U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Humboldt Bay National Wildlife Refuge Complex Planning Update #1—Winter 2007 Humboldt Bay NWR Greetings from the Refuge Manager Complex Overview The Humboldt Bay National Wildlife the beginning of the planning process and Refuge Complex is about to embark information about attending our public Humboldt Bay National Wildlife on an important two-year process to scoping meetings. Refuge (NWR) Complex, develop a Comprehensive Conservation which includes Plan (CCP) for the Refuge Complex. We will Humboldt Bay This CCP will help guide overall refuge frequently National management for the next 15 years. refer to Wildlife Your ideas and comments will be an aspects Refuge important part of the process, so I’d like of the (HBNWR) to invite you to participate by providing background and Castle your suggestions for refuge complex materials Rock National management. provided Wildlife Refuge Aleutian in this Photo © Jamie Bettaso (CRNWR), is located cackling goose Before we begin the process, I’d like to planning Red-legged frog on the northwest provide background information about update California coast. In 1971 the HBNWR was the Refuges’ history, operation, and goals. throughout the CCP process. established to conserve coastal habitats You’ll also find some information about Understanding the planning process will for a great diversity of animals and plants, the National Wildlife Refuge System help all of us start on the same page when especially migratory birds. In later years and how comprehensive conservation we begin our public scoping meetings. the refuge added the Lanphere and Ma- planning fits le’l Dunes Units, to help conserve the most into the overall Please contact me or David Bergendorf pristine remaining dune ecosystem on the picture of refuge if you have any questions. See page 7 to west coast of North America. management. learn about the CCP process and page 8 for our phone numbers and email addresses. The refuge complex also includes Castle Planning will Rock NWR, a 14-acre island located in Del officially begin Norte County, less than a mile northwest during the winter of Crescent City. This refuge hosts one of of 2006-07. This is the largest and most diverse colonies of our first planning Eric Nelson breeding seabirds on the Pacific coast and update describing Project Leader/Refuge Manager provides a roost for approximately 20,000 Humboldt Bay Owl’s Aleutian cackling geese during their Clover migration. Contents Humboldt Bay NWRC P.O. Box 576 Overview .......................................................1 1020 Ranch Rd. Loleta, CA 95551-9633 About FWS and the Refuge System ..........2 Humboldt Bay NWR ....................................3 Map/Approved Refuge Boundary .............3 Humboldt Bay NWR Map ...........................4 Ma-le’l Dunes ...............................................5 Castle Rock NWR ........................................6 What is a CCP? .............................................7 Help Us Plan .................................................8 What is the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service? “Wild beasts The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service The FWS enforces Federal wildlife laws, (FWS) is the principal federal agency administers the Endangered Species Act, and birds are responsible for conserving, protecting manages migratory bird populations, and enhancing fish, wildlife and plants restores nationally significant fisheries, by right not the and their habitats for the continuing conserves and restores wildlife habitat benefit of the American people. such as wetlands, and helps foreign governments with their conservation property merely The Service manages the 95 million efforts. It also oversees the Federal acre National Wildlife Refuge System Assistance program that distributes of people who which encompasses 545 national wildlife hundreds of millions of dollars in excise refuges, thousands of small wetlands taxes on fishing and hunting equipment are alive today, and other special management areas. to state fish and wildlife agencies. The FWS also operates 66 national fish but the property hatcheries, 64 fishery resource offices of unknown and 78 ecological services field stations. generations whose belongings we have no right to squander.” —President Theodore Roosevelt Dunlin What’s in a name? Many people confuse state and federal What is the National Wildlife fish and wildlife agencies because their names are similar. The U.S. Fish and Refuge System? Wildlife Service (FWS) is a federal agency within the U.S. Department of In 1903 President Theodore Roosevelt 20.6 million acres in the Refuge System Interior. The California Department of protected an island with nesting pelicans, are managed as wilderness under the Fish and Game (DFG) is a department herons, ibis, and roseate spoonbills in Wilderness Act of 1964. within the California Resources Agency. Florida’s Indian River from feather collectors decimating their colonies. In 1997 Congress passed the National Our names are similar and so are our He established Pelican Island as the Wildlife Refuge System Improvement missions: Both agencies are dedicated nation’s first bird sanctuary and went Act (Improvement Act), legislation to the conservation of wildlife for the on to establish many other sanctuaries which provides clear guidance for the benefit of present and future generations. for wildlife during his tenure. This small management of the Refuge System. The Our jurisdictions are different. The FWS network of sanctuaries continued to act included a new statutory mission is the lead agency responsible for federal expand, later becoming the National statement and directed the Service to Endangered Species Act listed plant Wildlife Refuge System. manage the Refuge System as a national and animal species and migratory birds, system of lands and waters devoted to whether they are located on federal, Today, over 100 years later, Humboldt conserving wildlife and maintaining state, or private lands. The DFG has Bay and Castle Rock National Wildlife biological integrity of ecosystems. primary responsibility for resident fish Refuges are two of more than 545 and wildlife on state and private lands, National Wildlife Refuges encompassing The Improvement Act requires the FWS and oversees California Endangered nearly 95 million acres nationwide. to develop a comprehensive conservation Species Act listed plant and animal The National Wildlife Refuge System plan for each refuge. It also stated that species and stream alteration issues (System) is the largest system of lands certain wildlife-dependent recreational throughout California. in the world dedicated primarily to the uses are priority public uses on refuges conservation of fish,wildlife and plants. and strengthened the compatibility Humboldt Bay NWR Complex is The System is spread across 50 states, determination process for assuring that managed by the FWS, which coordinates American Samoa, Puerto Rico, the Virgin these and other activities do not conflict with DFG on a variety of management Islands, Johnston Atoll, Midway Atoll, with refuge management purposes and issues. and several other Pacific Islands. About goals. Humboldt Bay NWR Humboldt Bay NWR Project Location and Watershed Humboldt Bay National Wildlife Refuge (HBNWR) is located in Humboldt County, California, with refuge units within and adjacent to Humboldt Bay and associated watersheds. The approved refuge boundary is roughly defined by Hookton Road on the South, Mad River County Park on the north, Highway 101 Arcata and Mad River Slough on the east, and the Pacific Ocean on the west (see map). History of Humboldt Bay NWR In 1971, Humboldt Bay National Wildlife Refuge was established to conserve habitat for the great diversity of birds, mammals, fish, amphibians, invertebrates, and plants that occur in the Humboldt Bay area. Between 1971 and 1988 the refuge acquired what are now the Jacoby Creek, Eureka Slough, Table Bluff, Hookton Slough and White Slough Units. When the refuge acquired Eureka the lands that are now the Salmon Creek Unit, there were two staff added and the original management plan was written. The northern dune units of the refuge were added more recently. In 1998, The Nature Conservancy donated the Lanphere Dunes Unit to the refuge and in 2006 the Ma-le’l Dunes Unit was added. The refuge currently consists of 10 different units that total almost 4,000 Fields Landing acres and are managed by a permanent staff of six people along with many volunteers and cooperators. Overview of Humboldt Bay NWRs Habitats and Resources The Refuge’s 10 units consist of a mosaic of mudflats, estuarine eelgrass meadows, saltmarsh, brackish marsh, grasslands, seasonally flooded freshwater wetlands, riparian wetlands, streams, coastal dunes, and forest. These habitats support staging area for over 60 percent of the Raptors (eagles, hawks, and owls) and over 316 species of birds, 40 species brant’s flyway population prior to their songbirds also make significant use of the of mammals, and include two globally return to arctic nesting grounds. habitats around the bay. threatened dune plant communities. The refuge also provides habitat for Other birds that depend heavily upon The main reasons for the waterbird approximately 100 species of fish and the Bay and surrounding habitats for concentrations are the bay’s location marine invertebrates, many of which food include waterfowl such as Aleutian on the Pacific Flyway and the eelgrass contribute to sport or commercial cackling geese, wigeon, green-winged