Comments to the United States Fish & Wildlife Service Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement for the Translocatio
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Comments to the United States Fish & Wildlife Service Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement for the Translocation of Southern Sea Otters Comments Submitted by Defenders of Wildlife, Friends of the Sea Otter, The Humane Society of the United States, The Ocean Conservancy, Sea Otter Defense Initiative, a program of Earth Island Institute’s International Marine Mammal Project, and developed with the assistance of the Law Offices of Donald B. Mooney, Ocean Research, Conservation, and Solutions Consulting, and Perkins Coie, LLP. Table of Contents I. Introduction ............................................................................................... 1 II. Factual Background ................................................................................... 4 A. Listing of Southern Sea Otters under the Endangered Species Act in 1977......................................................................... 4 B. The Translocation Program is Conceived ........................................ 6 C. The Translocation Program Becomes Law .....................................14 D. The Translocation Program Applied...............................................16 E. The 2000 Biological Opinion .........................................................20 F. The 2003 Revised Recovery Plan...................................................23 1. History of the Southern Sea Otter Recovery Plan.................23 2. SNI Discussion from Final Recovery Plan of 2003..............26 G. The Environmental Community Position on Translocation and Zonal Management ..................................................................28 H. The Common Ground Discussions .................................................30 I. The Review of the Translocation Program......................................34 1. Scoping Process for DSEIS .................................................34 2. Publication of the DSEIS.....................................................36 III. General Comments....................................................................................37 A. Current Status of the Southern Sea Otter and Biological Justification for Range Expansion and Terminating Zonal Management...................................................................................37 1. Current Status of the Southern Sea Otter in Central California ............................................................................37 2. Current Population Status and Trends of Southern Sea Otters on San Nicolas Island .........................................41 3. Differences Between the Central California Population and San Nicolas Island—the Case for Needed Range Expansion ....................................................43 4. Fate of Translocated Animals—The Case to End Zonal Management..............................................................44 i 5. The Uncertainty of Range Expansion of California Sea Otters ............................................................................45 6. Sea Otters as Beneficial to Kelp Forest Ecosystems.............46 7. Conclusion ..........................................................................46 B. The Translocation Fails under the Criteria and Violates the Translocation Law ....................................................................47 1. Evaluation of Service’s Failure Criteria for the Translocation Program.........................................................48 2. Revocation or Suspension of Containment Provision is Required by Public Law 99-625 .......................52 C. Zonal Management Must Be Terminated Under the ESA and MMPA ....................................................................................58 1. Zonal Management Violates Section 7(a)(2) of the ESA.....................................................................................59 2. Zonal Management Violates the Service’s Affirmative Duty Under the ESA.........................................61 3. Section 17.84(d)(6) Violates the MMPA .............................63 D. Termination of Zonal Management Results in Ecological and Economic Benefits...................................................................64 1. Discussion of the Economic Valuation Framework..............65 2. Discussion of the Economic Values Associated with Implementation of the Proposed Action (Alternative 3C)...................................................................66 E. The Adverse Effects on Fisheries Are Overstated and Are Based on Incorrect Assumptions ....................................................68 1. Assumption 1 – Range Expansion .......................................68 2. Assumption 2 – Shellfish Harvest by Fisheries ....................69 3. Assumption 3 – Sea Otter Distribution ................................70 4. Assumption 4 – Commercial Fishery Cessation...................71 5. Assumption 5 – Sea Otter Reoccupation Rates ....................72 6. Assumption 6 – Transfer of Fishing Effort...........................73 7. Assumption 7 – Sea Otter Growth Rate ...............................73 ii 8. Assumption 8 – Comparison of Sea Otter Population Growth Rates and Fisheries Declines .................73 9. Assumption 9 – Abalone Fisheries.......................................74 F. Termination of Zonal Management is Required to Meet Public Trust Obligations and Comply With the U.S. Ocean Commission Report.............................................................76 1. Sustainability.......................................................................77 2. Ecosystem-based Management ............................................77 3. Preservation of Marine Biodiversity: ...................................78 4. Best Available Scientific Information and Adaptive, Precautionary Management .................................80 G. Termination of Zonal Management is Consistent with the California Coastal Zone Management Plan.....................................81 H. The Environmental Community Plan for Sea Otter Recovery ........................................................................................84 1. The Need to Address Current Threats..................................84 2. Actions Necessary for Recovery..........................................85 IV. Responses to Public Hearing Testimony ...................................................88 A. Motivation To Declare The Translocation A Failure Is To Close Fisheries ...............................................................................88 B. The DSEIS Fails To Address The Main Obstacle To Sea Otter Recovery—Water Quality/Pollution And Disease .................89 C. Failure To Implement The Translocation Program Places The Service In Contempt Of Congress ...........................................91 D. Southern Sea Otters Will Compete With Commercial Fisheries.........................................................................................92 E. Detailed Response to Selected Comments from the November 1, 2005 Santa Barbara Hearing......................................92 V. Conclusion................................................................................................96 ii i Exhibits 1 Letter dated Mar. 6, 2006 to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service from concerned marine mammal scientists. 2 Letter dated Aug. 23, 1979 to Lynn A. Greenwalt, Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, from John R. Twiss, Jr., Executive Director, Marine Mammal Commission. 3 Summary Minutes of Marine Mammal Commission Meeting on California Sea Otters dated Dec. 13, 1979. 4 Letter dated Dec. 2, 1980 to Lynn A. Greenwalt, Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, from John R. Twiss, Jr., Executive Director, Marine Mammal Commission. 5 Letter dated Dec. 9, 1980 to E.C. Fullerton, Director, California Department of Fish & Game, from Harold J. O’Connor, Acting Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 6 Letter dated Jul. 9, 1980 to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service from Friends of the Sea Otter. 7 Letter dated Jul. 11, 1980 to Lynn A. Greenwalt, Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, John R. Twiss, Jr., Executive Director, Marine Mammal Commission. 8 Letter dated Nov. 30, 2000 to Jamie R. Clark, Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, from six conservation organizations. 9 Letter dated Mar. 1, 2000 to John R. Twiss, Jr., Executive Director, Marine Mammal Commission, from Jim Curland, Science Director, Friends of the Sea Otter. 10 Comments dated Apr. 10, 2000 to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service from Friends of the Sea Otter. 11 Estes, J.A., B. Hatfield, and M.T. Tinker. Biological Analysis of Sea Otters and Coastal Marine Ecosystems in Central and Southern California: Synopsis and Update. Western Ecological Research Center and U.S. Geological Survey. 12 Loomis, John B., 2005. Economic benefits of expanding California’s Southern sea otter population, Prepared for Defenders of Wildlife, December 2005. 13 Estes, J.A. D.R. Lindberg, and C. Wray, 2005. Evolution of large body size in abalones (Haliotis): patterns and implications. Paleobiology 31(4): 591-606. iv I. Introduction In October 2005, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) published a Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (DSEIS) for the Translocation of Southern Sea Otters. The stated purpose of the supplement is to “evaluate the impacts of the southern sea otter translocation plan as described in [the Service’s] 1987 environmental impact statement, using information obtained over the 18 years since the plan’s inception, and to evaluate alternatives to the current translocation