tooele, took soil samples from the spoil piles that were excavated in association with the removal of underground fuel storage tanks on the Refuge on September 29. These spoil piles, which had been aerating for over a year, were ultimately found to be clean enough that no further remediation would be required. Cultural resource surveys were preformed on the Refuge on two different occasions during 1994. Regional Archaeologist Rhoda Lewis was on site on March 7-9^ to observe the excavation work in conjunction with the installation of a new Refuge septic system. Nearly all of the area between the housing area and adjacent Spring Unit is classified as a potential archeological site and there was concern that artifacts or burial sites might be uncovered. Rhoda spent two apparently unexciting days observing the excavation and no artifacts were unearthed.