Draft Compatibility Determination for Fishing on Minidoka National Wildlife Refuge Use: Fishing Refuge Name: Minidoka National Wildlife Refuge (NWR, Refuge) Location: Minidoka, Blaine, Cassia, and Power Counties, Idaho Date Established: 1909 Establishing and Acquisition Authorities: • Executive Order (E.O.) 1032, February 25, 1909, (established several reservoir sites, including Minidoka NWR, as “preserves and breeding grounds for native birds”) • E.O. 1486, February 21, 1912 (enlarged the Refuge to include all of Lake Walcott) • E.O. 5375, June 23, 1930 (enlarged the Refuge) • E.O. 7417, July 17, 1936 (superseded, through revocation, E.O.s 1032, 1486, 5375; withdrew lands “as a refuge and breeding ground for birds and other wildlife…The greater part of the land herein reserved has been withdrawn for reclamation purposes in connection with the Minidoka Irrigation Project…The reservation of such land as a wildlife refuge is subject to the use thereof by said Department for irrigation and incidental purposes.”). • E.O. 8600, November 26, 1940 (changed the name of the Refuge from “Minidoka Wildlife Refuge” to “Minidoka National Wildlife Refuge;” added 360 acres (withdrawn for reclamation purposes) to the Refuge boundary. Refuge Purposes: • “. .as a refuge and breeding ground for birds and other wildlife” (Executive Order 7417, July 17, 1936). National Wildlife Refuge System Mission: “…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” (National Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act of 1966, as amended [16 U.S.C. 668dd-668ee et seq.]). Description of Use Current Use: Fishing is the most popular of the priority wildlife-dependent recreational activities on the Refuge. The Refuge lies within the Idaho Department of Fish and Game (IDFG) general season area (waters open year-round to fishing). The entire shoreline of Lake Walcott within the Refuge is open to bank fishing year round. The entire reservoir is open to fishing from standard float tubes year round. However, to protect sensitive wildlife resources, boat use is limited to those areas of Lake Walcott (approximately 4,700 acres) designated as open to boating in the Code of Federal Regulations. Minidoka NWR Draft Compatibility Determination for Fishing June 2019 1 Boating is currently allowed from April 1 through September 30, in the following portions of Lake Walcott: (1) within the area delineated by rows of buoys near Bird Island and the south shoreline, and (2) within the Gifford and Smith Springs boat fishing lanes (300 acres), delineated by signs on the riverbank as well as buoy lines across the east and west ends of the respective open areas. See Attachment 1, Refuge Public Use Map, also available at: http://cmsstage.fws.doi.net/uploadedFiles/Minidoka%20Map.pdf#a Average annual recreation visits to the Refuge between 2009–2014 were estimated at 65,000. Most of this visitation was associated with Lake Walcott State Park, which lies on the Refuge and has facilities for picnicking and overnight camping. Fishing (from boats and bank fishing) is the most popular activity outside of Lake Walcott State Park, with approximately 12,500 visits annually. The majority of fishing occurs from boats. Fishing from float tubes is not closely monitored and is thought to be infrequent. The Refuge also hosts several bass tournaments annually, starting in April. Spring and summer fishing on the Refuge are focused on fishing for smallmouth bass, other warmwater fish, and to a lesser degree, trout, from boats. When Lake Walcott freezes, ice fishing is allowed anywhere on the Refuge, subject to areas posted by the Bureau of Reclamation. Winter anglers are primarily in pursuit of rainbow trout. It is the angler’s responsibility to confirm and understand the hazards associated with this activity. Most fishing opportunities are accessed by boat. There are three boating access points on the Refuge; two have boat ramps. Most boats launch from the boat ramp at Lake Walcott State Park, which has a large paved parking area and modern docking facilities. There is also a two-lane gravel road on the south side of the Refuge to the Gifford Springs boat lane; this can be accessed from Exit 15 on I-86 via County Road 2950E. A 12-space gravel parking lot and boat ramp are provided at the Gifford Springs access point. Another road leads from Old Highway 30N (Baseline Road) to the Smith Springs boat lane. Gifford Springs and Smith Springs can also be accessed from the north side of Lake Walcott via the North Refuge Road, however, this road is primitive and there are no boat launches. There is a short paved trail in Lake Walcott State Park that includes a disabled access fishing pier. The North Refuge Road and the Lakeshore Trail originating at Lake Walcott State Park are used to access bank fishing. The Lakeview Trail starts at the boat ramp at Lake Walcott State Park and follows the north shore of Lake Walcott for 1.13 miles. A segment of the North Alternate route of the Oregon Trail starts near Smith Springs on the north side of Lake Walcott and extends approximately 7 miles to Gifford Springs. Neither trail is regularly maintained (USFWS, Trail Inventory, 2011). The Bird Island Road (9.44 miles) and the Tule Island Access Road (0.7 miles) are closed to motor vehicles except during the hunting season, but are open to foot traffic year round and can be used to access shoreline fishing opportunities. In 2018, nine Special Use Permits (SUPs) were issued for fishing tournaments, with tournaments occurring from April through September. Tournaments range in size from small club tournaments of five to ten boats, to a maximum of 20 boats. Participants in tournaments are required to abide by all area closures and state fishing regulations. All bass tournaments must launch from Lake Walcott State Park. The Refuge charges a fee of $100 for each bass tournament. Minidoka NWR Draft Compatibility Determination for Fishing June 2019 2 Proposed Changes to Described Use: The Service proposes to extend the boating season on Lake Walcott by one month. The proposed boating season would run from April 1 through October 31. Other than the change of boating dates, the fishing program would remain unchanged. Availability of Resources Minidoka NWR is open to all of the priority, wildlife-dependent recreational activities, including fishing, and the infrastructure is there for all of these user groups. Even though fishing is the most popular visitor activity, to date only a limited number of facilities have been developed specifically for fishing. Because the Service has limited capacity to staff and maintain facilities and provide law enforcement, the Service will explore all available options to obtain funding to implement these projects, including partnership efforts. Currently, most on-water law enforcement is provided by the Minidoka County Sheriff’s Office. The Minidoka County Sheriff’s Office Marine division operates a 21-foot jet rescue and patrol boat and two personal watercraft on patrol at Lake Walcott at Minidoka Dam and 33 miles of the Snake River from Minidoka Dam to Milner Dam. Besides law enforcement, the marine division is also called upon for water rescue, boating accident investigation, and rescue and recovery diving. If the Sheriff’s Office ever decided to discontinue this assistance, there would be additional costs associated with maintaining this use. Because the Sheriff’s Office is not currently able to provide law enforcement for Refuge-specific regulations, it would be important for the Refuge to increase its law enforcement presence and/or work with Minidoka County to enable County deputies to enforce these regulations. Table 1. Costs to Implement the Fishing Program at Minidoka NWR Refuge Activity Estimated One-time Cost Estimated Annual Cost Repair/upgrade boat launch at Gifford Springs $50,000 Install seasonal public use regulation signs* $2,000 Print/reprint general Refuge brochures with new $7,000 $1,000 regulations* Buoy installation and maintenance* $3,000 Replace 25% of regulatory and directional signs* $4,000 Law enforcement officer* $13,000 Total $59,000 $21,000 *Costs shared with boating program Anticipated Impacts The discussion below analyzes impacts of fishing as currently conducted, but it also includes the proposed boating season extension (one month). Impacts to Habitat: A number of studies have investigated the impacts of boats on aquatic plants, including reduced biomass, shorter canopies, reduced overall coverage, and increased scours compared to sites with restricted boat use (Asplund and Cook 1997; Wagner 1991; Zieman 1976). While exclusion zones and closures may not prevent habitat degradation, they can have an effect on minimizing damage to this important habitat (Asplund and Cook 1997). Boating can also have effects on shoreline erosion (Johnson 1994; Nanson et al. 1994), re-suspension of sediments leading to water Minidoka NWR Draft Compatibility Determination for Fishing June 2019 3 clarity issues (Garrad and Hey 1987; Johnson 1994; Yousef et al. 1980), and water pollution (Mastran et al. 1994). Shoreline fishing has been shown to have environmental consequences in the way of soil compaction, degradation of plant communities, and increased contribution to pollution in the form of litter (O’Toole et al. 2009). Shoreline activities, such as human noise, can cause some birds to flush and go elsewhere. In addition, vegetation trampling and deposition of human waste and litter are expected to commonly occur (Liddle and Scorgie 1980). Disturbance and destruction of riparian vegetation, and impacts to bank stability and water quality, may result from high levels of bank fishing activities. Currently, levels of bank fishing are low on the Refuge. Popular shoreline fishing areas have well-worn paths through the vegetation, which fragment and impact habitat in the surrounding area.