Reserve Management Plan
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S DRAFT E Nisqually Reach U R C Aquatic Reserve Management Plan July 2011 E S O R L A U U R Draft Disclaimer: This document is a draft and will not be official until the Commissioner of Public Lands makes the final decision on whether or not to designate this proposal an Aquatic Reserve. It is assumed that all the information in this draft is proposed until that time. Language in the draft reflects the language that would exist if and when the Commissioner decides to designate the site as an Aquatic Reserve and does not reflect the current proposed condition. A T N Acknowledgements Nisqually Reach Aquatic Reserve Advisory Committee, 2010 Betty Bookheim, Environmental Specialist. Washington State Department of Natural Bill Dewey, Shellfish Industry Representative Resources Carol Paschal, Anderson Island Peter Goldmark, Commissioner of Public Lands Daniel Hull, Nisqually Reach Nature Center Bridget Moran, Deputy Supervisor, Aquatic Lands Doug Myers, Nisqually Reach Nature Center Eric Kraig, Beachcrest Community Association Shoreline District Jerry Johannes, Anderson Island Derrick Toba, Assistant Division Manager Michael Kyte, Nisqually Tribe Kyle Murphy, Aquatic Reserves Program Manager Aquatic Resources Division Marian Bailey, Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge Kristin Swenddal, Division Manager Rich Doenges, Thurston County Michal Rechner, Assistant Division Manager, Mark Swartout, Thurston County David Palazzi, Planning Unit Supervisor Michael Grilliot, Environmental Planner Kyle Murphy, Aquatic Reserves Program Manager Robert Pacunski, Washington State Department of Fish Betty Bookheim, Environmental Specialist and Wildlife Michael Grilliot, Environmental Planner Roma Call, Puget Sound Partnership Tom Kantz, Pierce County Lead Entity Coordinator GIS and Mapping Mac McKay, Cartography Michael Grilliot, Environmental Planner Copies of this report may be obtained from the Communications Washington State Department of Natural Resources Abbey Corzine, DNR Communications Aquatic Reserves Program or copied from the web page. Copies may also be obtained by contacting: Principal Authors Aquatic Reserves Program Manager Kyle Murphy, Aquatic Reserves Program Manager Phone: 360-902-1100 Betty Bookheim, Environmental Specialist E-mail: [email protected] Doug Myers, President, Nisqually Reach Nature Center Web: www.dnr.wa.gov Daniel Hull, Executive Director, Nisqually Reach Nature Those needing this information in an alternative Center format, please call TTY-711 Elizabeth Ellis, Environmental Planner, CEP Michael Grilliot, Environmental Planner Cover photo provided by Daniel Hull, Nisqually Reach Nature Center Aquatic Reserves Technical Advisory Committee, 2009 Brie Van Cleve, Nearshore and Ocean Policy Analyst, Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife Dr. Alison Styring, Professor of Biological Sciences, The Evergreen State College Dr. Joanna Smith, Marine Ecologist, The Nature Conservancy John Floberg, Vice President of Stewardship and Conservation Planning, Cascade Land Conservancy Phil Bloch, Biologist, Washington State Department of Transportation DRAFT Nisqually Reach Environmental, Scientific & Educational Aquatic Reserve Management Plan July 2011 Washington State Department of Natural Resources Aquatic Resources Division Table of Contents 1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ............................................................................................................ 1 2. INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................................... 3 I. WASHINGTON’S DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES .................................................... 3 II. AQUATIC RESERVES PROGRAM .............................................................................................. 3 III. NISQUALLY REACH AQUATIC RESERVE BOUNDARY ............................................................. 5 IV. PURPOSE OF THE NISQUALLY REACH AQUATIC RESERVE MANAGEMENT PLAN ................. 6 V. RELATIONSHIP TO FEDERAL, STATE, LOCAL, AND TRIBAL MANAGEMENT ........................... 7 VI. NISQUALLY REACH AREA OWNERSHIP ................................................................................ 11 3. NISQUALLY REACH AQUATIC RESERVE .................................................................................. 19 I. SITE CHARACTERIZATION ...................................................................................................... 19 II. CURRENT CONDITIONS .......................................................................................................... 37 III. POTENTIAL FUTURE IMPACTS ............................................................................................... 43 IV. ARCHEOLOGICAL, CULTURAL AND HISTORIC RESOURCES ................................................. 50 4. MANAGEMENT GOALS AND OBJECTIVES .............................................................................. 53 I. DESIRED FUTURE CONDITIONS ............................................................................................... 53 5. MANAGEMENT ACTIONS ...................................................................................................... 59 I. RESOURCE PROTECTION, ENHANCEMENT, AND RESTORATION .......................................... 59 II. RESEARCH AND MONITORING ............................................................................................... 63 III. ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION ............................................................................................... 67 IV. USES ON STATE-OWNED AQUATIC LAND............................................................................. 69 V. OTHER USES .......................................................................................................................... 72 6. IMPLEMENTATION GUIDANCE .............................................................................................. 73 7. GLOSSARY ............................................................................................................................. 74 8. REFERENCE LITERATURE ....................................................................................................... 85 APPENDIX A – OBSERVED SPECIES LISTS ................................................................................... 94 APPENDIX B – MAPS AND FIGURES ......................................................................................... 108 APPENDIX C – LEGAL DESCRIPTION OF NISQUALLY REACH AQUATIC RESERVE ....................... 109 APPENDIX D – LIST OF EXISTING USE AUTHORIZATIONS WITHIN THE RESERVE BOUNDARY ... 116 Draft Nisqually Reach Aquatic Reserve Plan i Figures and Tables Figure 1: Nisqually Reach Aquatic Reserve and Vicinity Error! Bookmark not defined. Figure 2: DNR Aquatic Reserves ..................................... Error! Bookmark not defined. Figure 3: Nisqually Reach General Ownership and Encumbrance Type ..................... 12 Figure 4: Regional water masses and subareas of Puget Sound: 1) Northern Puget Sound, 2) Whidbey Basin, 3) Main Basin, 4) Hood Canal, and 5) Southern Puget Sound. From Gustafson, et al (2000) ..................... 21 Figure 5: Seasonal Patterns of winds over western Washington. From ..................... 23 Figure 6: Anderson Island Brickmakers1 ..................................................................... 52 Table 1: Miles of marine shoreline adjacent to the Reserve ........................................ 6 Table 2: State/Federal Marine Protected Areas Near or Within the Reserve ............ 18 Table 3: Nisqually Total Shoreline - Percent Modification within Reserve Boundaries (feet)1 ................................................................................................................. 40 Table 4: Nisqually Total Shoreline - Percent Modification within Reserve Boundaries (miles) ................................................................................................................. 40 Table 5: Volumes of Dredged Material Disposal at Anderson/Ketron Openwater Disposal Site ........................................................................................................ 42 Acronyms Corps U.S. Army Corps of Engineers DMMP Dredged Material Management Program DNR Washington State Department of Natural Resources DOE Department of Ecology DOH Washington State Department of Health EPA Environmental Protection Agency MHHW Mean Higher High Water MLLW Mean Lower Low Water NOAA National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration PSAMP Puget Sound Assessment and Monitoring Program RCW Revised Code of Washington SEPA State Environmental Policy Act SOAL State owned aquatic lands U&As Usual and Accustomed areas USFWS United States Fish and Wildlife Service USGS United States Geological Service WAC Washington Administrative Code WDFW Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife WSU Washington State University Draft Nisqually Reach Aquatic Reserve Plan ii Figure 1: Nisqually Reach Aquatic Reserve and Vicinity Draft Nisqually Reach Aquatic Reserve Plan iii 1. Executive Summary The Nisqually Reach Aquatic Reserve is established as an environmental, scientific, and educational reserve to ensure protection of the unique habitats and species identified in the area and promote sustainable public stewardship of the region. This plan identifies the habitats and species in the reserve and the management actions that will be employed by the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to conserve these resources with the management emphasis on environmental protection