RIDGEFIELD — The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is proposing to continue its waterfowl hunting program at Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge without changes, and not opening the south end of Bachelor Island.
The agency has developed four draft alternatives for management of the 5,150-acre refuge for the next 15 years and is taking comment through July 16.
In early 2009, the service unveiled four “preliminary” alternatives for Ridgefield refuge. The preferred preliminary alternative closed 207 acres at the south end the River S unit adjacent to the Roth unit to hunting to provide a larger sanctuary for dusky Canada geese and sandhill cranes.
Comments are due by July 16. Send to Bob Flores, Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge, P.O. Box 457, Ridgefield, Wash., 98642. The e-mail address is FW1PlanningComments@fws.gov. Include Ridgefield NWR DCCP/EA in the subject line.
As part of closing the south end of the River S unit, the preliminary alternative opened 292 acres on the south end of Bachelor Island.
Bob Flores, refuge complex manager, said the public has suggested both a significant expansion of the waterfowl hunting area and closing hunting.
Adding more hunting is not in the preferred alternative because that would conflict with providing adequate sanctuary for dusky Canada and cackling geese, he said.
Closing hunting is not included because waterfowl hunting is one of the reasons the refuge was established, he added.
Closing the auto tour route on hunting days is not included because it would take away from refuge visitors who want to view and photograph wildlife during waterfowl season, Flores said.
Visitor use has jumped from about 22,000 a year in the 1980s to 162,000 this decade. Most of the increase is for wildlife observation and photography, along with environmental education from local schools.
Other highlights of the new preferred alternative (Alternative 2) include:
o Keeping the existing auto tour route open all year, but shortening it from 4.3 miles to 4 miles to reduce disturbance to dusky Canada geese and sandhill cranes.
o Developing a new access point to the River S unit, including a two-lane bridge and one-mile access road. The new access would start farther north on Port of Ridgefield property. The existing entrance would be abandoned and the bridge demolished.
o Constructing a 1.5-mile dike-top wildlife observation trail on the north end of the River S unit.
o Increasing crops and wet meadow acreage to benefit dusky geese and sandhill cranes.
o Increasing control of invasives species in the bottomland forests and oak woodlands.
o Studying the potential for reintroducing whitetail deer and western pond turtles, both native species.
o Increasing environmental, cultural and interpretative programs.
The other alternatives include:
Alternative 1 — The Fish and Wildlife Service would continue its existing program. This is a baseline to compare the three other alternatives and is required by the National Environmental Policy Act.
Alternative 3 — The 207 acres at the south end of the River S unit would be closed to goose hunting, but remain open to duck hunting. A two-lane bridge would be built at the current location to eliminate crossing the railroad tracks.
The current River S unit entrance road would be relocated and widened. The 1.5-mile dike-top trail would be built on the north end of the River S unit.
Alternative 4 — The south end of the River S unit would close to all waterfowl hunting and 250 acres would open to hunting on Bachelor Island.
The new area would provide open-field goose hunting, different for the refuge, plus limited duck hunting. The north portion of the Bachelor Island hunt area would close on Jan. 15 to prevent disturbance to a great blue heron nesting colony.
This alternative increases hunting acreage slightly, from 790 to 830 acres.
The south end of the auto-tour route would close Oct. 1 to March 15, reducing its length from 4.3 to 2.6 miles. A cutoff would be placed north of Rest Lake.
A new access point would be developed to the River S unit, including a two-lane bridge and one-mile access road. The 1.5-mile dike-top trail would be added to the River S unit.
