Issuance of Annual Regulations Permitting the Hunting of Migratory Birds Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement
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U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Issuance of Annual Regulations Permitting the Hunting of Migratory Birds Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement U.S. Department of the Interior Fish and Wildlife Service 2013 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service www.fws.gov 1800/344 WILD May 2013 FINAL ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT: Issuance of Annual Regulations Permitting the Hunting of Migratory Birds RESPONSIBLE AGENCY: Department of the Interior U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service RESPONSIBLE OFFICIAL: Director U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Main Interior Building 1849 C Street Washington, DC 20240 FOR FURTHER Robert E. Trost, Pacific Flyway Representative Division of Migratory Bird Management INFORMATION CONTACT: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 911 NE 11th Ave. Portland, OR 97232-4181 (503) 231-6162 [email protected] James Bradley Bortner, Chief Division of Migratory Bird Management U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 4501 North Fairfax Drive, Mail Stop MBSP 4107 Arlington, VA 22203-1610 (703) 358-1714 Migratory Bird Hunting FSEIS 2013 PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK Migratory Bird Hunting FSEIS 2013 PROPOSED ACTION The proposed action of the 2013 Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (FSEIS 2013) is to adopt a process for authorizing migratory bird hunting in accordance the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (16 U.S.C. §703-712) and the four bilateral conventions. Regulations allowing the hunting of migratory game birds in the families Anatidae (waterfowl), Columbidae (doves and pigeons), Gruidae (cranes), Scolopacidae (snipe and American woodcock) and Rallidae (rails, coots, gallinules and moorhens) currently are promulgated annually. These ‘annual’ regulations include framework regulations and special regulations, and take into consideration factors that change from year-to-year, such as abundance and distribution of birds, times of migration, and other factors. In contrast, ‘basic’ regulations (e.g., those that govern hunting methods, such as the gauge of shotgun that can be used, the number of shells a gun can hold, regulations about possession and transportation of harvested birds, etc.) are promulgated and changed only when a need to do so arises. Therefore, basic regulations are not addressed in FSEIS 2013. The Service believes that there are seven components of the proposed action for which alternatives can be considered regarding how annual regulations are established for the hunting of migratory birds. The first six components deal with the fall-winter hunting season and include: (1) the schedule and timing of the general regulatory process, (2) frequency of review and adoption of duck regulatory packages, (3) stock-specific harvest strategies, (4) special regulations, (5) management scale for the harvest of migratory birds, and (6) zones and split seasons. In addition, a seventh component of the proposed action concerning the subsistence-hunting regulations process for Alaska is considered, and the impact of cumulative harvest of migratory bird hunting on National Wildlife Refuges also is discussed. The Service is committed to moving toward establishing increased coordination (coherence) between the harvest, habitat, and human dimension aspects of migratory bird management. The components of the proposed action presented in this assessment are designed to help move migratory bird management in that direction. Migratory Bird Hunting FSEIS 2013 PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK Migratory Bird Hunting FSEIS 2013 List of Acronyms AHM Adaptive Harvest Management ALUS Alternative Land Use Services AMBCC Alaska Migratory Bird Co-management Council AP Atlantic Population ASG Alaska Shorebird Group BBS Breeding Bird Survey BPOP Breeding Population Size CBC Christmas Bird Count CCC Commodity Credit Corporation CCS Call-count Survey CFR Code of Federal Regulations CMU Central Management Unit CPRV Central Platte River Valley CREP Conservation Reserve and Enhancement Program CRP Conservation Reserve Program CVP Central Valley Population CWS Canadian Wildlife Service DEIS Draft Environmental Impact Statement EA Environmental Assessment EIS Environmental Impact Statement EP Eastern Population ESA Endangered Species Act FEIS Final Environmental Impact Statement FES Final Environmental Statement FR Federal Register HIP Harvest Information Program IP Interior Population JV Joint Venture LCRVP Lower Colorado River Valley Population LRGV Lower Rio Grande Valley MBTA Migratory Bird Treaty Act MCP Mid-continent Population MQS Mail Questionnaire Survey MSA Metropolitan Statistical Areas MSS Mineral Site Survey MSY Maximum Sustained Yield NAWMP North American Waterfowl Management Plan NEPA National Environmental Policy Act NGO Non-governmental Organization NRCS Natural Resources Conservation Service NWF National Wildlife Federation NWR National Wildlife Refuge PCP Pacific Coast Population PCS Parts Collection Survey PHJV Prairie Habitat Joint Venture PPR Prairie Pothole Region RMP Rocky Mountain Population Migratory Bird Hunting FSEIS 2013 List of Acronyms (continued) RWB Rainwater Basin SAV Submerged Aquatic Vegetation SEIS Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement Service United States Fish and Wildlife Service SGS Singing-ground Survey SRC Service Regulations Committee WBPHS Waterfowl Breeding Population and Habitat Survey WCS Wing-collection Survey WGC Western Gulf Coast WHS Waterfowl Harvest Survey WMU Western Management Unit WPA Waterfowl Production Area WRP Wetland Reserve Program * Common names for hunted migratory bird species are used throughout this document. Scientific names are provided in Appendices 3 and 4. Migratory Bird Hunting FSEIS 2013 CHAPTER 1 ................................................................................................................................................................. 1 PURPOSE OF AND NEED FOR ACTION .............................................................................................................. 1 1.1 INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................................................... 1 1.2 U.S. FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE MISSION ............................................................................................. 1 1.2.1 Service Mission Statement ....................................................................................................................... 1 1.3 PURPOSE OF AND NEED FOR ACTION ........................................................................................................ 1 1.4 SCOPE ....................................................................................................................................................... 3 1.4.1 Regulatory Issues to be Addressed .......................................................................................................... 3 1.4.2 Regulatory Issues That Will Not be Addressed ....................................................................................... 3 1.4.2.1 Basic Regulations .................................................................................................................................... 3 1.4.2.2 Falconry ................................................................................................................................................... 4 1.4.2.3 Spinning-Wing Decoys ............................................................................................................................ 4 1.4.2.4 Non-toxic Shot Regulations ..................................................................................................................... 4 1.4.2.5 Migratory Bird Hunting on Tribal Lands within the Conterminous United States .................................. 5 1.4.2.6 Conservation Orders ................................................................................................................................ 5 1.5 AUTHORITY AND RESPONSIBILITY ............................................................................................................ 5 1.5.1 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service ................................................................................................................ 5 1.5.2 Policy, Authority, and Legal Compliance ................................................................................................ 5 1.6 SCOPING/PUBLIC PARTICIPATION ............................................................................................................. 8 1.6.1 Summary of Scoping Efforts ................................................................................................................... 8 1.6.2 Issue Identification ................................................................................................................................... 8 1.6.2.1 Public Scoping Meetings ......................................................................................................................... 8 1.6.3 Issues and Concerns Identified During Scoping ...................................................................................... 9 1.6.4 Overview of Comments ........................................................................................................................... 9 CHAPTER 2 ............................................................................................................................................................... 13 BACKGROUND ........................................................................................................................................................ 13