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Settlement a Victory for Beleagured Caspian Terns

Agreement Protects World's Largest Colony of America's Biggest Tern

Seattle, Washington, – In what conservationists are hailing as a victory for birds and sound science, a settlement has been reached in the battle to protect the last nesting group of Caspian Terns in the Pacific Northwest (the largest colony of these birds in the world). A settlement in the federal law suit brought by American Bird Conservancy, National Audubon Society (Audubon), Defenders of Wildlife, and Seattle Audubon Society against the Army Corps of Engineers (the Corps) and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) was reached on February 27th and finalized today.

The northwestern tern population was attracted to Rice Island, which was created from dredge material, in the Columbia River Estuary, on the Oregon-Washington border, but the Corps, aided by a permit from the USFWS, attempted to remove 18,000 terns and destroy their habitat. National Marine Fisheries Service and state fisheries agencies pressured the Corps to act by alleging that the terns impeded the recovery of salmon – yet there is no sound scientific data supporting that conclusion. The lawsuit called on the Corps to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) before disturbing the world's largest Caspian Tern colony, and a Federal District Court Judge agreed, ruling in August 2001 that there was almost no information provided by the Federal agencies as to whether reducing tern predation would affect the number of salmon returning to the estuary. Seattle Audubon, American Bird Conservancy, Audubon, and Defenders of Wildlife had called in vain for several years for such an EIS before bringing the suit in 2000.

"Caspian Terns were made into convenient scapegoats for the decline of Columbia River salmon, simply because they eat juvenile salmonids, over 90% of which are hatchery reared," said Gerald Winegrad, Vice President for Policy of American Bird Conservancy. "A scientifically rigorous EIS is needed as there is no sound evidence that terns are in any way responsible for salmon declines. This settlement corrects the initial rush to judgment, which was not based on the facts."

The settlement follows last summer's federal district court ruling, supporting all claims by conservationists, which required the Corps to complete a comprehensive EIS before any more taxpayer funds were spent on hazing Caspian Terns or destroying their. Under the settlement, the federal agencies will prepare an EIS and a long-term management plan that focuses on establishing additional nesting sites outside the Columbia River Estuary, and reviews the science of tern predation.

Until the plan is completed, the Corps will prepare suitable habitat each year on East Sand Island, the terns' current nesting site. Before the Corps was barred by the court from further action, it had substantially destroyed the habitat on Rice Island and other islands so that the birds moved farther down river to East Sand Island, another dredge spoil island. Despite the terns eating 50% less salmonids at this new colony, federal and state agencies persisted in their campaign against terns.

Despite calls to remove the terns based on fears that they prey excessively on salmon, figures show that Chinook salmon returns to the Columbia have been the highest in over 20 years. The Tern colony once numbered close to 20,000 birds and hosts 30% of the total North American population of Caspian Terns and 75% of the west coast population. Last year, Caspian Tern numbers held at 16,000 adults on East Sand Island.

"This is a huge victory for terns and for conservationists everywhere," said John Flicker, Audubon President and CEO. "The Court's ruling and the terms of our settlement make it clear that federal agencies charged with protecting our nation's wildlife must both uphold the law and be ruled by it as well." 

The EIS will benefit both Terns and salmon in examining the issue of Tern predation as conservationists believe that sound, biologically-based science will determine that federal and state agencies should devote resources to the real causes of salmon declines, the so-called four H's: Habitat loss, Hatchery practices, over-Harvest, and Hydro-electric dams. 

Richard Smith, a Seattle attorney with Smith & Lowney, represented the Plaintiffs.

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American Bird Conservancy (ABC) is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization, dedicated to the conservation of wild birds and their habitats throughout the Americas. The fundamental role of ABC is to build coalitions of conservation groups, scientists, and members of the public, to tackle key bird priorities using the best resources available. ABC has programs to address the threats to birds from such diverse causes as habitat loss, pesticides, cats and communication towers. For more information on ABC visit www.abcbirds.org or call (202) 452-1535.