Fish and Wildlife are talking about encouraging CATEs to nest in new areas
around the state, including Grays Harbor. A couple years ago when Sid
Snyder stopped the process the excuse he used was that CATEs didn't
historically nest in Grays Harbor.

Does anyone know of CATEs nesting in Grays Harbor (or anywhere else on the
coast) prior to the 1970s?

For anyone that's missed the information about the upcoming meetings I've
included the release below.

Bruce Fischer
Aberdeen, WA
stump at techline.com

Six public scoping meetings are scheduled in April and May as the U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service, the National Marine Fisheries Service and the U.S.
Army Corps of Engineers begin work on an Environmental Impact Statement
(EIS) for Caspian Tern Management in the Columbia River estuary. The
proposed study area includes the states of Oregon, Washington, California,
Idaho and Nevada, which comprise a portion of the Pacific Coast/Western
range of Caspian Terns.

The EIS will address Caspian Tern predation of young salmon (smolts) in the
Columbia River estuary; the management of Caspian Terns in the Pacific
Coast/Western region, particularly the tern colony on East Sand Island in
the Columbia River estuary; and the long-term ownership and management of
East Sand Island.

The study also will evaluate whether Caspian Tern habitat should be
created, or existing habitat enhanced, elsewhere in the Pacific
Coast/Western region as a means of dispersing some of the population from
East Sand Island. The Fish and Wildlife Service has conducted a feasibility
study evaluating 77 possible sites, mostly on State or Federal land. The
study can be found at

Among the areas evaluated are sites in or around San Diego Bay, San
Francisco Bay, Monterey Bay, Humboldt Bay, Mono Lake, Tule Lake, and Tulare
Basin in California; Coos Bay, the Umpqua River estuary, Fern Ridge
Reservoir and inland islands in the Columbia River in Oregon; Willapa Bay,
Grays Harbor, and Puget Sound in Washington; Blackfoot Reservoir, Mormon
Reservoir and Bear Lake in Idaho; and Pyramid Lake and Carson Sink areas in
Nevada.

No decisions will be made about any of the possible sites until the EIS is
completed and the public has had a chance to comment.

To begin the EIS process, two public meetings each are planned for
California, Washington and Oregon. At the public meetings, members of the
public will be asked to submit written comments, information and
suggestions on the scope of issues that should be considered in the EIS. No
oral testimony will be taken.

Each meeting will be from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. The meetings are scheduled
for:

April 14, 2003
Oakland Marriott
1001 Broadway
Oakland, California

April 15, 2003
Redwood Park Lodge
East Park Road
Arcata, California

April 28, 2003
Grays Harbor College
1620 Edward P. Smith Drive
Aberdeen, Washington

April 29, 2003
Washington State Capital Museum
211 West 21st Avenue
Olympia, Washington

May 5, 2003
Duncan Law Seafood Center
2021 Marine Drive #200
Astoria, Oregon

May 6, 2003
Double Tree Hotel, Lloyd Center
1000 N.E. Multnomah Boulevard
Portland, Oregon

Nesting by Caspian Terns in the Columbia River estuary has grown
significantly since it was first documented in 1984. Caspian Terns have
concentrated in the estuary because historic nesting sites have been lost
elsewhere in the Pacific Coast/Western region and human-created
dredge-spoil islands offered stable nesting habitat close to abundant
supplies of fish. Approximately 70 percent of the entire Pacific Coast
population of Caspian Terns now nests on East Sand Island, near the mouth
of the Columbia River.


The large concentration of terns may have impacts on listed young salmon
and steelhead migrating through the estuary to the Pacific Ocean. The
listed salmon and steelhead are protected by the Endangered Species Act and
efforts are underway to recover these stocks. The concentration of terns in
this single location also may place the Pacific Coast tern population at
risk of injury from storms, predators, human disturbance and disease.

The EIS will explore whether management actions are necessary to protect
young salmon and steelhead and the Caspian tern colony in the Columbia
River estuary. Federal and State agencies and conservation groups have
agreed to explore the need and opportunity to restore, create and enhance
nesting habitat for Caspian Terns elsewhere in the Pacific Coast/Western
region as one means to reduce and disperse the large tern colony on East
Sand Island. The benefits of this action would reduce the level of tern
predation on out-migrating Columbia River salmon and steelhead smolts and
lower the vulnerability to catastrophic events of a significant portion of
the breeding Caspian Tern population in the Pacific Coast/Western region.


A draft EIS is expected to be released in July 2004 for 60 days of public
review. Another series of public meetings will be held in August 2004. The
final EIS is expected in January 2005.

Written comments on the scope of issues that should be considered in the
Environmental Impact Statement may be submitted by May 22, 2003, to Nanette
Seto, Migratory Birds and Habitat Programs, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,
911 N.E. 11th Avenue, Portland, Oregon 97232 or faxed to 503-231-2019.