U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service HABITAT MANAGEMENT PLAN FOR SABINE NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE Cameron Parish, Louisiana Southeast Region Sabine National Wildlife Refuge Habitat Management Plan U.S. Department of the Interior Fish and Wildlife Service Southeast Region March 2013 Table Of Contents HABITAT MANAGEMENT PLAN Executive Summary .......................................................................................................................... 1 I. Introduction ................................................................................................................................... 3 A. Scope and Rationale .......................................................................................................... 5 B. Refuge Purpose ................................................................................................................. 6 C. Legal Mandates ................................................................................................................. 6 C-1: Establishment of the Refuge .............................................................................. 6 C-2: Federal Laws, Mandates, and Policies ............................................................... 7 D. Relationship to Other Plans .............................................................................................. 7 D-1: National and Regional Plans ............................................................................. 8 D-2: Local and State Plans ..................................................................................... 11 II. Environmental Setting and Background .................................................................................. 15 A. Location ..................................................................................................................... 15 B. Management Compartments and Descriptions .......................................................... 15 C. Physical and Geographic Setting ............................................................................... 19 C-1: Climate ........................................................................................................... 19 C-2: Temperature ................................................................................................... 19 C-3: Precipitation ................................................................................................... 19 C-4: Atmospheric Moisture ..................................................................................... 19 C-5: Lightning ........................................................................................................ 20 C-6: Tropical Cyclones ........................................................................................... 20 C-7: Air Quality ....................................................................................................... 21 C-8: Geomorphology and Topography ................................................................... 21 C-9: Hydrology ....................................................................................................... 22 C-10: Soils .............................................................................................................. 22 C-11: Changing Environmental Conditions .............................................................. 27 C-12: Flyways ......................................................................................................... 27 D. Cultural and Refuge Land History .............................................................................. 30 D-1: Prehistoric Human Occupation .......................................................................... 30 D-2: Historic Human Occupation ............................................................................... 30 D-3: Recent History ................................................................................................... 31 D-4: Prehistoric Habitat Conditions ........................................................................... 31 Table of Contents i D-5: Historic Habitat Conditions ................................................................................31 D-6: Current Habitat Conditions ................................................................................33 D-7: Changes in Habitat Conditions ..........................................................................35 D-8: Climate Change .................................................................................................38 D-9: Habitat Restoration ...........................................................................................41 III. Resources of Concern .............................................................................................................. 49 A. Identification of Refuge Resources of Concern ...........................................................49 A-1: Waterfowl ........................................................................................................49 A-2: Marsh Birds .....................................................................................................51 A-3: Fisheries ..........................................................................................................52 A-4: Species with Complementary Habitat Requirements ........................................52 B. Habitat Requirements of Resources of Concern .........................................................57 B-1: Waterfowl ..........................................................................................................57 B-2: Mottled Duck .....................................................................................................58 B-3: Marsh Birds .......................................................................................................59 B-4: Fisheries ...........................................................................................................60 C. Refuge Contribution to Habitat for Resources of Concern ..........................................60 IV. Habitat Management Goals and Objectives ............................................................................ 66 A. Coastal Marsh Habitat Goal ........................................................................................66 Objective A-1: Impounded Freshwater Marsh Habitat ................................................66 Objective A-2: Unimpounded Marsh Habitat ..............................................................68 Objective A-3: Unimpounded Marsh Habitat Restoration ...........................................69 B. Native Prairie Habitat Goal .........................................................................................70 Objective B-1: Native Prairie ......................................................................................70 C. Aquatic Habitat Goal ...................................................................................................71 Objective C-1: Oligohaline Aquatic Habitat ................................................................71 V. Habitat Management Strategies ............................................................................ 74 A. Impounded Marsh Habitat Strategies .........................................................................74 B. Unimpounded Marsh Strategies .................................................................................76 C. Undesirable Flora Strategies ......................................................................................77 D. Undesirable Fauna Strategies ....................................................................................78 E. Prescribed Fire Strategies ..........................................................................................79 ii Sabine National Wildlife Refuge APPENDICES Appendix A. Literature Cited ......................................................................................................... 82 Appendix B. Authors and Contributors ........................................................................................ 93 Appendix C. Refuge Biota ............................................................................................................. 95 Plants .................................................................................................................................... 95 Animals ............................................................................................................................... 105 Appendix D. Threatened and Endangered Species of Cameron Parish, Louisiana ................ 136 Appendix E. Climate Change Impacts ........................................................................................ 137 Appendix F. Oil and Gas Production on Sabine NWR ............................................................... 139 Oil And Gas Activities .......................................................................................................... 139 General Information ................................................................................................. 139 Wildfires ................................................................................................................... 142 Appendix G. Fish and Wildlife Service Environmental Action Statement for Categorical Exclusion ................................................................................................................ 147 Table of Contents iii LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1. Location of Sabine NWR within the Southwest