Wanaket Wildlife Area BCS number: 48-30

Transcription

1 Oregon Coordinated Aquatic Bird Monitoring: Description of Important Aquatic Bird Site Wanaket Wildlife Area BCS number: Site description author(s) M. Cathy Nowak, ODFW, Ladd Marsh Wildlife Area Biologist Primary contact for this site Jenny Barnett, Wanaket Wildlife Area biologist, Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation. Phone: (541) Site location (UTM) Datum: NAD 83, Zone: 11, Easting: , Northing: General description Wanaket (Water in Trees) is managed by the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation (CTUIR) to provide wildlife habitat protection, enhancement, and mitigation. The Bonneville Power Administration (BPA), working with the Northwest Power Planning Council, purchased the property in 1992 as partial mitigation for the impacts associated with the construction of McNary Dam and the inundation of wildlife habitats by Lake Wallula. Wanaket is located two miles east of the Junction of Oregon Highways 395 and 730 on Highway 730. The area includes over 2,700 acres of upland, wetland and aquatic habitats including many important natural and cultural resources (CTUIR). Boundaries and ownership Boundaries: The area is roughly bounded by McNary Beach Road on the west, Purdy Road on the south, Craig Road on the east and private land adjacent to the Columbia River on the north. Ownership: The Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation (CTUIR) Water levels Water levels at Wanaket are managed by CTUIR for the benefit of wildlife and within the limitations of water availability. The ponds and wetland on Wanaket were created as a BPA wildlife mitigation project. Description updated 4/30/2010 1

2 Focal species use and timing Focal Guild/Species Wintering Breeding Migration Secretive Marsh Birds Absent Present Present Colonial Nesting Waterbirds Absent Present Unknown Ground-based Aquatic Birds Unknown Present Unknown Migrating Shorebirds Absent Absent Unknown American White Pelican Unknown Present Unknown Barrow s Goldeneye Unknown Absent Unknown Black-necked Stilt Absent Present Present Bufflehead Unknown Present Present Dusky Canada Goose Unknown Unknown Unknown Franklin s Gull Unknown Unknown Unknown Greater Sandhill Crane Absent Absent Present Long-billed Curlew Absent Present Present Snowy Egret Absent Absent Absent Red-Necked Grebe Unknown Absent Unknown Upland Sandpiper Unknown Unknown Unknown Western Snowy Plover Absent Absent Absent Yellow Rail Absent Absent Absent *The focal species for Oregon s aquatic secretive marsh bird monitoring are PBGR, LEBI, AMBI, VIRA, SORA, YERA. American White Pelicans are present on the Columbia River and may use Wanaket ponds but do not breed on Wanaket. Location of Type 1 and 2 habitat within the site* Guild Type 1 Habitat Type 2 Habitat Secretive Marsh Birds Cattail and bulrush bands at edges of ponds None Ground-based Aquatic Birds Edges of ponds Open water Migrating Shorebirds Unknown Unknown Colonial Nesters Foraging habitat only in emergent vegetation unknown *See Figure 1 of Google Earth (2008) map with the USFWS National Wetland Inventory (2008) layer Description updated 4/30/2010 2

3 Access to Type 1 and 2 habitat and visibility/audibility of birds Access is restricted; gates are locked and a key may be obtained from CTUIR. Administrative roads are rough and slow and high clearance 4WD is needed. Surveys require adequate time to compensate for slow travel between stations. A few stations close to Highway 730 experience enough noise to make detection difficult at times. Ponds are generally small and discreet so most calling birds present on a pond can be heard from a single station. See Figures 3 and 4 for general road maps (CTUIR, and Google Map 2009). Past and current surveys Secretive Marsh Bird surveys were conducted following the North American Marsh Bird Monitoring protocol in No secretive marsh bird surveys had been conducted prior to 2008.Any data on presence/absence of marsh birds prior to 2008 was data collected incidental to other surveys and activities on the wildlife area. See Figure 2 for Wanaket Wildife Area marsh bird surveys. Conservation issues Water availability Conservation measures taken, in progress, or proposed Restoration work has included installation of fish screens, water control structures, and an upgrade of the irrigation system, allowing managers to manipulate water levels for wildlife. With the assistance of the Oregon Duck Hunters Association, future plans include removing more than 20 acres of Russian olive trees that have invaded areas along irrigation canals, and reestablishing native cottonwoods and willows. Managers also plan to add to the system of canals to link the potholes and create additional wetlands habitat (OHJV 2002). Description updated 4/30/2010 3

4 Potential survey methods a. Description: The North American Marsh Bird Monitoring Protocol works well at this site. Although some areas have issues with road noise, this can be dealt with by timing surveys for low traffic periods. b. Selection Bias: Site selection bias can be introduced by selecting only sites with quality habitat. However, the bias would eventually be compensated for as the habitat quality changes with maturation of vegetation as well as water levels and vegetation management activities. Accessibility for surveys introduces another source of selection bias if stations need to be accessed by vehicle. The currently established stations for marsh bird monitoring were selected by noting all ponds with potential marsh bird habitat and placing a survey station at an accessible location on each pond. The resulting stations were reduced in number so that each replicate of all stations could be completed in two days. c. Measurement error and bias: Measurement error and bias are both introduced by the hearing acuity and call identification skill of the surveyors. The distance of the calling bird from the listener can be difficult to estimate and even very rough estimates require some experience. Some surveyors may hear the low range calls of American bittern very easily while others will hear only those bitterns that are close by. Multiple-observer surveys can help minimize this bias. Error can also be caused by moving birds. Many secretive marsh birds will approach the speaker during call playback and afterward but, if they are not visually observed, may be recorded as more than one bird. Manning and Hartley (2006) suggest that a ground-based survey for all aquatic birds would be valuable, and would probably need to be conducted by staff. Also, determining whether a migrating shorebird survey, and/or a colony survey would be beneficial. Potential pilot studies Description updated 4/30/2010 4

5 Literature cited Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation. Wanaket Wildlife Area. Accessed October 23, Google Earth version Image: Wanaket Wildlife Area, Oregon. Accessed 23 October Google Map Wanaket Wildlife Area, Oregon. Accessed March 20, Manning, Ann and Laura Hartley. March Important sites for aquatic birds in Eastern Oregon. Version 2.0 Oregon Habitat Joint Venture Columbia Basin Projects: Wanaket Wildlife Area. Accessed October 23, 2008 U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) National Wetlands Inventory website. U. S. Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service, Washington, D.C. Accessed October 23, Description updated 4/30/2010 5

6 Figure 1: Google Earth (2008) map of Wanaket Wildlife Area with the USFWS National Wetlands Inventory (2008) layer Description updated 4/30/2010 6

7 Figure 2: Wanaket Wildlife Area Marsh Bird Surveys Description updated 4/30/2010 7

8 Figure 3: Wanaket Wildlife Mitigation Area Hunt Program Map (CTUIR). Description updated 4/30/2010 8

9 Figure 4: Google Map (2009) road view of Wanaket Wildlife Area. Description updated 4/30/2010 9