Avian Predation In The Columbia Plateau Region Management Monitoring And Evaluation

"The primary objectives of this study in 2019 were to: (1) implement and evaluate the Inland Avian Predation Management Plan (IAPMP; USACE 2014), including adaptive management actions, in order to dissuade Caspian terns (Hydroprogne caspia) from nesting on Crescent Island, Goose Island, and elsewhere in Potholes Reservoir to reduce tern predation on Endangered Species Act (ESA)-listed juvenile salmonids (Oncorhynchus spp.); (2) investigate the distribution, colony size, and smolt impacts of unmanaged piscivorous colonial waterbirds (i.e. California gulls [Larus californicus], ring-billed gulls [L. delawarensis], American white pelicans [Pelecanus erythrorhynchos]), and double-crested cormorants [Phalacrocorax auratus] to help identify immerging avian predation issues in the Columbia Plateau region (CPR) that may be of concern to resource managers; and (3) calculate aggregate estimates of avian predation (i.e. consumption by all predator species and colonies combined within a specific river reach) and estimates of reach-specific survival of juvenile salmonids during downstream passage. Collectively, these objectives address several management-relevant questions needed to maximize the benefits to ESA-listed salmonids in managing piscivorous colonial waterbirds, while also maintaining a multiyear avian predation dataset in the Columbia River basin."--Project Objectives (pages 6-7).

The primary goal of this report is to assemble and summarize results from previous published and unpublished studies of avian predation in the Columbia River basin (CRB) and to present results from retrospective analyses of data from previous studies to identify long‐term patterns and trends. Results of these analyses are vital for assessing the efficacy of management initiatives to reduce predation impacts on Endangered Species Act‐listed juvenile salmonids by Caspian terns and double‐crested cormorants in the CRB and to inform an adaptive approach that ensures that management objectives are fully achieved and sustained into the future. These analyses are also essential for evaluating how management actions have and will continue to affect populations of piscivorous colonial waterbirds in the CRB and throughout the Pacific Flyway, populations of native species that are protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. Finally, we hope that this report will serve as a comprehensive repository of results from research, monitoring, and evaluation of avian predation during 1997–2019 and provide a single‐source document on the topic for regional managers, stakeholders, researchers, and the public.

"This Inland Avian Predation Management Plan (IAPMP) Environmental Assessment (EA) addresses a set of proposed actions to reduce avian predation on federal Endangered Species Act (ESA)-listed salmonids in the inland Columbia River Basin above Bonneville Dam. This EA identifies a purpose and need, develops and evaluates a set of alternatives to meet the purpose and need, considers the trade-offs of the alternatives and selects a preferred alternative. The IAPMP (Appendix A) was developed as a guide for the implementation of the preferred alternative in this EA and includes detailed recommendations for implementation, monitoring, and adaptive management. The development of an IAPMP is a requirement of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) 2008 Federal Columbia River Power System (FCRPS) Biological Opinion as updated in the 2010 Supplemental FCRPS Biological Opinion (referred to collectively as the BiOp unless the date is specified). The EA identifies actions to reduce predation on salmonids in the inland Columbia River Basin and focuses on the management of Caspian terns (CATEs) at Goose and Crescent Islands, habitat enhancement to attract CATEs to areas outside the Columbia River Basin, and adaptive management actions to limit the formation of incipient colonies within the basin. The IAPMP and Adaptive Management Plan (AMP) are included as an appendix to this document (Appendix A) which can be referenced for additional details on implementation."--Introduction (page 1).

This technical reference applies to monitoring situations involving a single plant species, such as an indicator species, key species, or weed. It was originally developed for monitoring special status plants, which have some recognized status at the Federal, State, or agency level because of their rarity or vulnerability. Most examples and discussions in this technical reference focus on these special status species, but the methods described are also applicable to any single-species monitoring and even some community monitoring situations.We thus hope wildlife biologists, range conservationists, botanists, and ecologists will all find this technical reference helpful.

In the face of so many unprecedented changes in our environment, the pressure is on scientists to lead the way toward a more sustainable future. Written by a team of ecologists, Monitoring Animal Populations and Their Habitats: A Practitioner’s Guide provides a framework that natural resource managers and researchers can use to design monitoring programs that will benefit future generations by distilling the information needed to make informed decisions. In addition, this text is valuable for undergraduate- and graduate-level courses that are focused on monitoring animal populations. With the aid of more than 90 illustrations and a four-page color insert, this book offers practical guidance for the entire monitoring process, from incorporating stakeholder input and data collection, to data management, analysis, and reporting. It establishes the basis for why, what, how, where, and when monitoring should be conducted; describes how to analyze and interpret the data; explains how to budget for monitoring efforts; and discusses how to assemble reports of use in decision-making. The book takes a multi-scaled and multi-taxa approach, focusing on monitoring vertebrate populations and upland habitats, but the recommendations and suggestions presented are applicable to a variety of monitoring programs. Lastly, the book explores the future of monitoring techniques, enabling researchers to better plan for the future of wildlife populations and their habitats. Monitoring Animal Populations and Their Habitats: A Practitioner’s Guide furthers the goal of achieving a world in which biodiversity is allowed to evolve and flourish in the face of such uncertainties as climate change, invasive species proliferation, land use expansion, and population growth.