Comments on Cormorants
For Immediate Release from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service:
Public Comment Invited on Draft Environmental Assessment for Double-crested Cormorant Management in Wisconsin
State and federal natural resource
agencies are seeking public comments on an environmental assessment (EA) that
lays out a plan to manage damage and conflicts caused by double-crested
cormorants in Wisconsin.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture, Animal
and Plant Health Inspection Service’s Wildlife Services, the Interior
Department’s U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and its Horicon, Green Bay, and
Gravel Islands National Wildlife Refuges, and the Wisconsin Department of
Natural Resources have drafted a plan to reduce double-crested cormorant damage
and conflicts in Wisconsin. Wildlife Services is the lead agency for the EA; the
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
are cooperating agencies.
The EA proposes an Integrated Wildlife
Damage Management approach to reduce cormorant damage to property, aquaculture
and natural resources, and cormorant-related risks to public safety. Cormorant
damage management could be conducted anywhere in Wisconsin, but the plan
emphasizes the Green Bay and Lake Winnebago areas where concerns about cormorant
impacts on fish, vegetation and co-nesting waterbirds like black-crowned
night-herons and great egrets are greatest.
Under the proposed alternative, physical
exclusion, habitat modification or harassment would be used to reduce
double-crested cormorant damage when appropriate. In other situations, cormorant
populations might be managed by shooting, egg oiling or destruction, nest
destruction, or euthanasia following live capture.
Other management approaches considered
include an alternative limiting federal agencies to only using non-lethal
methods, an option limiting federal involvement to technical advice, and an
approach with no federal involvement in cormorant damage management.
Double-crested cormorants are large,
fish-eating birds that nest in colonies and roost together in large numbers. A
reduction in eggshell-thinning pesticides (primarily DDT), increased protection
under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, and abundant food resources on their
breeding and wintering grounds have greatly increased cormorant numbers and
distribution in the last 30 years. The current double-crested cormorant
population in North America is estimated at two million birds, nearly 70 percent
of which are in the interior population, which includes Wisconsin.
The Wisconsin cormorant population was
state-listed as endangered in 1972, but increased to 2,213 nesting pairs in
1985. Delisted in 1986, nesting pair numbers increased to 10,546 in 1997 and
14,882 in 2005. More than 80 percent of the nesting pairs in Wisconsin are in
the Lower Green Bay and Door County areas. Substantial numbers of cormorants
migrating through Wisconsin in spring and fall also can contribute to damage and
conflicts.
Under the proposed alternative, and
several other alternatives being considered, efforts would be made to reduce the
number of nesting cormorants in the Green Bay area. The initial proposal is to
primarily use egg-oiling for several years to gradually reduce the number of
nesting cormorants in the Green Bay area from 14,970 pairs in 2007 to 6,000
nesting pairs. A combination of methods would be used to prevent cormorants from
colonizing new sites in the Green Bay area with sensitive plant species or
tree-nesting herons and egrets.
In 2003, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service issued regulations allowing more flexibility in the management of
double-crested cormorants where they are causing damage to aquaculture stock and
public resources such as fisheries, vegetation and other birds. Agencies
implementing the new regulations must have landowner permission, may not
adversely affect other migratory birds or threatened or endangered species, and
must satisfy annual reporting and evaluation requirements. The Fish and Wildlife
Service will ensure the long-term sustainability of cormorant populations
through oversight of activities and regular population monitoring.
Copies of the EA on double-crested
cormorant damage management may be downloaded from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service’s Web site at
http://www.fws.gov/midwest/MidwestBird/cormorants.htm or the USDA-APHIS
Wildlife Services web site at
http://www.aphis.usda.gov/wildlife_damage/nepa.shtml. Hard copies may be
obtained by contacting USDA-APHIS Wildlife Services, 732 Lois Dr., Sun Prairie,
WI 53590, (608) 837-2727, FAX (608) 837-6754.
Written comments on the EA will be
accepted through September 25, 2008. Written comments should be submitted to the
above address for USDA-APHIS Wildlife Services. When faxing a comment, a copy
should also be mailed to ensure that a complete version of the text is received.
The mission of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service is working with others to conserve, protect and enhance fish, wildlife,
plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. We
are both a leader and trusted partner in fish and wildlife conservation, known
for our scientific excellence, stewardship of lands and natural resources,
dedicated professionals and commitment to public service. For more information
on our work and the people who make it happen, visit
http://www.fws/gov.
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