EUFAULA NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE DRAFT COMPATIBILITY DETERMINATION Existing Use: Hunting Refuge Name: Eufaula National Wildlife Refuge Established: October 6, 1964 Establishing and Acquisition Authority: Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act (40 Stat. 401, as amended; 16 USC §661 et seq.) Refuge Purposes: "… shall be administered by him [Secretary of the Interior]… in accordance with such rules and regulations for the conservation, maintenance, and management of wildlife, resources thereof, and its habitat thereon…" (16 USC §664) "… each refuge shall be managed to fulfill the mission of the [National Wildlife Refuge] System, as well as the specific purposes for which that refuge was established…" (National Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act (NWRSAA) of 1966 as amended by the National Wildlife Refuge System Improvement Act (NWRSIA) of 1997; 16 USC §§668dd-668ee) National Wildlife Refuge System Mission: The mission of the National Wildlife Refuge System (NWRS), as defined by the NWRSIA of 1997, is: ...to administer a national network of lands and waters for the conservation, management, and where appropriate, restoration of the fish, wildlife, and plant resources and their habitats within the United States for the benefit of present and future generations of Americans. Description of Use: What is the use? The use is public hunting of dove, duck/geese/merganser, rabbit, eastern gray squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis), and white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) on Eufaula National Wildlife Refuge (NWR, refuge) in Georgia and Alabama. Hunting of these species was previously analyzed in the associated Environmental Assessment (EA; USFWS 2008a) and previously outlined and approved in the Comprehensive Conservation Plan (CCP), hunting compatibility determination, and Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) (USFWS 2008b). Hunting is one of the six priority public uses of the NWRS, under the NWRSIA. Eufaula NWR is currently open to the hunting of dove, duck/geese/merganser, rabbit/gray squirrel, and white-tailed deer. Eufaula NWR would continue to allow the take of nuisance and/or invasive species [i.e., feral hogs (Sus scrofa)] only incidentally to white-tailed deer hunting. Alabama considers feral hog a game animal, while the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) and Georgia consider it an invasive species. It is neither the goal nor the intent of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) to manage feral hogs as huntable game. Hogs are an invasive species that damages native habitats and preys on native wildlife. The objective of allowing take of feral hogs is to eliminate them from Eufaula NWR. 1 Where is the use conducted? Dove: Hunting will be allowed on those portions of Eufaula NWR lying within Alabama, except for no hunting zones and closed areas. These areas will be identified by signs and/or brochures. Duck/goose/merganser: Hunting will be allowed in the Bradley and Kennedy units. Rabbit/eastern gray squirrel: Hunting will be allowed on those portions of Eufaula NWR lying within Alabama, except for no hunting zones and closed areas. These areas will be identified by signs and/or brochures. White-tailed deer: Hunting will be allowed on the majority of Eufaula NWR, except for no hunting zones and closed areas. These areas will be identified by signs and/or brochures. Feral hog: Take will be allowed on the majority of Eufaula NWR, except for no hunting zones and closed areas. These areas will be identified by signs and/or brochures. When is the use conducted? Dove: Hunting will be allowed on Wednesdays and Saturdays during the Alabama season in September and October. Duck/goose/merganser: Hunting will be allowed either Wednesday or Saturday each week during the state seasons. Each state will hunt a different day. Which day to be hunted (Wednesday or Saturday) will alternate each year. Hunting hours will be from legal shooting time until noon local time, except on the last refuge general (non-youth) hunt day. On the last refuge general hunt day, hunting will be allowed until sunset. Rabbit/eastern gray squirrel: Hunting will be allowed during the Alabama season during the month of February. White-tailed deer: Hunting will be allowed on the majority of the refuge during the state seasons, except that 1) the Bradley Unit will not open before November 1 and 2) all entry into the Kennedy or Bradley unit will be prohibited during waterfowl hunts. A limited number of youth gun hunts will be offered in October on the Bradley Unit. Feral hog: Take will be allowed on the majority of the refuge during the refuge seasons for white-tailed deer, except that 1) the Bradley Unit will not open before November 1 and 2) all entry into the Kennedy or Bradley unit will be prohibited during waterfowl hunts. How is the use conducted? Hunting will be allowed subject to all federal (including refuge-specific), state, and local laws and regulations. Additional stipulations are provided below or identified by signs and/or brochures. Dove: Hunters will be required to use non-toxic shot. Duck/goose/merganser: Waterfowl hunting opportunities will be awarded by lottery prior to the beginning of the waterfowl season. Guidance for entering the lottery will be provided in refuge brochures and via other media (e.g., personal contact, email, news release, and social media). Rabbit/eastern gray squirrel: Hunters will be required to use non-toxic shot. 2 White-tailed deer: Hunting will be allowed using archery equipment following the regulations for the state in which the hunting occurs. Hunting by youth with firearms will be allowed on select days in the Bradley Unit. These youth hunt opportunities will be awarded by lottery prior to the hunt days. Feral hog: Take will be allowed incidental to white-tailed deer hunting using equipment approved for the particular white-tailed deer hunt. There will be no limit on the size or number of feral hogs that may be taken. Why is the use being proposed? Hunting is one of the priority public uses identified by Executive Order 12996 (1996), the NWRSAA, and the NWRSIA. Hunting as summarized by this document allows the public to experience natural resources without materially interfering with the purposes of the refuge or mission of the NWRS. By allowing this use, hunters can participate in a traditional, wildlife- oriented recreational activity; use a sustainable and renewable natural resource; and gain a better understanding of the importance of the refuge and the NWRS in protecting wildlife and wild lands. Recently, the Service coordinated with the states of Alabama and Georgia to better align Eufaula NWR hunts with those of Alabama and Georgia, resulting in this proposed updated compatibility determination. The changes from the past hunting compatibility determination would include: extending the waterfowl hunt daily deadline from noon to sunset in both Alabama and Georgia on the last day of the refuge hunt within the states’ seasons, expanding dove hunting from the Houston Unit to all other Alabama refuge units, providing dove hunting in Alabama after the start of deer archery season within the month of October, and aligning dove hunt hours with those set by the State of Alabama. Availability of Resources: Annual costs for provided hunting opportunities as summarized by this document include staff time from the Refuge Manager, Administrative Officer, Federal Wildlife Officer, Engineering Equipment Operator, and Hunt Administrator; facilities operation and maintenance; and supplies (Table 1). These costs are partially offset by revenue generated from fee collection. The Federal Wildlife Officer position is currently vacant; a small portion of the services provided by this position is currently provided by state officers and the Zone Federal Wildlife Officer. Adequate resources are available to manage hunting as identified in this document. Table 1: Summary of costs associated with the Eufaula National Wildlife Refuge hunt program. Category Item Cost ($) Staff Refuge Manager 23,000 Administrative Officer 10,000 Federal Wildlife Officer 23,000 Engineering Equipment Operator 10,000 Hunt Administrator 12,000 Facilities Check stations (2) 3,000 Operation and Roads/trails 2,000 Maintenance Blinds 3,000 Signs 1,000 Utilities 2,000 3 Category Item Cost ($) Supplies Brochures/Permits 1,500 Mailings 300 Portable restrooms 1,500 Revenue -12,000 Total 80,300 Anticipated Impacts of the Use: Hunting as outlined in this document has the potential to affect refuge habitat, wildlife, public use, and culturally important sites; however, these impacts would not be considered significant. Hunting of these species was previously analyzed in the associated Environmental Assessment (EA; USFWS 2008a) and previously outlined and approved in the Comprehensive Conservation Plan (CCP), hunting compatibility determination, and Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) (USFWS 2008b). The current proposal would expand what was previously approved in the CCP’s FONSI (USFWS 2008b). These proposed changes would be considered minor changes to the existing hunting use with negligible to minor associated impacts anticipated for the human environment. For waterfowl hunting, the proposed changes would represent less than a 10% increase in the waterfowl hunting visitation. Currently, dove hunting visitation is less than one percent of total hunting visitation; this would not change under the proposed action. Eufaula NWR does not have high quality dove habitat and it is not a popular dove hunting destination. Some of the more common and/or notable