AnnualNarrative
I I III I FWSANV-0092111111 lill I I I I I I GRAYS LAKE NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE
Wayan, Idaho
ANNUAL NARRATIVE REPORT
Calendar Year 1993
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Fish and Wildlife Service NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE SYSTEM REVIEW AND APPROVALS
GRAYS LAKE NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE
Wayan, Idaho
ANNUAL NARRATIVE REPORT
Calendar Year 1993
Prepared by:
Date
Submitted
Dte
Reviewed by: Date:______Refuge Supervisor, ID/OR/WA
Approved by: ______Date:____ INTRODUCTION Page
TABLE OF CONTENTS
A. HIGHLIGHTS 1
B. CLIMATIC CONDITIONS 1
C. LAND_ACQUISITION
Fee Title ...... 3 Easements . . . . . . . . . ...... . . . . . . . NTR Other ...... 3 Z Farrers Ho:::e Adrrinistration Conservation Easerrients ..... NTR
D. PLANNING
1. Master Plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . NTR. 2. Managerent Plan ...... NTR 3. Public Paticipati.on ...... NTR 4 . Lopl iance with Environ.& Cu1tua 1 Resource Mandate ..... NTR 3. Research and Tnvestigation ...... S Othei...... NTR
E. ADMINISFRATION
1. Personnel ...... 5 A. Youth Proria.s ...... NIR 3 . Other Manpoei Prog carS ...... 7 A. Volunteer Prog car...... 7 S. Funding ...... h Safety ...... 10 7. Technical Assistance ...... NTR S. Other ......
F. HAI$I TAT '\NAC.EMENT
I. General . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . NTR A. Wetlands ...... Ii
3. Forests . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . NTR '. Croplands ...... 12 5. Grasslands ...... 13 h. Other Habitats ...... NTR
7 . Giazing ...... 1)
4 . Having ...... 15 5. Fire Manager.ent ...... 15 HABITAT MANAGEMENT (cant. Page
10. Pest Control ...... 15
11. Water Rights ...... 1/ 12. Wilderness and Special Areas ...... NTR
13. WIA Easement Monitoring ...... NTR 14. Faraers Home Administration Conservation Easeaents NTR 15. Private Lands ...... NTR
G. WILDLIFE
1. Wildlife Diversity ...... NTR
2. Endangered and/or Threatened Species ...... 18
3. Waterfowl ...... 21
4. Marsh and Waterhirds ...... 25
5. Shorebirds, Gulls. Terns and Allied Species ...... 26
6 . Rapt.ors ...... 26
7. Other Migratory Birds ...... NTR
S. Game Mammals ...... 26 9. Marine Mammals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . NTR
10. Other Resident Wildlife ...... 27
11. Fisheries Resources ...... NIR 12. Wildlife Propagation and Stocking . . . . . . . . . . . . NTR
13. Surplus Animal Disposal...... NTR 14. Scientific Collections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . NTR iS. Anl...ai Control ...... 27
16. marking and Banciiii ...... 2N
1 7 . Disease Prevent iou and Cnnt 101 ...... 31
H. PUBLIC USE.
1 . General ...... 31
2. Outdoor Classrooas - Students ...... NTR
3. Outdoor Classroo::.s - Teachers ...... YIP 4. Interpretive Foot Trails . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . NrRFR 5, titerpretive Tour Routes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . NTR
6. I it cop retive Exhibits D e:..onst on tions ...... 31
7. Other Interpret lye Prograc.s ...... 32
8 . Hunt ing ...... 32
Fishing ...... NIP' Trapping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . N T R
H. kil.dlite Observation ...... YIP
12, Other Wildlife Oriented Rec reat.iori ...... NIP
Camping ...... NIP
Picnicking ...... NIP
Off-Road Vehicling ...... NIP
Other Non-Wildlife Oriented Recreation ...... NTR 17, Liv Enfoi cement ...... 33 18, Cooperat ing Associations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . NTR iS. Concessions ...... NIP I. EQUI PMENT AND FACILITIES Page
1. New Construction ...... 33 2. Rehabilitation ...... 33
3 . Major Maintenance ...... 34 4. Equipment Utilization and Replacement ...... 35 5. Communication Systems ...... 36 6. Computer Systems ...... 36
7 . Energy Conservation ...... 36
S. Other . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . NTR
J. OTHER ITEMS
Cooperative Programs ...... NTR Other Economic Uses ...... NTR Items of Interest ...... NTR Credits ...... 37
K. FEEDBACK
Nothing to Report.
L. INFORMATION PACKET Inside hack cover INTRODUCTION
Grays Lake National Wildlife Refuge part of the Southeast Idaho Refuge Complex) is situated in Caribou and Bonnevil le counties, near Wavan. Idaho. The refuge lies in the remote and sparsely populated Grays Lake Basin. Grays Lake is a high altitude, mountain valley marsh. composed principally of hardstem bulrush and cattail with scattered small shallow ponds. Snownelt. from mountains which ring the valley is the primary source of water for the marsh. The elevation of the marsh is about 6385 ft.. while the highest. surrounding mountain peak is Caribou Mountain at 9803 ft. Within the approximately 12. 825-acre refuge boundary, about 601 is shal low watered bulrush marsh, 20% wet and semi-wet meadow, 121 brush and grassland, shallow open water, and Ii aspen forest and willow thicket.
The Grays Lake Valley is suh]ect to severe prolonged winters, with unofficial temperatures reaching below the -50° F mark, and 40-50 in. of snow accumulating on the valley floor. The coldest official temperature in the Grays Lake Basin was -40° F in 1522. the warmest reading was 103° F in 1919. Summers are characterized by warm days and cool nights, with high temperatures only rarely exceeding 90° F. The last ku hag frost in the spring usual iv occurs between May 25 and June 5. and the first frost of the fall usually occurs around August 20 however, frost may occur any month of the veal. Annual precipitation averages about 17 in. and mean snowfall approximately 115 in,
Initial enabling actions for the establishment of the refuge were the 196 Memorandu:., of Understanding hetwer the FWS and BIA . and the Refuge Use and rooperat i ye Use Agreement c;ravs I aIc . Idaho of 1965 with private landowners for approxi.. at ely 13 000 acres. Q was est iaated that 30.000 ducks and geese would be produced annual lv aft. cc rehahi 1 ut at. ion. as well as flume our noii-c',ame hi cds . such as t he greater sandhi ii dane . Musk rats were a iso ci ye iv important: resource and moose I ruquetit lv ut ill zed the area. In 1972 . Oi boundary was approved along wit ii the purchase of 7.630 acres of I a id. Specific purpose of the refuge at that t ime was 1 ust ed as waterfowl production, wit Ii concern for t hi' C rea t Basin Canad a goose, maintenance of the greater sandiii 1.1 crane popu] atloii a i-id relief from depredat ion piabl ey s.
At the present. one of the p rl:T.a cv to] es of the refuge is that of provi di. rig a nesting ground for the sandhi 11 c caries. Grays Lake is considered the nuc I for the Rocky Mountain population of greater sandhi ii crane...arid has the greatest concerit ration of crane nests in North America, possibly in the wncld Sore of the nesting sandh] his were being Ut] lured as foster parents for whooping c roles. It was hoped t hat through this means a second I I oct of w. id whooping cranes could he established. In 1978. the Grays Lake NIR and ill contiguous land and water with] n I rile of the refuge boundaries was designat ed as critical habit at for the endangered whoopi rig c rome
High mortality of fost ered whoopers has led to -a change in the prngl as:. The present expecirx'nt is to attempt to get adult whoopeis to act as guide hinds for pen rea'i ed whooper chicks and I e.ad them: south o ii :' lgiation
Of the approxi:.-c te 32.925 aries wit hi n t he approved refuge bouiida iv. KA Y acres are controlled by the [US. The remaining 14.375 acres of land wit hiti the houncla r\' are under private. RI A. RLM. and the State of Idaho owne rship A. HIGHLIGHTS
The six year drought was broken in 1993 with record precipitation during both winter and suriner. i Section B., F.2.. G.2a. . and 3a.
Grazing permit tees were notified that grazing will be terminated. Section F.7.
Record numbers of biological control agents for weeds were released at Grays Lake this year. (Section F.4.).
After four consecutive years of no whoo ing crane production, Grays Lake finally had three fledglings this year. rSectiort G.2a.
The hack tower peregrines had another successful year. Section G.2c.
At least N trumpeter swan pairs nested at Grays Lake this year. but no cygnets were observed. (Section G.3b.).
The refuge was visited by tourists from 34 states. 4 Canadian Province and 6 foreign countries 'Section H.1
B. CLIMATIC CONDITIONS
The went her dat a was provided by engineering equlpment operat or Ba iph Stoor. The tInt a are from his ranch at the south end of the Grays Lake Valley. which is comparable to the refuge.
Manvo ccc ipit at ion and low t eraperature reco rds were brol< err A 1W. ft e r 1002 capped the :05 t cc rious drought sit -ice the 1 930 1 9'S 3 gave us .1 spectacular winter, but even more imprescr ye was its sUmc..er or more precisely, its lack of a summer. Starting with wet and cold weather all s oi' i rig innt all t h: V unusual an occur retire for Grays Lake, but mu re severe than usual , 1993 cont inued the pattern a 1 1 curvier. Not since the days of the Cur t raCe had such a season been recorded. Acco id I tig to Dr , Drew i en , one has it no hack app roxi::,nt civ 150 years to fi rid ye fore nec to ' the von r with no sumer' that early t rapping, journals noted it is an accurate description of the co:- :i.e i of 1993. as one would expect in such a wet year, the product ion of veget at ion was general lv and final lv , gui t e high in 1993. at I east for having but it a iso seemed somewhat sporadic during the act uni growth period. Perhaps the cold temperatures retarded the plant growth rate utul:il late in the season, it cert ni iii v did so for invertebrate p roduct ton . wh icti was re rv poor at Grays I nice this year.
The effects of one year's precipitation can not totally dissolve the impact of ci > years of drought . but 1993 did restore the Grays Lake wit I cv I eve 1 . Not only did the lake fill , it remained at . or above, the final Qune 24 , drawdown level tprescribed in the FUS / BIA MOU and [La I nndnu'ners Coopera t ive Use ag recre nt t hroughout t he curare i and was Slightly above this t 3 'Si' .0 feet elevation at Call freeze-ri, It had been :ranv rears s:ince the Cr -ill water level had remained otssuch a high ci er'.it run. i n spite of ronti toed drawdown by Bl. BIA had to open the Clark's Cut gates several ti'es after the usuaj June 25 closure in order to keep the waterline near the :rancirrteci elevation. Normally, they can set splash boards after the 6384.0 toot mark is reached and the marsh water will continue to drop.
1992-93 snowpack was excellent, covered most refuge fences to the top wire and was mostly responsible for filling the lake. The wet, cool spring and summer also help recharge the Grays Lake basin by reducing evaporation, transpiration (by retarding emergent plant growth with low temperatures and decreased sunlight) and rainfall.
The deepest 1993 snow recorded at refuge headquarters for January through April was 34 inches on February 23, March 1 and 15. This compares with a maximum of 15 inches for 1992. The blizzard of February 22 was impressive enough that the headquarters was closed for the first time in anyone's memory; this was necessary because the snow was so deep, the winds so high and the visibility so poor that the snow plows couldn't run and no one could get to the Refuge. There was one other period during which the manager was snowed in at the headquarters, there was no access to Highway 34 and Engineering Equipment Operator Stoor had to go home liv snowmobile. Several times the snow came so fast and was so deep that the deck on the manager's i - esidence had to he cleared by the large garden tractor with snowblower. By April 26 the snow was gone, but returned with 10 inches on May 4 and 1.5 inches on June 7. We received the type of heavy snowfall needed to begin recovery from the pro longed drought.
-1 J
Am
0 _
l itmire I hen it takes snowshoes to get to the oriice. 3
The September through November period of 1993 resumed the drought pattern of the previous six years. The first snow fell on October 8 with an accumulation of four inches. The snowpack was permanent but light from that point on and build-up was slow. By the end of December there was only about nine inches on the ground and this low snowfall had not reached the first wire on most refuge fences. Total precipitation was 24.68 inches (see Table 1). 99% more than last year (12.40 inches). Not only did a large amount of moisture fall in 1993, but a high percent (56%) was received during the growing season. We were 43% above the long-term average (LTA) of 17.27 inches. January-May gave 13.23 inches. which is 5.24 inches (60c) more than the 30-year average (7.99 inches) and 8.94 inches (204%) more than 1992. Of the growing season months. May had the highest precipitation with 4,42 inches. as compared with April of last year at 1.59 inches. June through October yielded 10.2 inches; 4.7 inches more 86%) than last year and 62% higher than the [TA of 6.28 inches.
Monthly normal and 1993 climate data for Grrivs Lake.
mean high mean low mean 19931__
Temp(°F - Ternp(°F) Precipin) High Low 1931-1960 1931_1956d 1931_1960a Temp(°F Temp(°F) Precip
Jan 27 -18 1.51 44 -16 1.15 Feb 34 -15 1.'H 41 -26 2.09 Mar 39 -07 1.'10 57 -11 2.63 Apr 49 09 1.12 57 10 2.92 May hO 22 1.80 79 17 4.42 June 72 28 2.Oh 83 19 3.21 July 31 34 .71 50 H 2.62 Aug 79 31 1.02 80 20 1.36 Sept 23 1 .01 76 14 0.17 Oct 58 15 1.18 76 03 2.04 Nov 40 -04 1.10 50 -30 0.48 Dec 32 -13 1 .f:0 47 -20 0.77
Total Precipitataon 17.27 24.6.3
Compiled fror. official weather stat ion at Gray. Idaho, Roscoe Sibbett i- es idence I 14 air mi les north of refuge headquart erg DFro Ralph Stooi Ranch. 5 a) r miles south of refuge headquarters.
C. [AND ACQJSITION
1. Fee Title
Appraisal woch on a 20 acre portion of Tract #1, along the Grays Lake Outlet was completod in 1993 . Negotiations with the owner over price are cont, 1 roirig at this time. 4
3. Other
The Forest Service transferred use of the old Grays Lake Guard Station to the refuge in 1993. An interagency agreement giving the Refuge use of the facility was signed in October. This agreement will remain in effect until formal withdrawal of the site to the Service can be completed. That withdrawal review is underway, but will take several years to complete between Forest Service, BLM and FWS. This old forest ranger station will provide bunkhouse and storage space for the Refuge.
D. PLANNING
5. Research and Investigations
Grays Lake NR88-Whooping_Cran_ Cross-Fosteringriment1l4612-0l)
The principal investigator of this project is Dr. Roderick Drewien. Hornocker Wildlife Research Institute. University of Idaho. See section G.2a for information on this project,
Grays Lake NR 88 - Evaluation of Level Ditching at Grays Lake NUR 14612-02)
The engineering and soil erosion aspects of this project were not scheduled for evaluation in 1993. Waterfowl nesting use and nest success was surveyed: Canada goose and ma 1 lard nests- were located and monitored. No other duck spec i c's ' .or cia lie nests wei e observed, alt hougli nest p.o a. t i cc by redheads was noted . No broods were reco rded . The actual dat a is c-u ic -irt 1 v being evaluated and will he reported in a iatec nai a t.ive,
Future Research
Ecological Services' Boise office had notified us in 1192 that they would be conduct ing contaminants research on eared grebes at Grays Lake, as -a fo .1 low-up to the massive Salton Sea die--off. . That pro Ject dicj not materialize on the scale planned. The 1993 effort consisted of one visit by Bill Mullins of that office, during which tic-c he assisted with duck handing and collected blood fror. redheads- . northern shoveler and lesser scaup . These samples were used as coot ro Is for the Bunker Hill Superfund Site study in northern Idaho
Dr. Char icr Pet erson. Idaho Stat.e Unive cci t v ISP ' . Pocate 1 in . did sample ac'.ph ihians at Gra\'s [ak e as planned. He d id . however, , have C i if I cal [V in fuiding many specimeis. It is unclear whether the lack or amphibians was a:ei'e lv an art ifact of the unusual. ly cold summer, or if Grays Lake is suffering f crc,. the smm.e long-t err. decline of amphibian popu lat.i ons in other parts of the Greater Yel iowstone Ecosvst e-.... There was no baseline data for co::.pariso'n of Refuge herptile populations.
'S E. ADMINISTRATION
'
Figure 2. Left to Right: Sri nke rhoff Sibbe t t St our Nuffe r. Fishe . LB
Mike Fisher Refuge Manager PET GS-09 Ralph Stoor Engineering Equipment Operator CS WG-S Tod Nuffer Maintenance Worker Temp. WG-7 Eugene Sibhett Tractor Operator kg-C Lurae Brinkerhoff \Tolunteer
Fisher did very little trumpeter swan work in 19i3, limited to local sc'rvevs on the Refuge and in the Soda Springs area.
Two career-seasonal positions are included each year under the full time category. One position has been vacant since 1991 clue to funding uncertainties. We have hired a tempora r v maintenance worker for 10 months as an at to: p t t 0 co..penisat e our at nt enanice workload iieeds. The other ca root seasonal w.r \S() Led the ma.u:.: possible 11 1 / 2 mont hr. !:
- Figure 3 La.: t-aur. HI kiH. JUL Luuttaid BacI.K Row: Jarolimek, Hall. Greer
Southeast Idaho Refuge CompleN
I . Charles Peck Pioec I Leader PET CS-I 2 Terrell Giadw]n Assistant Refuge Manager PET GS-1 I Stephen Bouffard Wildlife Biologist PET CS-il Michael Johnson Refuge Operations Specialist PET GS-9 Elaine Greer Administrative Support Assistant PFT CS-b b. Wendy Hall Office Autoration Clerk PET CS-I 7. Toni Jai ol i:ek Office Auto.at on Clerk TPT CS--?
Five rear comparison of on-board St rength.
Permanent Total Jg±t Iridii tIE
FY 93 1 2 1 2.20 FY 92 1 2 1 2.20 FY 91 1 3 1 3.27 FY 90 1 3 1 3.17 FY 59 1 3 3 2.15 7
3. Other_npowerPrograrr.s
For the third consecutive year there were no Peregrine Fund hack tower attendants at Grays Lake. The hack tower was again occupied by a pair of peregrines. Results are discussed in detail in Section G.2h.
/, Volunteer_Programs
Mrs. Lurae Brinkerhoff again served as a refuge volunteer this summer. This was Lurae's seventh consecutive year at Grays Lake and she served throughout the field season. She again provided a new word processor/computer to the refuge and the crane program (Dr. Rod Drewien) . She continued to provide complete stenography (both the skill and machinery) for the refuge and Dr. Drewien. Lurae answered questions and accompanied refuge visitors to the viewing platform to be certain each person had the best possible opportunity to see a whooping crane. She also conducted crane surveys and assisted with other wildlife work. As in 1992, Lurae served as a recorder on surveys and banding projects. On the preseason duck banding project Lurae was a key person who coordinated the record keeping and organization of the bands, including the awesome task of preparing and submitting the banding schedules. She also performed the actual banding when requested. Lurne continued to do most of the Refuge photography and again provided her own cameras and lenses. Luiae s hours of contriliuted effort were a big help with the 1993 workload.
Jack Brinkerhoff again provided his expertise with computers to keep the Refuge "data processing" functioning.
The Refuge continued to benefa t from Idaho Department. of Fish and Ga: e QDFQ volunteers this year. The Department recruits specially quali fied volunteers into a "reservist" pi o:ram. The applicants a ie screened Co r wi 1 di ifo experience . interviewed and tested be fri re being a 1 loved into the p engram 'Ianv are wildlife students from Idaho State iniversity in Pocate I in. The six to eight reservists that ass] St?d. with the t)neeason duck handing were very nt ivat ed . working hard under difficult coridi Lions and at odd hours . Ntr. . Bob Ada:asori , IDFG reservist coordinator, assis ted with maintenance on the go ldeneve nest box pro j ec t . He also organ zod a group from the Poca tel 10 Special School and :a Pocat elI o Boy Scout troop to p lartt willows for the Refuge. These crews .supervised hr Refuge staff, on November 3 and 13, planted a total of approximate]r 1000 Wi 1 lows to reestablish wil lows a] ong, Herman Creek in the Rich Tract. -4
I I AU I P i S cnri: :, wttu::-,
The vo I cot ee is cut willow h1 riches and trunks f mi -., piivat e land and the ha ero ditch it the Grays Lake Road -Jiem e they were not wanted and then planted then the sa::.e day. The plants were dorcarit at the I1re and were placed in very no 1st /high water table areas when ci anted. Plant i tic consisted of e it her cc ccl V sticking the branch, which had been s t. ci pped of a 11 snail ci I i ibs and leaves, into the bank, or using a spud bar to for:: a planting hole first if the hianch was large and or the ground frozen. We at tecpted to use the largest diaceter willows avai lahie in order to mci ease success as ceco:::::erded by the Soil Conservation Service Plant Materials Center at Aberdeen. Idaho. Three to four inch diacieter stock was the largest that the CICUS planted in 1993, with the ;:.a}oritv running in the 0.5 to one inch categom v. More willow plant ing in historical lv dec nader] riparia ii rones on the Refuge is p l antied in the fut tiC. Ii
5. Funding
The four refuges (Bear Lake. Carnas, Grays Lake, and hrtidoka) and the Headquarters of Southeast Idaho Refuge Complex are operated under a single fund target and FTE ceiling. There is flexibility to utilize funds and manpower where needs or benefits are greatest. FTE ceilings are not a constraint because funds limit staffing. FY 93 funding more nearly met base fund needs than last year. Several MNS Projects were accomplished by Force Account. The six positions that were vacant at the end of FY 92 were filled in FY 93, however, because we're still dependent on "soft money " to meet base funding needs, several permanent career-seasonal wage grade positions were filled with temporary appointments. This is still preferable to having them vacant.
The following table that summarizes funding and staffing for the past two years separates on-refuge activities from off-refuge activities to the extent possible. The funding information is more accurate than the staffing information because various refuge offices provided administrative and maintenance support to the swan pro lect and Farm Bill work that aren' t reflected in the sunanarv.
IM FY 93 FA 92 3261 Operationr 530 . 500 559.000 1262 Maintenance 1 71 . 330. 300
1262 MIS Pro lects for FY93 in table below 49.43 Total On-Refuge 1260 Funds 751.500 300
60 Expense for Sales 3.000 3.000
9120 Fire Pre-Suppression 10.000 5.700
St'lO Net Quartros Recri pts i.419 3.516
Total On-Refur Dthpi Funds 20 .419 11 . 700
Total Funds availahlr inc On-Refuge 771,919 901,000 Act ivities
9231 Wildlife Suppression iRefuge Fires Camas 2.007 10
0ff—Refuge Funding
1120 Farm Bill (Administration 7.000 5.000 1120 Farm Bill Private Wetland Restoration 3 .000 1230 Farm Bill (Private Wetland Restoration) 4.500
Total 0ff—Refuge Farm Bill Funds 14.500 5,000
1261 Region I Special Project Operations Funds 100.000 110,000 Federal Aid for Wildlife Restoration - Administration/Interest 10.000 Total Off—Refuge Trumpeter Swan Project Funds 100.000 110.000
Total Funds Available for Off—Refuge 113.500 115.000 Activities
6. Safety
The Grays Lake safety program had a good veal in 1993. The crew generally wo rhed cafe lv and on lv one incident was ICCO ded . During a step test for fire dutv .in emp I ovee expe renc ed some knee pain . The case was subc,i t ted to Workers Lompensation and the employee exu:ined by his physician. As per doctors recommendation, the sub iect was placed no rest racted duly for a short period but there was no lost time due to the incident.
As usual . tailgate safetv sessions were he Id as needed throughout the year. . a few examples of which a ye: herbicide app] i cat ion maintenance staff . farm equipment operation ::alllteTance staff .a]rhoat safety (volunteer, crane reseai chers and maintenance staff)z pruning tool safety for volunteers on willow plant ing pro cc t . Regional Office wr t ten material was read and discussed and videos were viewed. Hazardous rat erial 1 iterat ore was provided to the Refuge staff .Refuge personnel attended Adult CPR Training given by the \::rerican Red Cross in Pocatello.
Additional safety equipment was purchased in I 9(3 Indoor ee protect ion has long been stressed . but this year the staff was provided with safet v lens sun glasses to promote the use of eve protection in other than an indoor environment . These proved especial lv helpful during airhoat operation and fence :rTdntenance/const curt ion. Disposable gloves capable of protect ing against both biologic and chemical lespeciallv petroleum products were also p rovided to the mai nt enance staff. . Sunsc cccii wit Ii ultraviolet inhibitors were purchased for the staff and principal volunteer for protect ion dnri ng extended outdoor duty. 11
Several equipment/facilities changes were made this year to improve station safety. One of the large, electric heaters suspended from the shop ceiling was dangerously close to the wooden wall and ceiling of the shop storage/restrooms. An electrician was engaged to reinstall this heater in a safer and more effective location over the shop floor. The maintenance crew installed a muffler guard On the fire pumper engine to protect crew members from burns. They also mounted the battery, which powers the pump on the airhoat fuel trailer, on the outside of the trailer. This reduced the potential of fire from electrical spark near high octane fuel.
Due to the low public use of the Grays Lake NWR domestic water system, monthly drinking water samples were not required by the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality and none were taken. No water quality problems were noted.
Fire Safety Service of Pocatello checked and tested the refuge fire extinguishers.
F. HABITAT_MANAGEMENT
2. Wetlands
Manager.ent of wetland hahit:ot in the 22,000 acre marsh is directly related to water :minagement which is coot roiled by Bureau of Indian Affairs ATAI. A drawdown agreement - between BIA. local ranchers and FWS specifies water levels at Beavertail Point fro:r: 5357.4 ft. mrsl on May 10 to 6386.0 ft. :msl by June 25. Record iug stations located at C lark 's Cut . Beaveit oil Point and Grays Lake Outlet i ndcctte approNisat.elv 19,000 acre-ft. of water are rermoverl annual lv from Giv. Lake for irri got ion on the Fort Hall Project
The 1993 water level natu all v reflected the record wet year as it reached and exceeded the drawdown point of :357.4 numerous r imes . The April 39 olevat ion at Bemivertail Point was CISc .5:, as compared with the 10-vent average April 21 1 of CISc .57. By the drawdown initiation date of May 10 the water was 0.5 feet above the agreement level of 5357.4. The water was so high that BIA had to keep the gates open continuously in 1993. A ::axrru::: elevation of 5357.94 was reco i ded at Beavert.ai 1 Point on May 11. 16 days earlier and I , 5 feet higher than lost vent. [irlitre 1992, ponds were at -raxirmum water level throughout t hcrur::er and in to the Ia 11 . as were a 11 canals , During Ap r 1 and May the Out let was a practically a vast inlarids ea . with the adaceiit uplands flooded for a half rile, or more on each side. The normal closing date for the Cl ark s Cut go tes is june 20 with an elevation of 6386.30. but ot June 21 the level was still at 5355.33 and BUt had to leave them open to comply with the various water level agreements. The gates stayed open ont I June 25 when the gates were closed and spiashboaids set. By July 2 there were two i ocher ruiiiiiiig over the boards . whi cli had inc teased to four i riches on July 1 2 . The PTA was Ia reed to again open the gates on Jo lv 22 unit iT mid-August By August In thn gates had been c losed and more t lion one inch was coming over the hoards , Eight clays lot ci the gates were ago in open and remained so imnt.i I the October 12 check which found the gates closed with no water coming over 12 the splash boards. Clark's Cut gates had remained open almost to freeze-up, which occurred on November 5.
The BIA's attempt last year to repair the leaking headgates at Clark's Cut was partially successful. The leak was reduced. but not eliminated. The amount of water lost was not a factor in 1993 due to high precipitation and will not he significant until another drought year occurs.
4. Croklands
Objectives of the refuge farming program are to provide supplemental food for whooping cranes and hold them on the refuge where they are more secure. Although GLNWR no longer has a depredation control objective, the farming program helps reduce Canada goose and sariclhiii crane depredations on nearby private grain fields. The extra nutrients provided by the crops allow the whooping cranes to maintain better physiological condition for migration. All farming is done by force account and about 50 to GO acres are usually seeded to barley.
The 1993 crop was hurt by the prolonged cold and wet weather. While the extra :T,Oisture allowed for above-average growth, the cold and lack of sunshine retarded growth. The barley heads were slow to mature under these conditions and equally slow to dry after they had matured. However, the most signi ficent impact was that of the frequent frosts throughout the growing season. The Rich Tract 30 . like several of the fields, had an exceptional lv dense stand, but the heads had not filled due to frost . These fields appeared to be highly product ire. hut.. in reality, contained only shriveled grain kernels with no nutritional value. Conspciupiitly. our grain product ion was insufficient to feed the cranes and significant hnitmg was necessai v, Grain stored at tb refuge was hauled hr the Refuge staff in tiailei, or dump I cock . to he S read in the fallow grai ii fields west of ROHIP headquarters
We used a full, summer fallow p rog i .. H 393 and inc luded a rotat ion. Fields or portions, that were ulanteci last vpar were fallowed in 1953. Toci Nuffer pe rformed all seeding and summer fallow this year, with some assistance fro: ractoi- operator Gene Sibhett,
Svmerna 2-row bar 1ev was planted again this veer at 80 lbs. per acre. Wet weather delayed seeding until May 2o and then extended the orocess through June 23. 1993 seeding inc luding gui rig back into the soot hwest em-most grainfield of T'.:ict 41a on June 12 and reseeding two areas: one had not grown and the other had been too wet to seed original lv. We custorari lv use 2-row barley since it has fewer owns and the birds utilize it well. The new strain performed acceptably.
Groin mowing began August C and was finished September 10. This encourages crane use hr re::.oving stalks around the outer edge of thp stand whose heads have already been eaten by the birds. Mowing allows the tni:cls full access to unused grain and redi.ices predator covpi in and near PeAHM areas
Food plots were disced in late Sept embr r . two weeks hefoic hunting season to ovoid any issue of bait ing. The graiii was apparent lv exhausted as the ducks, 13 geese and cranes were either no longer using the fields. or only feeding in them to a minor extent.
5. Grasslands
Management of grasslands consists of controlled grazing and haying on select tracts to create optimum feeding and loafing sites for cranes and geese. On areas not used by whooping cranes as primary feeding, loafing, or roosting sites grazing commences July 1; on areas important to whoopers the grazing is delayed until October, or until the cranes migrate.
Having and grazing provided the only source of funds associated with the Revenue Sharing Act. FY 1992 receipts, which were disbursed in 1993. provided Bonneville County with S6865.00, and Caribou County with S 2059.00. These amounts are nine percent less than 1391 and are less than the maximum that Congress could have chosen to bestow.
7. Gra
Special Use Permits were issued to 7 grazing permittees. One other permittee took noniuse in 1993.
As has been the policy at Grays Lake since the 1970 1 s. grazing was allowed after July 1 on pastures without whooping cranes ai -icl after October 1 in those units with whooper values. when pasture utihzation approached 501 the operator was moved to the next pasture. sent ho:;e for a period, or removed from the refuge for the rest of the season . 1393 did not exhibit the outstanding grass product ion performance expected of a "wet year forage production was variable by pasture by genealiv could only be termed fair overall. There were continual problems with fields that did not pe torm as well as expected and seemed to be heavily utilized within a ruch shorter t:ime than even a normal vear.
The cospat ibi 1 it.v review of secondary uses on refuges, based on the Refuge Ad::.inist ration Act of 1966. began in ca rest, on Grays LaPe NkR in 1993. In September, refuge gina ing permittees were told at a refuge 1ie.:-ir]qra r t cc [5 meet ing. conducted by Project Leader PeeP, that grazing was under revi ew. It was exo I ainied that no final decision had vet been made, but that we i it.ended to have our reco ...mendat ions final ized before the end of the cal endar year. They had all previous lv been informed of the Gamas NWR graz i rig p urigg'a. being na:':':ed in a lawsuit and were again reminded of it at this meet mg with the additional informat ion of the terms of set t lement for that suit . 1 hose terms 14
__ ___
__- ____1__4• ju r:
Figure . LiVCt.uek CUlICOnt 1 at ion ai en oil krIUmr .
inc luded a cessat ion of grazing at Cmrras due to habitat damage and 1anager Peck explained that we had reason to suspect some of the same impacts at the other refuges. The permit tees were of course, very concerned and saw no harm coming from. their use. In addit ion to the permittees the congressional delegation sent representatives, as did the Idaho Farm Bureau Federation.
A literature ievlew of grazing i:rprtcts wildlife was completed by SIRC, with input from, the Grays Lake manager. This review found that there were positive and negat ive i:mpacts from grazing. but that the baimful effects far outweighed the good. This finding was completed in early November and forwarded I 0 the Regional Office RO . The RO concurred rind in mid-Dece::her the permit tees were notified that there would be rio further grazing oii Grays Lake Refuge due to incompatith lit v with Refuge purposes,
The Kackiev Tract , whi cli was purchased in 1990 was rested for the thi rd consecutive year in 1993. The pasture continued to show good recovery from past overgrazing and is an excellent example of the benefits of three growing seasons of rest from, grazing, as reromm:ended foi pastujo recovery or seedi ig estah]ishmeiit in the Interagency Forage and Conservrit ion Handbook. 15
8. Having
Six Special Use Permits were issued for having. Having provides short grass areas, usually in proximity to Refuge grain fields, for crane and goose feeding and loafing some limited weed control is also probably realized. Crane chicks are more easily monitored by researchers and the birds can see predators better on haved areas.
Hay production was generally good, although it varied by field and was, like grazing forage, perhaps not as impressive as a high moisture year should have produced. The normal amount of acres were mowed. The rate remained at 36.00/ton, plus a S25.00 flat-rate to one permittee on Tract 31.
Like grazing, having has not been permitted prior to 1 July in past years and in 1993 we extended the starting date to July 15. This extension was to ensure that waterfowl and crane nesting would be complete before mowing commenced. July 15 also allowed crane colts to gain a larger size and be more able to avoid haying equipment. Nest drags in hay fields were initiated before cutting to monitor waterfowl and waterhird usage. Most fields were sampled, but only once and it was done late in the nesting season, immediately before havingi only one 1 bluewing/cinnarnon teal nest was found. Nest occurrence also could have been low due to 1993 being a poor waterfowl production year 'see discussion in Section 6.3.. August 15 was specified as the closing date for having because most fields are near crane food plots grain fields. Hiving operations can discourage crane use of food plots and move them onto private grain increasing depredation and decreasing crane sec u r it V.
No wi ldfires occurred on the Refuge and no prescribed fires were conducted, although the staff .issist ccl Bear Lake with a control burn in April
The new regional fire management officer, Andy Anderson, toured the Refuge and net the staff on Jul': 23.
10. Pest Control
Spraying to cont rol Carada thistle, leafy spurge and other riuxous weeds is clone annua liv to p rot cc t wildlife habit at and in support of Caribou and Bonneville Count ies noxious weed control programs, md iuffer was the herbicide applicator in 1993 and treated about 50 acres. It was a constant struggle to find suitable weather conditions for app 1 icat ion continuous rain caused frequent ni avs in spraying . In order to deal with the high percentage of wetlands at Grays Lake, we converted totally to aquatic labeled 2. 4-D (Aqua) this year. In so doing, we avoid the issue of putt ing a nonaquat Ic 2 •-D into a wet land . or water area and the aquatic chemical is ful lv label I ccl and effective on the more upland sites, We st.i 11 observe the 300 fuot buffer from wetlands and standing water whenever possible, even with the aquat ic 2. 4-D, Banvel is used in the leafy spurge irifestat ion which is a nonwet land area it is tank-mixed with the 2 -D for 16 additional effect on this aggressive weed. No Banvel is used in other spot spraying, such as Canada thistle control, where wetlands, or standing water, may he encountered.
No other chemicals were applied outside the warevard area. A very limited amount of Erovar soil sterilant was applied around the wareyard to areas missed the previous year; the intent being to control vegetation around buildings, equipment and stockpiles. Summer fallow was the only weed control on farm ground.
Spot application was the largest herbicide project, targeting Canada thistle and leafs' spurge. The thistle treatment was in serriwet meadows, along irrigation ditches and in grassland in the headquarters administrative site. Leafy spurge control prevented the infestation from setting seed. with the first application on June 12 turning the entire infestation brown. The monitoring plots were reread and, while the analysis is not completed at this time, there appears to he a decrease in density and vigor of spurge in the chemical lv treated area; whether this decrease is t rulv significant is not clear.
A set-back in our spurge control program was .opparent when vigorous stands of leafy spurge were discovered along the shoreline of Bishops Island on June 14. This land is BIA property and their policy is to require their grazing perr-.ittee to perform an\' needed weed control. The island is difficult to access being surrounded by marsh, and BIA permittee control efforts were evident * In the absence of being able to spray this new infestation ourselves, we are continuing to encourage MA and their permit tee to act
Efforts coot inued to control knapweecl Centaurea sp , along the Eagle Ci eeL right-of-way/Bear Island causeway. This plant was brought in with gravel from the Eagle Creek pit on private land before it was known that an infertat ion existed there. It is a limited infestation on the Refuge. presently only known at the boathouse and the big culvert on the ight-of-way. .Asexpected. we see::: able to control its spread hut not to eiadcnte it completely.
A previously unlisted noxious w'eecl for the Refuge was recorded when Maint nmci LoiLei Nuftei tound a stand or yellow toadt lax (Lion i\ulai1( on the east end of the Muir grain field. This pat cli was vigorously treated with aquatic 2. 4-D and Banvel and oni.tored throughout the remainder of the year.
Biological control was continued this year with the flea beetles Athona flava arid nigrjscutis and more Gall flies iUrophora carduf . The flea beet icr feed on leafy spurge phorbia esu]a plants, the adults on the foliage and the larvae on the root svsterr:. The' have a reputation as a fairly effective control method, which is badly needed since spurge is reported to respond poorly to chemical treat. ...cot. Flea beetles can affect the plants within I 'year, but take 3-4 \'ears to establish an effective lv In rgt population. We had always used the 1/ lava in the past.. since the experts felt they would he the best adapted to the Grays Lake site, but tried nigniscutis when addit. ional funding ca::e avai l.ahie and the vendors were out of flavG.. Since the f lava had not established in the previous two years releases * it 17 seemed prudent to try another species.
Approximately 1500 flava and 750 nigriscutis flea beetles were introduced to the spurge infestation west of refuge headquarters (Tracts 41a and 48). These insects were released in two sets: 750 on July 15 and 1500 on August 4, The July release was purchased by the refuge and the August beetles were again a great windfall, as in 1992, provided free of charge by the USDA. Agricultural Research Service (ARS) at Montana State University in Bozeman, Montana, as part of a research project. Both releases were made within a 0.1 acre monitoring plot (T. 4 S., R. 43 E. . Section 25 NW SE SE" established specifically for the beetles.
This plot did not receive any applicat.ion of 2,4—D/Banvel prior to release of the insects and was not sprayed in any subsequent treatments. Spraying was conducted immediately adjacent to the monitoring plot, as agreed with ARS, and outlined in the Grays Lake leafy spurge control plan, to maintain maximum spurge control as the beetles establish. When the insect population shows signs of expansion the 2 .4—D will he kept farther away from the release site. This chemically untreated buffer zone was marked this year with steel fence posts and will expand as the beetles increase. By early fall casual observation was not able to detect any impact on the spurge that could be specifically attributed to the beetles. Neither were any flea beetles observed on. or around, the plants. We will continue to watch for any beetle effect in the spring of 1994.
The Canada thistle gall flies were first released in 1991. In 1993. 500 more gall flies were released in the same site. No flies or galls on plants were noted in the previous two ( 2) years and none were found this veat
Water Rights
The refuge staff again devoted major amounts of time to the Snake River Basin Water Rights Adjudication, Water right applications in completed in 1991 were reviewed and fuithet refined. Declarations were prepared with the regional office and filiii.es were lodged with Idaho Department of Water Resources by March 25. The refuge manager and engineering equipment operat or attended a water measurement workshop at Camas NWR in July. it is obvious that water mensuration will be a significant drai n on our limited workfore at Grays Lake.
The refuge rece ived a la i ge amount of wit er this year wi t h the high precipi t ationi ViOl sustaining above no i -mat flows. Al 1 our c taims on B:cidge Eagle . Wi 1 low ...mid C ravel creeks received water . inc luding the E. Muir Tract 40) and substantial a:..ount.s. The diversion for our claim on Herman Creek Rich Tract was lmpr tived by the upgrad:i rig of a delivery ditch to the west side. Water was delivered through this ditch to the north grain field and the meadow below it throughout the irilgat ion season. Lpstream users released a substantial flow of Fuiton Creek wt or. that was apparent lv excess to their needs, into the refuge (Tracts 51, I , a lmost through August 13
G. WILDLIFE
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AIL
cs
2. cgcLiiicLgL 11 •IiiiiicL icti a. rafte
The Rocky Mountafu Experimental flock was down to an estimated S whooping cranes returning froi: the southwest this spi jog. Two birds used the refuge in the summer of I 993 o n e male west of headquart eis and a feca Ic on t:he noi th cod . The birds a ri fred and :igrat ed as usual
For the fifth consecutive rear no eggs were brouglit to Grays Lake ñn:r Wood Buffalo Nat ional Park in ranada and no whooping cranes were hatc bed however, three colts were fledged through the Guide Bird Project
3993 was the first year of the Guide Bird Project which intended to bond capt ire-hatched chicks with wild . adult whooping cranes. It was hoped that these adults woul.d rasse the colts and teach them the migration tOut e to New Mexico . liv having whooping c raies raising whooping cranes . I he resea chers hoped to avoid the improper species imprint] rig that is thought to have occurred between sandhi 11 and whooping cranes during the Cross- Fostering Experiment. 19
An adult male and female whooper from the Rocky Mountain population were captured during the fall of 1992 on the wintering grounds in New Mexico. These birds were brought to the crane holding facility in Grace. Idaho and held there until late summer. In the spring of 1993 four captive hatched chicks from the International Crane Foundation (ICF) in Wisconsin were taken to Grace and gradually introduced to the captive adults. A research assistant from ICF accompanied the chicks to Idaho and assisted for the balance of the season. The Grace facility was quite state-of-the-art with remote television monitoring and VCR recording of whooper activity. This allowed crane prolect personnel to observe and record crane behavior without disturbing them. The adults had, in the meantime, begun
1 imu / 1unroe monitoring the rraci!dop , crane PC IL:;
dernonst rat ing some pair behavior. The bond hetweErj the colts and the adults developed to some extent . but did not see a as strong as would have been desired the female adult showed the most jut crest in the chicks, but the chicks themselves remained somewhat aloof from the adoptive parents The family group was eventually released west of headquarters in the Lakefront Unit.
The release area had a limited predat 0 t cont rol program conducted by the USDA. APHIS for approximately a month prior to release of the cranes. 10 ) foxes, two 2) coyotes a n d six p s k u n k s we ie emoved and the whoopers experienced no losses to predation. 20
Although the colts survived the local predators, they proved susceptible to high levels of stress during handling and transport from Grace to Grays Lake. This stress apparently brought on capture mvopathv. a condition that had not been identified as a problem in all the previous years work with adult cranes and small chicks. These adolescent birds, a class not previously handled, or shipped extensively by researchers. proved to he more sensitive than other age categories. Compounding the problem was a lack of any approved tranquilizer for use on whooping cranes. The result was that one (1) chick died during transport. from Grace and two more colts died during movement when they failed to migrate with the other cranes, had to be recaptured and returned to Grace. The one (1) surviving chick was eventually flown to the winter habitat at Bosque del Apache NWR in New Mexico, survived the trip and was reunited with its adopted mother. This chick subsequently died during a cholera outbreak on the refuge.
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saw
dI I tti I' )VPi lift kefiim sIrP LB 21
The Guide Bird Experiment is slated to continue for at least one more year before complete evaluation. At that point a decision will be made as to whether to continue the project, or not..
In support of the whooping crane activities extensive baiting was carried- out for the first time in several years. Barley was hauled to selected grain fields as directed by the crane biologist. The area west of headquarters, the Lakefront, was the recipient this year since that was the release site for the Guide Bird Experiment. The crane biologist wanted to ensure that the whooper colts were in top physical conclit ion for the fall migration. Over 500 bushels of barley were hauled and spread by the maintenance staff.
The maintenance staff also helped with repairs and improvements to the crane holding pens in Grace. Idaho. They also maintained/rebuilt, several crane transport boxes.
h, PererineFalcori
As in 1991, no chicks from the Peregrine Fund were placed in the tower due to occupancy by It falcon pair. The resident peregrines were again a handed female and an unhanded male. They produced and fledged two young, continuing an excellent production record.
c. Bald Eagle
On October 2/i an immature ba].d eagle was captured and turned-in to the Refuge . The bird had no apparent . external. iniuries , but seemed unable to f lv and had some green vent stain. I_cad poisoning was suspected . the eagle was n o t great 1" e:.'.aciated . Maintenance Worker Nuffe'r took the bird to Dr. Mole in Id:hn Falls where ii: was treated, but did not survive. The cause of death was not det erminecl
3. Waterfowl
Grays Lake waterfowl production estimates have t.maditionallv been difficult to obtain because of the potential disturbance to the whooping crane program. Since whoop ng c a le eggs and. young ace no longer present at the refuge arid the adult. poj:u 1 at ions amount to oni v a few bt rds . waterfowl surveys have been increasing] v easy to conduct without disturbing whuoners . Stii.l . we air' tin] v starting .a monitoring program and have limited personnel available Therefore, only rough estimates of production are available. The refuge manager has been performing most survey work. assisted by volunteer [ui/iC Brinkerhof. I . wit h he 1 p and advice from SI RC bio log st St eve Bouffa rd and Dr Drewien.
Actual data is still being assessed and only genei a] resiji t.. or impress [ohs. will be piesooted at this time.
This veal changes I'll the moni tOil ig p rogram s loved data Co I cc t ion. There was concern that .ai rhoa t use was dist uibi ng or's t i rig tri.t:':.pet cc swans and so i,xh 22
amphibious coot. 4x4 all-terrain cycle and foot transport were used more. This change was instituted mid-way during the 1993 monitoring effort and slowed data gathering considerably, in that. the other modes are less obtrusive, but also much slower than the airboat. Consequently. data yield was reduced from what it would have been if the airboat could have been used all season. Conversely, data quality on some aspects, such as pair counts and brood counts may have improved without the noise levels of the airboat. An airboat seems a crude way to gather data in some respects until one realizes the difficulty in traversing the Grays Lake marsh. There are essentially no dikes, or trails through the marsh and almost no elevated areas close enough to use as vantage points. Efforts are underway with Dr. Drewien to ident.ify some representative trend areas of reasonable size, so that production, at least. can he estimated without having to penetrate and disturb large areas of the marsh.
Marsh water was excellent, but production was very poor. Waterfowl seemed to start the nesting season satisfactorily. but an intense late April storm dumped 8 - 12 inches of heavy, wet snow on C;ravs Lake. This heavy snowfall then melted rapidly, causing the lake water level to raise about one (1) foot in two to three days. This probably wiped-out almost all early nesters, including the geese and cranes. The day after the storm, the roadways surrounding the marsh were covered with marsh birds trying to use the area of shallowest snow in the valley: the plowed roads. Probably nearly all the individuals of the ground riestng species of Grays Lake were concentrated on these state and county roads.
Figure 9. Lon.-Lil led curlews tough-out the big spr1n, si nim,. MF Li 23
After the April storm, the weather continued cold and wet throughout the spring and summer. Any renesting attempts were faced with these low temperature and high moisture conditions. This may explain the apparent lack of production on the part of ducks, geese and cranes.
There was nesting on goose nesting platforms and they were probably less impacted by the April storm than other nest sites since they were above even the flood waters. Hay was placed as needed on goose nesting platforms and the platforms repaired where necessary. The hay was provided by Bear Lake NWR and is baled tules and cattails: this is an excellent native media, one familiar to the geese, and has the added advantage of lasting a long time due to the coarse size of the individual grasses. Ralph Stoor performed all this work with the Thiokol marsh cat in late winter and early spring.
1 ;. —44 0
Figure 10. Haul jog hal es to the nesting p1 at for: s . MV
The sma ii IICS ti rr. 0 U ids a iso icc ci red use and p rohab .1 v scmiewha t parallel ccl the pe rfo raance of t ne p1 at fo ras fo hero:. e ceason: on e I eva ted . more secure nest site.
The annual Canada goose pair aerial survey on April 15 indicated a normal population for Ciars Lake. A total of 1079 geese were count ccl corporeci to 1 veai, 93 indicated pairs o'r: 11 up 1)9 percent from 1992. Marsh :r t en was ye n' good a rid could exp 1 i o t he i tic ceases . but these survey result s chacacterstca1 lv fluctuate so ..ucir fm - . rear to rear that 11 is r1ittCult 0 24
ascribe much credence to them. There are apparently just too many variables in the survey (lesign.
This population had poor production in 1993. lust like all the other marsh birds and probably for the same reason: cold, wet weather the entire season. Engineering Equipment Operator Ralph Stoor and the other maintenance staff attempted to install electrical predator barriers (fences) on the Sout.h Dike, as we had in 1992. However, water levels were so high that the fences couldn't be built in the same locations. After some consideration, we decided that many of the barriers probably weren't needed since the high water should he sufficient to deter the predators. Consequently, only one predator barrier was erected in 1993: on the South Canal at the southwest corner of the Impoundment. Casual observation indicated far less goose usage of the canal spoil piles than is normal.
Nest dragging was discussed in the Having section.
The goldeneve nest boxes were checked and repaired this winter. No new boxes were erected. During the spring survey hens and ducklings were marked and data recorded on chicks and other species use. Use levels were average with about 35 producing nests and success was hgh, as would he expected for a cavity-nesting species.
I I t 111
LOP 25
Trumpeter Swans
A minimum of six pair of swans established territories at Grays Lake in 1993, but built no known nests and no young were observed. Swans territories were noted at Beavertail Point, Bishop's Island, Big Springs, Shorty's Homestead and Grays Lake Outlet. The reason for this production failure is unclear. One theory is that airhoat use during other waterfowl monitoring disturbed the potential nesting pairs and prevented, or helped prevent, them from nesting, or completing incubation. Another possibility is that Grays Lake swans were no different than the rest of the Greater Yellowstone flock which was also largely unsuccessful in producing young. This widespread production failure of the entire population is, itself. unexplained perhaps the wet, cold spring and summer was the culprit, as postulated for ducks, geese and cranes. Very probably some combination of all of the above, plus some unknown factors, is responsible.
Due to low swan populations at Red Rocks NWR and relatively high numbers at Grays Lake, no trumpeter swans were translocated this rear. It is doubtful that there will he any transplants in the foreseeable future for the same reasons. There are adequate numbers of swans returning to Grays Lake on their own to establish a population if climate, or other factors, will allow them to successfully reproduce. If the various limiting factors cannot be overcome, then additional transplants will probably not make any difference.
As mentioned in the Raterfowl sect iou, one issue brought very clearly by swans in 1993 was their effect on Refuge operations. It has been long known that these birds are sc1'nsit ive to human dist urhance and each rear we seemi to be learning a lit t le more at Grays Lake that some of them appeal to be ext rend v sensit ire . C .1 cu:.s t ant ial and other evidence is building that indi.cates we will have to be VCIV cautious in on marsh operat ions do'i ing the swan breeding / nesting season to avoid dirt urbing. at least . the most timid of them. In an area of (1] fficul t access, such as C;ravs Lake, an" rest rictions of a 1 ready limited t ranspo station me thods will have far reachi og effects on Refuge opera t ions and oh ectives . It seems that the SwRis will prohahl be at least as restrict ire t C) many other Refuge programs/activities as the whooping cranes were. Certainly this will be tfue through the breeding 1' nest log brooding season which wil 1 comprise ost at spring and summer. The Refuge is committed to the successful establishment of a trumpeter flock at Grays Lake and w I I make the rid ustments in other programs that are necessary to achieve that goal, but it is 1:.pui I ant to realize that there will he previously unrecogni red ope' ational costs caused Pr that achi evement
Marsh and Rat esbi scis
Wet and cold condit. ions were a problem for greater sandln 11 cranes, as with most other avian species in the C;ravs Lake Val icy in 1933. The cranes responded with lower p1oduc tiot . Those that did I. rv to reproduce found reduced popu I at Otis of invert ebra t es and clii ck suirviva 1 p i ahab lv suffered fo i lack of this critical forage . It iS probable that what few chicks were traduced experienced high no rt.a li t v. 1 i Pc 1992 . Grays Lal No colts were banded by crane researchers this year and Dr. Drewien's fall counts showed only about 3.5 percent juveniles. As in 1992, white-faced ibis again nested on the refuge this year. A survey of the large Franklin's gull and ibis rool Interest in grebes was lower than in 1992 after the Salton Sea die-off, but the Grays Lake staff continued to note how the birds behaved and survived through the season. Grehes seemed much more common that in 1993 and some broods were noted; they definitely had a better year than in 1992 and may have performed better than other marsh birds. Perhaps their more thoroughly aquatic nature and floating nests served them relatively better in this low temperature-high precipitation year. Shorebirds. Gulls. Terns and Allied Species As always, Franklin's were the most numerous gulls on the refuge. They are very abundant, probably numbering five to ten thousand birds. As described in the preceding section one nesting colony surv cv was made in 1993 on the Beave stall Point rookery. As in 1992. of the two black tern colonies discovered in 1991. only the one northwest of Bear Island - was active in 1993. That colonvse cried more dispersed and smaller than usual; tern nests seemed to scattered fai nv widely along the north side of Bear Island. Raptors No formal raptor surveys were conducted in 1993. Rough-legs 1w]nter,. Swainson s. redtails, northern harriers and kestrels were present. One golden eagle was observed: it began frequenting the release site for the whooping crane Guide Bird Project and caused some concern for the safety of the chicks. After rods were erected on the roof of the observation blind to prevent its perching there. the eagle seemed to lose interest in the area and moved off in a few days. S . Caine Mammals No elk were observed winliring near headquarters in the 1992-93 winter, although a few probably always remain in the valley. It isn't suiprising that the wintering activity was reduced compared to 1992. since this winter was quite severe. Temperatures were low and snow depths were corisi ilerab I e. i ri other words, a typical Grays Lake winter rathei than the mild 005 that have become the norm over the last few years. Elk apparently resumed then i noiilial migration pattern in the fal 1 of 1992. Ii should he pointed out that only a small number winter in Grays Lake during 1990-1991 and 1991-1992: the wajority of elk left the valley as usual 27 While the elk population remained high in the Grays Lake area. the mule deer population probably suffered some significant losses over-winter due to poor range conditions in the summer and fall of 1992. The deer went into winter 1993 in poor condition and winter-kill was high throughout southeast Idaho, as well as the ac1oi fling portions of Wyoming and Utah. Deer seemed scarce in 1993. although Idaho Department of Fish and Game maintained that the good range conditions had the animals widely dispersed, especially into the high elevations where they weren't readily observed. The Department also held that the mature buck population was high and that the death loss had been, as would he expected, in the young age classes. The local moose herd seemed to maintain its numbers and quality. This is not unexpected since the moose's large size and strength, like elk. would allow it to weather tough winter conditions better than deer. 10. Other_Resident Wildlife The muskrat population, although still very low compared to historical standards 40.000 rats harvested annually in the early 1900's . seemed to he increasing in 1993. This seems reasonable in light of the very high water levels this veal. Hopefully. overwinter survival in 1993-94 will be good. Numerous red fox were noted this year, continuing a trend that has been especial lv evident since the cessation of predator cont rol four years ago. The little canids are getting prevalent enough that they estahl,ished a den wit hiri the headquarters co:'cpound and imsed pups, much to the delight of visitors on the tour rout e if not t he ground nest ing avian popu 1 a ...... i ri . One grew bold enough to look in the f iont door window of the manager's residence on several occasions Coyote populations seeced to be gerrel a I I v increasing, although not to the Extent of the fox increase. These mae all subjective ohsei v3tioiis , as there is no formal predator survey effort 15. Animal Coot ma 1 No funding was provided for predator control and the only work undertaken war the "pro hono' work conducted by APHJ.S in support of the Gu].cle Bird Project (see Section G.2.a. Mr 28 Figure 12. One of our abundant foxes. TN 16 . Miking and Banding Grays Lake staff and IDFG yeservsts handed for the third consecutive year as part of the five-year pre-season mallard hand] ng portion of the North american Band] rig Program. IDFG Reg] on 5. which a tic ludes the Refuge, was assigned a quota of tO mallards of each sex and age, as a :i:arximuml. This is the same as 1992, Pc handed 937 mal lards and 1090 ducks and giehes total increases of 27 and 30 percent . respect ire I v, ove 1 1992 .oi - a n t raps and na rhoa t night- lighting were employed. \ightlighting effort was doubled to fouc nights, as co:parecI to 3992. 29 4 A Figure 13. md uiir, end the bOOth deck. LB Problems encountered were almost diamet ricallv opposed to those of 1993 arid included high water levels, few or wide IV dispersed clucks, foxes near the traps, muddy access roads and possibly even aggressive swans aonopo 1 iZ]nlg the traps although this was never proven . Captures of 90-100 birds per dav were jiot co:xrron as they were iii li92 40-0 er clay were moi e U51JI1 The same size traps ann! configuratiotis 1992 were used. F' i ebuting was started on July 23 with the first trap opened on August 9 arid the second opened on August 10. All handing operations were closed on the first week of Sept embe r. Band returns in 1333 presented an interesting array of lo(,-ations and ages: Forty 40 ) Grays Lake cluck band returns were report ed to the Bird Banding Laboratory: 37 mel lards. I canvasbeck. 3 redhead and I American widgeon. Idaho and Utah were the most frequeiit recovery locat ions with 14 trial lards each. Other mallards were recovered as follows: Wyoming - 3. Montana -1 30 Colorado - 2, New Mexico - 1. Arizona - 1. California - 1. The canvashack was shot in Mexico, the redhead in Wyoming and the widgeon in California. No Canada geese bands were returned in 1993. After the large grehe loss at Salton Sea in 1991 there was interest in learning more about where those birds were summering. To that end we planned to band any eared grebes we encountered while nightlighting. We managed to band 46 eared grehes and one (1) pied-billed. One American black duck was captured and banded. r i 'W Figure 14. BlacL U1UrL. LB 31 17. Disease Prevention and Control No waterfowl disease outbreaks were detected and no carcasses were found, or removed by the refuge staff. H. PUBLIC USE 1. General Last year the light winter allowed the visitor center to be opened in February. In 1993 the winter was so intense we could not open until April 4 and our first visitors of the year were our volunteers Lurae and Jack Brinkerhoff. up for an early visit. Tourist.s that signed the register came from 36 states and four(4) Canadian provinces this is two (2) more states and three (3) more provinces than last year. Foreign visitors were from Russia. Switzerland, England, Scotland. Germany and Mexico. This is a reduction of five countries from last year. The visitor center was closed in November. Table 6. Total visits at Grays Lake NWR, 1984-1993. 1984 1935 1936 1987 1938 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 Visitors 870 350 995 1330 13264 1 52 1173 1129 1673 1133 In 1993. 1138 people signed the visit o center register. This is a decrease of 327 from last year and very similar to the 1990 and 91 sign-ins. The reason for the dec ease from 1992 is probably due to the shorter open pe iod and the attendant inclement weather. There are piohabiv 25 - 30 percent more visitors that don't sign-in. As always, voluiit eec [cisc Bri okerhoff greeted visitors, helped them onserve whooping cranes and exp lairied the dross-Fost en ng and Gui dc Bi rd programs Lurae has done a great lob and tourists receive a lot of personalized service. She is always eager to help any visitor with information about wildlife and the Refuge. She saves the Refuge count] ess hours of mt erpretat ion that frees the rest of the staff to accomplish other tasks. N. Interpretive ExhjbitsiDemonstations The visitor center was left open from spring through fal I. as usual. The fad lity is appreciated by the public, as evidenced by the posit Tive comments we receive and strear.1i nes the lot erpret at ion process at the refuge . reducing demand on the staff. Changes in the whooping crane cross-rosteri ng project have dated some of the presentations. but they are still generally useful . No permanent display updates will he made until the future of the crane project is more certain and funds are available. 32 7. Other Interpretive Progr Tours and talks were short and infrequent in 1993. The presentations were informal and given to small groups; Volunteer Brinkerhoff conducted most of the interpretation, The Outdoor Classroom program organized by the Caribou County Extension office was given again in 1993. but teachers and extension personnel gave the presentation. Approximately 100 students attended. S. IL Waterfowl hunting is the only consumptive use allowed on the refuge. Duck season was again split, running from October 9 - November 28 and December 25 - January 1. Bag limits were again 4 ducks including not more than 3 mallards only I may be a hen) . 1 pintail. 2 redheads. •2 canvasbacks. or 1 redhead and 1 canvashack. Goose season. as usual, opened before duck season, but was lengthened by one week this year. Goose hunting began on October 2 and ran through January 9, as compared to January 3 last year. The 1992 season was the normal' historical length, hut. interestingly, 1993 was the some season length as 1991. This was the third year of steel-shot-only use at Grays Lake. Waterfowl hunting at Grays Lake was more act.ive than in 1992 when no one pact icipated. but use was low. The moderate numbers of ducks on the Refuge were widely distributed due to the very high water levels. As usual, there was no detectable feeding flight and only a brief flurry of general movement about 9:00 Aid. Only 25 goose were rioted on the Refuge on opening corning which is not unusual ; the geese ordinarily leave the Re fuse in late summer. probably going to Blackfnot Reservoir: themi' eventual return to the Refuge usue ii v coincides with heavy hunting act ivit v a round Ri ackfoo t Rese vo cc on opening clay. No goose hunte S were observed on t lie Refuge on the upene which has been the pattern for the last few veer a: geese are see ce ennugh on the Refuge that it is norma liv not worth the effort to come out solely for them and waterfowlers genera llv wait until duck season starts befru e hunting the Refuge. This approach gives a better chance of putting some game in the bag and goose hunting can he good later in the season. Like many other areas. goose hunt ing quality varies from day to day, but in 1993 it rec.ained general lv unimpressive throughout the season. The opening day for duck season was a little better and eight hunters, in four groups, were observed and interviewed. This was the entire known hunter part icipatinri for the opener. There was use . a Ithough limit ccl , on subsequent weekends and even a small amount of weekday use occurred . at least 27 ducks and one goose a e known to have been harvested and tot :1 1593 bag was probab I v fewer than 50 clucks and 10 g e e s e. Snipe hunting is not permit ted on Grays Lake NWR. Annual wet erfowl hunting activity. 1988-1992. 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1943 Number of Visits 25 10 15 20 0 20 Activitv Hours 119 50 no 90 0 Refuge staff extensive lv poSt od the hunting area with warnings to hnntpcs that both whooping cranes and I compel en swans use the refuge . All whoop ng cranes 33 had left the hunting area before the goose opener. Some trumpeter swans remained in the hunt zone throughout the season despite disturbance. No hunter-induced swan injuries, or atteapts to take, were noted. 17. Law Enforcement The Refuge Manager performed all law enforcement this year. No FWS Special agents or IDFG officers were known to have worked the refuge area. No citations were issued and only one warning was given: no hunting license in immediate possession (possession was verified the same day). All officers in the Refuge Complex attend Law Enforcement Refresher Training at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center facility near Marana. AZ. This was our second time at "FLETC West'. The alternate 6-month firearms qualification occurred at the 2 1/2 Mile Shooting Range in Chubbuck and was instructed again by Lon Teeter, IDFC conservation officer from American Falls. In support of firearms training. Engineering Equipment Operator Stoor built seven "pepper popper" steel targets that have a human shape and fall when struck by a bullet. He and Maintenance Worker Nuffer made repairs (extensive welding) to a large and complicated Bianchi-stvle "duelling tree" (multiple fallingresetable plates that had been built earlier in the 1993 season by Bear Lake NWR. All of these targets were extensively used by Loa.plex officers during our firear:::s qual ificatioris and training. U EOUIPMENT AND FACILITIE.S New Construction In August , Ralph St oor built a much needed fire cache at the headquarters well . Fire fight I ng tools hoses and nozzles were p laced in an elevated tool box where they woo id be readi lv ova I oh 1 . The adi acent hod rant was a iso maintained and a gated ''V' added for inc eased versatility. There is a sufficient hose to reach any of the main refuge buildings, or the Grays Lake guard stat ion Forest Service The crew boil t two new catch boxes for the pre-season mallard handing project 2. Rehabilitation The Rich Tract irrigat ion system receive] major work this summer. The culvert and headgate at the diversion point were replaced. A 2-0ch culvert, with drop-I og headgat e was nor tailed and func 1 oiied well far t he remainder of the irrigation season. tart ml regrave iii ng of the ware\'ard and the ohservatoo pint form road was a lso co::.pleted in 1993. Potholes had developed as well as some low spots where stand nt water created some problems. 34 3. Ma o r Maintenance The old Aircat airboat was taken to an aircraft mechanic at the Rexhurg Airport for propeller repairs. The boat had thrown a propeller last year and repair funding was not available until 1993. We wanted a professional experienced in "prop" installation and maintenance to make certain we have the right one for the airboat and that we won't have any further unsafe incidents. Additionally, there had been concern ever since the installation of the original prop that it was not the correct pitch for the boat; power and speed were reputed to be less than with the preceding prop. We wanted an expert to analyze both what was safest and what was most efficient for this boat. Determining the appropriate prop was difficult in that very few mechanics are familiar with the "pusher-type props used on airhoats: most aircraft utilize "pull-type props. After extensive research the mechanic did install a prop and test it for safe operation. He declared the boat fully safe for use, reviewed safety maintenance with us and asserted that there was no way to determine the right prop from a power standpoint other than through trial and error. We have had no further problems with the prop loosening, but the power yield did not improve noticeably. We are considering the cost/benefit of purchasing a different pitch prop. Refuge all-terrain cycles and snowmobiles were taken to the dealer for their yearly valve adiustment and general tune-up. The newest of the Honda 400 cc machines received a new battery and muffler. Front tires were replaced on the John Deere 2440 tractor. Reorganization of the shop contartueci in 1993. Tool ii rawers were I abe led and organized core efficient lv. A s:a ii 0kV trailer that had been received f rr the Law Enforcement Division some years ago was retrofit ted . A new deck was boil L on the trailer. wi ring repaired and a jack insto I ed on the hitch. The I raa ler received substantial use by both OLNUR and STRC an hauling 4-wheel err and other cargo. In February. electrician Dan Hader] ie , from Thavoe Wyoming installed a new 220- volt receptacle in the shop and made certain that all receptacles there were ground-fault interrupt ed. He also moved one of the overhead elect nc heat err to reduce a fire hazard: the unit was very close to the top of our wooden storage room and was hi art cling some oai In March the Thi oko 1 was taken t o Peterson's Eqoi p:ient in Logan. Ut ala for repair of transmission and rear-end leaks. In October, the cab dour window glass was i eplaced by a Soda Springs vendor, In ear iv sprang the o ldesi Polaris mdv Wide-Trak snowmobile 's jackshaf I and hearing went out . Parts were di £ fi ciii t to get a ad the aachne was clown ion the rest of the snowpack period The Wabco grader had si.gnif i ('aol downt inc in both June and October. The steering linkage broke at the front axle both t imes and was welded on ectcii occasion. The second welding has lasted until the present time. The front 35 linkage is a weak design on this model and is a good deal of trouble to repair; a significant amount of time was invested by the maintenance crew on both of these breakdowns. Glass for the right cab door was also replaced during the October downtime. Overwinter, Ralph built new shelves in the copy room of the office. Shelf space is very limited and this addition will help support our ever-growing files and references. He and the maintenance staff did the same in the shop garage and also built a new wood rack; the wood and iron stores were then reorganized. In March, the Maintenance staff hauled the majority of the Swan Project gear to Grays Lake and helped store it. or return items to the issuing refuges. The electrical wire to the granary was repaired by Haderlie after a power failure occurred. Rodents chewing the line was the apparent problem. In April, the fire trailer was maintained and improvements made. Two drip torches were added. along with extra fuel cans. 4. Equipment Utiliiat ionand Rep±gc ement In May. a 1977 Dodge dumptruck. three - four cubic yards capacity, was transferred to Grays Lake from Loot enai NWR. Bear Lake NWR Engineering Equl pment Operator ken Alexander del lye red the truck to us as part of another haul ing proj ect he was involved with to the Washington / Oregon area . The little truck is a welcome addition to our fleet as we were without a dumptruch previously. It received use right away and was even fit ted with a "box s lit te r" designed by the Maintenance Staff. . T he splitter i educ.es the amolut of gravel needed or some of our road and trail proj ects. by di vidi ng the du;:. p stream in two. This split is the name width as vehicle wheels. essentially ::atching the two tracks inmost of Oui roads, and thereby puts the gravel were it is needed rather than on the higher center of the road. Thus, each load of gravel goes farthei The vel low maintenance pickup was replaced by GSA in June. The new truck was a red, ext ended cat:) Ford with a short bed In an effort to i :; prove our access. to .and mobility in. the marsh, a six-wheel iii ire m:::phi.hious ATV was received on November 19. It was a four passenger unit wi th a 20 ho 5epove' motor. Tricks were also purchased 1:0 provide extra flotation and traction when needed. Previous to this unit we had no amphibious capabi lit v, being dependent on the al rhoat . Thiokol and "four- wheelers.' The mirhout had the advantage of r,:aneuverahi lit \' and speed. hut coo ld not he run ::,ucb past July due to low water and creat ed a great deal of noise. The Thiokol could negotiate almost any mud on the Refuge, but was slow and limited to less than 24 inches of water. The 4-wheelers were faster than the Thiokol . but hore susceptible to mud and equally inc:ipable of crossing deep water. The u K 0' proved to he slow like the ihiokol ii! the marsh '1)01 much fast e r on d IV I atid and not highlm :aaneuverah le in tho v.a t or. but it di ci float and was not I ccciii] v noisy, The new machine wi 11 iCc ci ye exteris ive use in 1994 and, hope full v , provide us cliii et and thorough access to the marsh. 36 Two John Deere Spitfire snowmobiles that were not needed were transferred to Camas NWR. Operator Stoor and Tractor Driver Sihbett repaired all the swinging gates on the refuge. The gates now work much easier. In the fall of 1993, the outside of the entire office and manager's residence, as well as the west end of the shop, were painted by a contractor from Thayne, Wyoming. They also touched-UI) the interpretive panel outside the visitors center. Bonneville County paved the Grays Lake Road past Refuge headquarters. In exchange for allowing them to park their equipment in the headquarters compound, the county packed the wareyard with their self-propelled rollers and part of the observation platform road. A small lot sale was held, enabling us to get rid of some old gas pumps, outs and bolts. Cormuiii cation Systems Two Svntor radios were progiarmed fox the expanded multi-agency ) radio net we are now using at Grays Lake. The new mant.enance truck ie ceived one of these radios and the other was held until the future of the older mao ntenance truck is co::.plet e . An older radio was installed in the Case backhoe to increase safet v and iT:prOVe conmmuni cat ions Co::Ioitei Systems Gx.avs Lake entered the computec age in 199 with mi unit surplused from the reglo no i off i cc . After some ] nit 10 1 repai is the c u:.pu tei func t. nned and we began the low pursuit of co::puter literacy. Ene Grays Lake has a severe vi nitei C' I iTate and a good deal of ene rgv is YQquired during that period. Every effort iso, ade to keep thermostats as I ow as possible and stil I mainta in a reasonably comfortable working envi rone.ent and keep vmi t ci pi pes from total lv freezing. kood Ijemit is used to the lnaxio:umn extent possible in the residence, but elect 'nc heat is all that is ovaloble for the shop and office. The heat pump on the shop is still not functional and funds have not been available to repair it. The some is true of the passive solar system. on the office. Due to the high elevation with its attendant short season and low te:m:peiatuier. very little energy is expended on suirmmmen cooling. 37 J. OTHER ITEMS 1. icXri Weekly snow depths were reported to the Boise weather service. The trumpeter swan range expansion project is carried on cooperatively with Red Rock Lakes NWR. Harriman State Park. IDFG and Wyoming Department of Game. Refuge vehicles and equipment are supplied to this effort each year, along with some personnel details. Mike Fisher performed some swan surveys in 1992 during the January to March period. The annual goose breeding pair count was flown in cooperation with IDFG, and the Pre-Season Mallard Banding (North American Banding Program) was completed with the help of their reservists. The peregrine hack tower was operated with the Peregrine Fund and Idaho Department of Fish and Game. A house trailer arid VCR were provided to the Guide Bird Project for use at the Grace crane pens. The manager and maintenance staff assisted Bear Lake NWR conduct a prescribed fire in the spring of 1993. The spring of 1993 was very wet and Erg] heel ing Equipment Operator Stoor he 1 ped Camas NWR dur ng floods on two occrisi oils. Credits Sect ion B. weather drita was provided b\ Ralph S toor . Chuck Leek wrote Sec1.oii F. . Mike Fisher wiot e the remaindeb of the report. Terry Cl ;jdwin provided the fi na 1 review rind edit] ng . Wendy Hall and Toni Jarolimek typed and asse:::hied this report . It includes dat 1 p ov ded by El rime Greer. Ralph Stoor, . Tod Nuffer Lurae Brinkerhoff, Dr. Rod Drewien . and Idaho Department of Fish and Game. Photos credits: LB Lurae Brinkeihoff, TN = Tod Nuffel . MJ = Mike Johnson. ME = Mike Fslier 38 I HUti1 5VHflI CO K. FEEDBACK Nothing to Report. C. 1NFORMATI ON PACKET - - - inside bich cover - Io/3cpc Ii/g/g3 /) Z/I/ 43[56-- o r ~e4