Great River & Clarence Cannon National Wildlife Refuges Habitat
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Great River & Clarence Cannon National Wildlife Refuges Habitat Management Plan May 2012 Cover Photo: Clarence Cannon NWR. Photo by Refuge staff. Great River & Clarence Cannon National Wildlife Refuges Habitat Management Plan Habitat Management Plans provide long-term guidance for management decisions; set forth goals, objectives and strategies needed to accomplish refuge purposes; and, identify the Fish and Wildlife Service’s best estimate of future needs. These plans detail habitat management activities which are sometimes substantially above current budget allocations and as such, are primarily for Service strategic planning and program prioritization purposes. The plans do not constitute a commitment for staffing increases, operational and maintenance increases, or funding for future land acquisition. The National Wildlife Refuge System, managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, is the world's premier system of public lands and waters set aside to conserve America's fish, wildlife and plants. Since the designation of the first wildlife refuge in 1903, the System has grown to encompass more than 150 million acres, 556 national wildlife refuges and other units of the Refuge System, plus 38 wetland management districts. Great River & Clarence Cannon National Wildlife Refuges Habitat Management Plan Table of Contents Table of Contents Executive Summary iii Chapter 1. Introduction 1.1 Scope and Rationale 2 1.2 Legal Mandates 2 1.3 Relation to Other Plans 3 Chapter 2. Background 2.1 Refuge Location and Description 10 2.2 Geographical Setting 18 2.3 Historical Perspective of Ecological Landscape 20 2.4 Current Natural and Anthropogenic Disturbances 24 2.5 Current Refuge Conditions and Resources 24 Chapter 3. Resources of Concern 3.1 Introduction 32 3.2 Potential Resources of Concern 32 3.3 Biological Integrity, Diversity, and Environmental Health 34 3.4 Priority Resources of Concern 38 3.5 Priority Habitat Types and Associated Focal Species 42 3.6 Conflicting Habitat Needs 48 3.7 Adaptive Management 48 Chapter 4. Habitat Goals and Objectives 4.1 Background 51 4.2 Habitat Goals and Objectives 53 Chapter 5. Management Strategies and Prescriptions 5.1 Development of Management Strategies and Prescriptions 64 5.2 Management Units 64 5.3 Management Strategies and Prescriptions by Habitat Objective 64 Literature Cited 77 Appendices Appendix A – Plan Development Team 84 Appendix B – Resources of Concern for Great River NWR and Clarence Cannon NWR 85 Appendix C – Potential Habitat Management Prescriptions 104 Appendix D – Environmental Assessment 129 Appendix E – Desired Natural Communities 154 Appendix F – Desired Water Regimes 159 Great River & Clarence Cannon National Wildlife Refuges Habitat Management Plan i Table of Contents Appendix G – Cultural Resource Management 164 List of Maps 1-1 The Upper Mississippi River/Great Lakes Joint Venture Region 5 2-1 Overview of Delair Division 11 2-2 Overview of Long Island Division 13 2-3 Overview of Fox Island Division 15 2-4 Overview of Clarence Cannon NWR 17 2-5 The Eastern Tallgrass Prairie and Big Rivers Landscape Conservation Cooperative 19 2-6 General Land Office Land Cover Types in the Illinois-Mississippi River Confluence Area Taken from Surveys Conducted in the Early 1800s 22 List of Figures 2-1 Cross-section of Habitat Types Typical in Mississippi & Illinois River Valleys 28 List of Tables 2-1 Classification Schemes and Conservation Rankings of Habitats Found within the Refuge 27 2-2 Top Two Exotic and Native Invasive Species at Each Refuge Division 29 3-1 Summary of Habitats that Represent Existing BIDEH for the Refuge 36 3-2 Focal Species for Great River NWR and Clarence Cannon NWR 39 3-3 Focal Species for Great River NWR and Clarence Cannon NWR and the Groups, Guilds or Other Species They Represent 40 3-4 Focal Species and Habitat Use in Great River NWR and Clarence Cannon NWR 41 3-5 Focal Species, Associated Habitat Requirements, and Other Species Benefitting from Habitat Management at Great River NWR and Clarence Cannon NWR 43 3-6 Priority Habitats and Their Potential Limiting Factors at Great River NWR and Clarence Cannon NWR 47 4-1 Differences and Rationale between Mark Twain Complex CCP Objectives and Great River NWR and Clarence Cannon NWR HMP Objectives 51 4-2 Bird Groups and Optimal Conditions for Migratory Stopover and Forage Enhancement within Moist-soil Units 54 Great River & Clarence Cannon National Wildlife Refuges Habitat Management Plan ii Executive Summary Executive Summary Spanning 100 miles of the Mississippi River in Illinois and Missouri, Great River National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) and Clarence Cannon NWR protect a variety of floodplain and riverine wetland habitats. Each refuge is managed by staff stationed at the Clarence Cannon NWR headquarters in Annada, Missouri. These refuges are managed as one 15,000 acre complex referred to in this plan as “the refuge(s)”. Each refuge has similar legal mandates and purpose emphasizing their use as sanctuaries for migratory birds. The Comprehensive Conservation Plan (CCP) for the refuge was completed in 2004 when the Great River NWR and Clarence Cannon NWR were part of the Mark Twain NWR Complex, which includes river refuges from southeast Iowa to Cape Girardeau, Missouri. The Habitat Management Plan (HMP) is a step-down plan from the CCP. The HMP adds specific guidance for the implementation of habitat management strategies originally intended under the CCP (Habitat Management Practices 620 FW 1). The refuge’s Resources of Concern (ROC) were identified by reviewing the focal species in the Mark Twain CCP, as well as those identified in local and regional conservation plans, and analyzing their relation to the biological integrity diversity and environmental health (BIDEH) of the refuge habitats. Based on this analysis, the refuge identified 23 focal species from the Mark Twain CCP plus pectoral sandpiper (Calidris melanotos). Focal species serve as indicators and representatives for other species and groups that may utilize similar habitat. As part of our ROC identification, we also evaluated our priority habitats for future management. Priorities were based on each habitat’s ability to support rare natural communities and support resources of conservation concern. Based on our review, riverine wetlands, bottomland woodlands and forests, and wet-mesic bottomland prairie/grasslands were identified as the Priority 1 habitats for the refuge. The HMP builds upon the goals, objectives, and strategies identified in the Mark Twain CCP. As part of the step-down process, objectives and strategies were revised and updated based on current conditions and refuge management. In general, only minor changes to acreages and time frames were updated. Objectives that were either accomplished or no longer applicable to the refuge were documented and omitted from further discussion. In addition to updating existing strategies, new strategies were identified to guide refuge management in light of the original guidance provided in the CCP. Great River & Clarence Cannon National Wildlife Refuges Habitat Management Plan iii Chapter 1. Introduction Chapter 1. Introduction Image. Sign outside Delair Division of Great River NWR. Photo courtesy of Dan Salas. 1.1 Scope and Rationale 1.2 Legal Mandates 1.3 Relation to Other Plans Great River & Clarence Cannon National Wildlife Refuges Habitat Management Plan 1 Chapter 1. Introduction 1.1 Scope and Rationale Great River National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) and Clarence Cannon NWR are managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as part of the National Wildlife Refuge System (NWRS). Throughout this Habitat Management Plan (HMP), reference to “the refuge(s)” refers to both Great River NWR with its three divisions and Clarence Cannon NWR. Reference to a specific refuge or division is noted in the HMP, where necessary. Both refuges are managed by the same staff, have similar overall purposes (see section 1.2) and are discussed together in the Mark Twain Complex Comprehensive Conservation Plan (USFWS 2004). Refuge staff has developed a mission statement that helps guide their on-refuge management activities and decisions. The mission statement is as follows: “To the best of our ability, restore function of refuge lands to conditions that existed prior to human disturbance.” The refuge staff’s mission statement coincides with the mission of the NWRS which is “to administer a national network of lands and waters for the conservation, management, and where appropriate, restoration of fish, wildlife, and plant resources and their habitats within the United States for the benefit of present and future generations of Americans.” Meeting the wildlife conservation challenges of the 21st century and fulfilling the NWRS mission will require planning and partnerships. The Comprehensive Conservation Plan (CCP) and the HMP for each refuge establish the groundwork for meeting these challenges. This HMP provides a vision and specific guidance on managing habitat for the resources of concern at the refuge. The contributions of the refuge to ecosystem and landscape scale wildlife and biodiversity conservation are described in the HMP. The HMP sets a direction for the next 15 years (2012- 2027), and is a vital part of the future of Great River NWR and Clarence Cannon NWR. The refuge is located on the Mississippi River along the Illinois and Missouri border. The refuge includes the three divisions of Great River NWR – Delair, Fox Island, Long Island, and Clarence Cannon National Wildlife Refuge - totaling approximately 15,000 acres. Spread over 100 miles of the Mississippi River, the refuge provides critical habitat for migratory birds that rest, feed, and winter along the Mississippi Flyway. More than 200 different species of birds funnel through this important river sanctuary on their fall migration. 1.2 Legal Mandates The mission of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is to work with others to conserve, protect, and enhance fish, wildlife and plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. The Service is the primary federal agency tasked with this responsibility.