Inventory and Monitoring Plan Howland Island, Baker Island, and Jarvis Island National Wildlife Refuges and Howland Island, Baker Island, and Jarvis Island Units of the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument September 2015 1 | Page Howland Island, Baker Island, and Jarvis Island National Wildlife Refuges, and Howland Island Unit, Baker Island Unit, and Jarvis Island Unit of the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument Inventory and Monitoring Plan Signature Page Action Signature /Printed Name Date ein Kenyon (I&M Specialist) Prepared By: Beth Flint (Supervisory Wildlife Biologist) ared Underwood (I&M Zone Biologist) "IS/I Reviewed By: 15 Superintendent - Operations Reviewed By: Monuments Superintendent - Policy/Partners/Support Reviewed By: IS" Region 1 I&M Coordinator Reviewed By: T/2///S Refuge/and Monuiognt Supervisor Reviewed By: RegionarRefuge Biologist/Division Chief Approved By: 2 I P a g e Table of Contents Signature Page .............................................................................................................................................2 Introduction ..................................................................................................................................................4 Methods........................................................................................................................................................6 Results ..........................................................................................................................................................8 Table 1-A, Howland Island ..............................................................................................................10 Survey Profiles, Howland Island ......................................................................................................15 Table 1-B, Baker Island ...................................................................................................................71 Survey Profiles, Baker Island ...........................................................................................................76 Table 1-C, Jarvis Island ..................................................................................................................136 Survey Profiles, Jarvis Island .........................................................................................................141 References ................................................................................................................................................197 Appendices Appendix A. Key Legal Mandates and Policies for Inventorying and Monitoring Activities on Units of the NWRS ...................................................................................................................198 Appendix B. Criteria and Weights Used to Prioritize Surveys ......................................................202 Appendix C-1. Prioritization Scores and Status, All Ranked Surveys, Howland Island ...............206 Appendix C-2. Prioritization Scores and Status, All Ranked Surveys, Baker Island ....................208 Appendix C-3. Prioritization Scores and Status, All Ranked Surveys, Jarvis Island ....................210 Appendix D. Brief Description of Non-selected Survey ................................................................212 Appendix E. Research Projects ......................................................................................................213 Appendix F. Environmental Action Statement (EAS) ...................................................................214 IMP Revision Signature Page ..................................................................................................................216 3 | Page Introduction A. Scope and rationale This inventory and monitoring plan (IMP) presents current and new, unmet I&M activities (surveys) for Howland Island National Wildlife Refuge (NWR), Baker Island NWR, and Jarvis Island NWR (Refuges) and the Howland Island Unit, Baker Island Unit, and Jarvis Island Unit (Units) of the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument (PRIMNM; Monument). Most surveys in this IMP are refuge- or monument-specific, where they evaluate and refine efficacy of resource management actions and measure progress toward achieving resource management objectives identified in refuge planning documents. Some surveys also gather baseline data to develop practical and measurable objectives for restoration projects, or provide baseline data on biological integrity of the Refuges and Monument. The IMP also includes cooperative surveys addressing resource issues of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) at larger landscape scales beyond the refuge and monument boundaries (e.g., ecoregion) or needs of other agencies and organizations. For cooperative surveys, refuge and monument lands and waters are one of multiple sites including other refuges and monuments to address broad-scale resource information needs. Key components of this IMP include a comprehensive list of surveys, prioritization of these surveys, surveys selected for implementation, status of protocols for surveys, a rationale for each survey including its connection with management objectives, and a signature page documenting IMP review and approval. Although the IMP also identifies surveys that would need to be conducted on the Refuge or Monument, the number of surveys implemented on an annual basis is contingent upon a number of factors, including available funding and staffing as well as support from partners. B. Relationship of Refuges with Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument On January 6, 2009, President George W. Bush signed Presidential Proclamation 8336 designating the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument (PRIMNM; Monument), which included the Howland Island, Baker Island, and Jarvis Island National Wildlife Refuges (NWRs), as well as three pre-existing refuge areas and Wake Atoll (Code of Federal Regulations 2010). The purpose of establishing this Monument was to ensure the proper care and management of fish, wildlife, and other scientific and historic objects that are situated upon lands and in waters owned or controlled by the United States within approximately 50 nautical miles (nm) from the mean low water lines of its seven component islands/atolls. The President directed that the Secretary of the Interior shall have management responsibility for the Monument, including 12 nm out from the mean low water lines of the islands, in consultation with the Secretary of Commerce. The Secretary of Commerce, through the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and in consultation with the Secretary of the Interior, shall have the primary responsibility for management of the Monument seaward of the area 12 nm from the mean low water lines of the islands, with respect to fishery-related activities regulated pursuant to the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.; MSFCMA), and any other applicable authorities. On January 16, 2009, the Secretary of the Interior delegated all of his management responsibilities for the Monument to the USFWS through Secretary’s Order 3284. This Order also directed the boundaries of Howland Island, Baker Island, and Jarvis Island NWRs be extended to 12 nm from the mean low water line of each island. 4 | Page On September 29, 2014, President Barack Obama signed Presidential Proclamation 9173, which expanded the PRIMNM, including incorporating the waters and submerged lands of Jarvis Island (and Johnston and Wake Atolls) to the 200 nm seawater limit of the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) (Code of Federal Regulations 2014). The Monument Expansion did not change the boundaries associated with the Howland Island or Baker Island units or other parts of the PRIMNM. Presidential Proclamations 8336 and 9173 also directed the Secretary of the Interior to prepare management plans using applicable authorities for the proper care and management of the Monument. The extension of this IMP to consider the entire area of the Monument units around Howland, Baker, and Jarvis Islands supports this Presidential direction. C. Refuge and Monument Purposes The following are specific purpose statements for establishment of Howland Island NWR, Baker Island NWR, and Jarvis Island NWR identified in the biological ascertainment report at the time of transfer to the Service (USFWS 1973): Howland Island NWR: “…the restoration and preservation of the complete ecosystem, terrestrial and marine. Special consideration must be given to the protection of nesting seabird populations.” Baker Island NWR: “…the restoration and preservation of the complete ecosystem, terrestrial and marine. Priority must be given to allowing seabird nesting colonies to reestablish themselves on Baker so they would eventually reach the great numbers which were present there prior to human occupancy and abuse of the island during the past 125 years.” Jarvis Island NWR: “…the preservation of the complete ecosystem, terrestrial as well as marine. Special emphasis to be given to the large seabird nesting colonies.” A discussion of the Mission of the National Wildlife Refuge System, legal mandates, and policies relevant to I&M for refuges is provided in Appendix A. Statutory authority for managing and associated resource management planning on refuges is derived from the National Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act of 1966, which was significantly amended by the National