Appendix G-Land Protection Plan

Appendix G USFWS Grassland habitat bordered by a forest benefits foraging raptors as well as a variety of mammal species. Land Protection Plan ■ Introduction and Purpose ■ Project Description ■ Status of Resources to be Protected ■ Continuing Partnership Effort ■ Action and Objectives ■ Protection Options ■ Acquisition Methods ■ Coordination ■ Socioeconomic and Cultural Impacts ■ Attachment 1. Parcel Maps and Table ■ Attachment 2. Threshold Standards and Other Considerations Introduction and Purpose Introduction and Purpose This Land Protection Plan (LPP) identifies the expanded boundary for the Wallkill River National Wildlife Refuge (refuge). Working with others, we delineated four focus areas totaling 9,550 acres of biologically significant land in the Wallkill River watershed. We plan to acquire land in all four of those focus areas. Of their total acres, we recommend acquiring 4,763 acres in fee title and 4,585 acres in conservation easements. We plan to acquire the remainder, 197 acres, in either fee or easement. The purposes of this LPP are to ● provide landowners and the public with an outline of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service, we, our) policies, priorities, and protection methods for land in the project area, ● assist landowners in determining whether their property lies within the expanded boundary, and ● inform landowners about our long-standing policy of acquiring land only from willing sellers. [We will not buy any lands or easements if the owners are not interested in selling.] The LPP presents the methods the Service and interested landowners can use to accomplish their objectives for wildlife habitat within the expanded refuge boundary. The maps (attachment G.1) show the original approved refuge acquisition boundary, the expansion area, and the land parcels in that expansion area. A corresponding table identifies each parcel, its tax map number, acreage, and our priority and recommended option for acquiring and protecting its habitat. Attachment G.2 relates our LPP for the refuge to the threshold standards under consideration by the Service Director for determining the strategic growth of the National Wildlife Refuge System (Refuge System). Project Description Original Approved Refuge Acquisition Boundary The Wallkill River refuge lies approximately 60 miles northwest of New York City, in the northeastern section of Sussex County, N.J. (Wantage, Hardyston, and Vernon), and in southern Orange County, N.Y. (Minisink and Warwick). The refuge protects a combination of wetland and upland habitats supporting migratory birds, federal- and state-listed species, and regionally significant wildlife and plant communities in the Wallkill River watershed. A rolling valley between the Kittatinny Ridge and the Hudson Highlands contains the Wallkill River valley habitat complex: headwater wetland complexes of riverine habitats, ponds, emergent marshes, fens, scrub-shrub wetlands, wooded swamps, mixed hardwood upland forests, grasslands and farmlands. The Service designated the Wallkill River a priority wetland under the Emergency Wetland Resources Act of 1986. Migratory bird habitat is among the primary reasons for creating the refuge and guiding its management. Signature species include black ducks, wood ducks, woodcocks, and a number of raptors. The refuge falls in the Northern Highlands Zone identified in the New Jersey State Wildlife Action Plan (WAP). In the grassland habitats, the state would like to increase and stabilize the populations of three state-listed endangered species and five state-listed threatened species. The state-listed endangered species include the northern harrier, vesper sparrow and arogos skipper. The state-listed threatened species include the bobolink, grasshopper sparrow and savannah sparrow. Refuges can be established by Congress through a special legislation, by the President through an executive order, or by the Director of the Service through an administrative decision document. Wallkill River refuge was first established by the Director in an administrative decision document on March 9, 1990. Congress later Appendix G. Land Protection Plan G-1 Project Description enacted Public Law No. 101-593, 104 Stat. 2955 on November 16, 1990 to confirm the establishment of the 7,500-acre refuge along a 9-mile stretch of the Wallkill River by special legislation. For the expansion of the refuge’s land acquisition boundary the Director will issue a new administrative decision document. The Wallkill River refuge was established with the following purposes: (1) to preserve and enhance the refuge’s lands and waters in a manner that will conserve the natural diversity of fish, wildlife, plants, and their habitats for present and future generations; (2) to conserve and enhance populations of fish, wildlife, and plants in the refuge, including populations of black ducks and other waterfowl, raptors, passerines, and marsh and water birds; (3) to protect and enhance the water quality of aquatic habitats in the refuge; (4) to fulfill international treaty obligation of the United States with respect to fish and wildlife and their habitats; and (5) to provide opportunities for compatible scientific research, environmental education, and fish and wildlife- oriented recreation (104 Stat. 2955). The law that created the refuge established a boundary of approximately 7,500 acres. That acreage came from a compilation of tax maps from the townships of Wantage, Vernon, and Hardyston in Sussex County, N.J., and the townships of Minisink and Warwick in Orange County, N.Y. Subsequent GIS calculations and surveys of the tax parcels that make up the refuge estimate the original defined boundary at closer to 6,700 acres. Our acquisition of parcels categorically excluded from NEPA compliance has expanded that boundary by approximately 350 acres, bringing the current boundary to approximately 7,100 acres. Most of that is located in Sussex County, N.J.; 147 acres is located in Orange County, N.Y. Once the acquisition boundary is established, the Service can acquire lands under a variety of statutory authorities; see Refuge Manual 3 RM 1.3. To date, the Service has acquired 5,106 acres for the Wallkill River refuge under the following authorities: 1. Emergency Wetlands Resources Act of 1986 [16 U.S.C. 3901(b)] 2. Migratory Bird Conservation Act [16 U.S.C. 715d] 3. Fish and Wildlife Act of 1956 [16 U.S.C. 742f(a)(4)] There are still 93 ownerships unacquired by the Service within the original approved refuge acquisition boundary. An ownership is one or more parcels of land owned by a legal entity. Of those 93 ownerships, New Jersey Green Acres, the County Farmland Protection Program, or the local municipality permanently protects 17. That leaves only 76 ownerships, or approximately 1,200 acres, without permanent protection in the original approved refuge acquisition boundary. We are now negotiating to protect eight additional ownerships, or about 250 acres. Table G.1 summarizes recent refuge acquisitions. Acquisitions for the Refuge have been funded with monies from the Land and Water Conservation Fund and from the Migratory Bird Conservation Commission. As of Fiscal Year 2006, 3,672 acres within the original approved acquisition boundary were purchased with funds from the Land and Water Conservation Fund and 1,305 acres were purchased with funds from the Migratory Bird Conservation Commission. About 130 acres were donated. G-2 Appendix G. Land Protection Plan Project Description Table G.1. Recent land acquisition activity at Wallkill River refuge. State County Date Tract Acres Amount NJ SUSSEX 02/04/2005 53 45.17 $158,095.00 NJ SUSSEX 02/28/2005 41 31.85 36,627.50 NJ SUSSEX 02/28/2005 41a 13.50 15,525.00 NJ SUSSEX 02/28/2005 41R 0.00 0.00 NJ SUSSEX 01/04/2006 15v 83.30 674,612.10 NJ SUSSEX 01/04/2006 15w 0.13 387.90 NJ SUSSEX 03/10/2006 45 111.66 0.00 NJ SUSSEX 03/10/2006 45a 10.72 0.00 NJ SUSSEX 03/10/2006 45-I 7.27 0.00 NJ SUSSEX 06/13/2007 125 36.73 130,000.00 NJ SUSSEX 06/15/2007 29 21.49 $190,000.00 Please note that many of the refuge’s boundaries do not line up precisely with the local geographic or ecological boundaries. In addition, numerous landowners whose property adjoins the original approved refuge acquisition boundary have approached the Service as willing sellers. Expansion Area The expansion area contains some of the region’s most important wetland areas, which provide high-quality stopover habitat for migratory waterfowl. The Atlantic Coast Joint Venture of the North American Waterfowl Management Plan identifies the Wallkill River as a priority area. The expansion area also includes migratory songbird and raptor breeding habitat and endangered species habitat for three federal-listed species and dozens of state-listed species. The Bog Turtle Recovery Plan (USFWS 2001) identifies the Wallkill River watershed as a recovery subunit. We will protect up to five bog turtle population analysis sites (PAS) in the expansion area in New Jersey, and thus, work toward achieving one recovery objective for the Wallkill River subunit (USFWS 2001). Bog turtles are a keystone species for wetland habitats that are important for a diverse assemblage of species, including state-listed invertebrates, birds, amphibians and reptiles. The expansion area also provides potential habitat for two federal-listed endangered species, the dwarf wedgemussel and the Indiana bat. The expansion area will also protect a viable biological corridor between the Appalachian Ridge and Valley province and the Hudson Highlands, and will protect the water quality of the upper Wallkill River watershed. In conjunction with our partners, we will protect both valley and upland habitats and, with coordinated management, will support many of the goals in the New Jersey WAP and endangered species recovery plans. Appendix G. Land Protection Plan G-3 Status of Resources to be Protected Status of Resources to be Protected Wildlife and Habitat Resources In 1994, the New Jersey Division of Fish, Game and Wildlife Endangered and Nongame Species Program (ENSP) adopted a landscape-level approach to rare species protection.

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