U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,
Northeast Region
News Release
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External Affairs Office ~ 300 Westgate Center Drive ~ Hadley, MA 01035-9589 ~ (413) 253-8328
For immediate release, April 30, 1997
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has modified its 1997 program to restore nesting bird habitat on Monomoy National Wildlife Refuge off Cape Cod, Massachusetts, to use harassment, limited shooting and nest trapping of nesting gulls that persist on part of the refuge, according to the Service's Northeast Regional Director, Ronald E. Lambertson at a press briefing in the Chatham, Mass, Town Hall.
Lamberston said the decision came in response to significant public concern expressed during the past year over the project. In 1996, Service staff removed herring and great black-backed gulls from the north end of South Monomoy Island using a gull toxicant to provide nesting habitat for other, less abundant bird species.
"I believe we have a balanced approach for this year's activities," Lambertson said. "Most people understand that we need to provide opportunities on the refuge for shorebirds that no longer have a wide choice of nesting habitat. We'll continue to work toward that goal. However, this change in the project will provide lower benefits for nesting shorebirds because the gull-free area will be smaller and will take longer to establish than if we had continued to use the gull toxicant."
The Service has two management approaches for the 175-acre area of South Monomoy Island where gull nests were treated with the gull toxicant DRC-1339 last year.
Within the northernmost portion of the island, Service staff will use nest trapping and euthanasia, limited shooting, nest and egg destruction, and human presence to remove gulls and discourage new gulls from nesting.
In the second area, immediately south of the first area, Service staff will destroy eggs and nests, but they will only shoot or nest trap gulls that are observed killing tern or plover eggs or chicks.
The remaining 175 acres in the 350-acre project area, where gull nests were not treated with DRC-1339 last year, will be maintained as a control area. Service staff will count populations of nesting gulls, but will not harass or otherwise control them.
On April 18 and 19, Lambertson and other Service staff met in Hyannis, Mass, with representatives of 18 local and national groups in a forum to discuss the project. Using information received during that forum, recommendations from Service staff, and letters and telephone calls from the public, Lambertson decided late last week to alter the methods of controlling the invasive gull population on Monomoy.
The decision on managing the 1997 nesting season comes closely on the heels of the April forum because the Service staff must begin controlling the nesting gull population in the project area immediately to protect other nesting birds. The Service has not yet finalized plans for the project after this year.
The Service's project seeks to remove gulls to provide nesting habitat for a variety of bird species, including those protected by the Endangered Species Act like piping plovers. Projects like this occur in a variety of locations throughout the country; for example, successful habitat restoration projects in Maine increased habitat for terns and puffins, and projects in Massachusetts have increased habitat for terns.
"Several statutory obligations guide the work of the Service, including the Endangered Species Act, the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, and the Refuge Administration Act," Lambertson said.
"The decisions we make about refuge management are not always easy," he continued. "Because of the excellent habitat on Monomoy -- some of the best in the state -- this is where we need to ensure nesting space for species at risk like the piping plover. We are certainly doing no more here than we ask of the state and private landowners in sharing stewardship for threatened and endangered species."
Last year the Service embarked on a four-year project designed to remove gulls from a maximum of 350 acres at the north end of South Monomoy Island. The Service used DRC-1339 in an effort to remove 2,832 nesting gull pairs from 175 acres of the refuge. Almost immediately, roseate terns, black skimmers and laughing gulls returned to nest on the island after a several-year absence. The number of nesting least and common terns rose dramatically. And, the number of nesting piping plovers in the project area increased slightly, although the project occurred after their initial nesting period began.
Bowing to public concern, Lambertson announced during the April forum that he had decided against using DRC-1339 on Monomoy in the foreseeable future. In addition, he pledged to provide an opportunity for the Service and others to learn more about DRC-1339, to adapt management of the project as additional information becomes available, and to look at colonial nesting bird restoration on a regional, rather than local, basis.
"I want to emphasize that we place no judgment on one species over another, nor do we take any pleasure in killing gulls. Unfortunately, we have a gull population that dominates bird nesting habitat on Monomoy, and we would be significantly remiss if we did not, as managers of land held in the public trust, make an effort to redress the situation."
"We appreciate the advice provided to us by the public, especially that so patiently and eloquently expressed by participants in the forum earlier this month," Lambertson said. "I look forward to continuing that dialogue as we work through this challenging situation."
The Service used DRC-1339 once before on Monomoy, in 1980, but halted its use because of public opposition. Service staff then pledged to explore other methods of suppressing the burgeoning Monomoy gull population. Those methods, including shooting and egg and nest destruction, have proved to be crucial to maintaining, but are generally ineffective for establishing, gull-free areas where the Service and other organizations have conducted projects to provide habitat for species at risk.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Northeast Region covers 13 states from Maine to Virginia with more than 100 field offices. Headquarters for the region is located in Hadley, Mass.
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