Cooperative Agreement F23AC01146

THE U.S. FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE (USFWS) HAS IDENTIFIED THE ALEUTIAN TERN AS A SEABIRD OF HIGH CONSERVATION CONCERN. ALEUTIAN TERN BREEDING SITES ARE RESTRICTED TO ALASKA AND THE RUSSIAN FAR EAST. WHILE POPULATION TREND INFORMATION FOR RUSSIAN POPULATIONS IS SPARSE, POPULATIONS AT KNOWN BREEDING SITES IN ALASKA HAVE DECLINED DRAMATICALLY IN RECENT DECADES. A RECENT STUDY ESTIMATED THE POPULATION AT KNOWN BREEDING COLONIES HAS DECLINED BY 8.1 ANNUALLY SINCE 1960, OR 92.9 OVER THREE GENERATIONS. GIVEN THE LACK OF A FORMAL MONITORING EFFORT ACROSS THE RANGE, UNCERTAINTIES RELATED TO CENSUS METHODS, AND AN INABILITY TO ASSESS IF BIRDS HAVE DISPERSED FROM DECLINING COLONIES TO AS-OF-YET UNKNOWN COLONIES, ALEUTIAN TERN HAS BEEN INCLUDED ON SEVERAL SPECIES WATCH LISTS. THE USFWS HAS GREAT INTEREST IN COLLECTING INFORMATION THAT WOULD PROVIDE A STATUS UPDATE FOR THE SPECIES. THROUGH THE ALEUTIAN TERN TECHNICAL COMMITTEE WORKING GROUP, THE USFWS IS UNDERTAKING A PROJECT TO DETERMINE DISTRIBUTION AND ABUNDANCE OF ALEUTIAN TERNS AT A STATEWIDE SCALE. FUNDS ARE AVAILABLE TO SUPPORT A THREE-YEAR STUDY (2023-2025) THAT WILL INVOLVE AERIAL SURVEYS TO IDENTIFY CURRENT BREEDING COLONY LOCATIONS, AND ON-THE-GROUND ACCESS TO COLONIES TO ESTIMATE TERN ABUNDANCE. GIVEN THE STUDY DESIGN, THE COMPLICATED LOGISTICS, AND THE VAST GEOGRAPHY, THE USFWS HAS IDENTIFIED THE NEED FOR A DEDICATED COORDINATOR TO SUPPORT DEVELOPMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION OF THE STATEWIDE ALEUTIAN TERN CENSUS. THE PRINCE WILLIAM SOUND SCIENCE CENTER (PWSSC) THROUGH THEIR EXISTING COOPERATIVE ECOSYSTEM STUDIES UNIT AGREEMENT AND STAFF EXPERTISE IS UNIQUELY QUALIFIED TO FILL THE COORDINATOR ROLE IN YEAR 1. ANNE SCHAEFER, WHO WILL SERVE AS THE COORDINATOR, WILL COORDINATE PLANNING AND LEAD IMPLEMENTATION OF THE 2023 AERIAL AND GROUND-BASED TERN SURVEYS IN SOUTHEAST ALASKA FROM CORDOVA TO GUSTAVUS. PLANNING AND LOGISTICS WILL BEGIN IN JANUARY 2023, AND INCLUDE COORDINATING AND LEADING MEETINGS WITH THE WORKING GROUP, HIRING AND TRAINING FIELD CREW, ARRANGING TRAVEL AND LODGING FOR THE FIELD CREW, PROCURING SURVEY GEAR, COORDINATING WITH THE PILOT, SECURING ADDITIONAL PILOTS AND AIRCRAFT AS NEEDED, OBTAINING NECESSARY PERMITS FOR LAND ACCESS, AND DEVELOPING A BUDGET. FIELD ACTIVITIES WILL BE CONDUCTED MAY-JUNE, 2023. THE COORDINATOR WILL IMPLEMENT THE SURVEY PLAN DEVELOPED BY THE WORKING GROUP, WHICH WILL INCLUDE COMMUNICATING DAILY WITH THE PILOT(S), FIELD CREWS, AND THE BIOMETRICIAN, OVERSEEING DATA COLLECTION IN THE FIELD, AND CONDUCTING FIELD WORK AS NEEDED. THE COORDINATOR WILL WORK WITH THE BIOMETRICIAN TO COLLATE SURVEY RESULTS, QA QC DATA, AND ENTER DATA INTO THE DATABASE, AND WILL LEAD THE EFFORT TO DRAFT AN ANNUAL REPORT THAT SUMMARIZES THE STUDY OBJECTIVES, METHODS, RESULTS, AND KEY FINDINGS. THE COORDINATOR WILL ALSO WORK TO MEET REPORTING REQUIREMENTS FOR ACCESS AND OTHER RELEVANT PERMITS (SEPTEMBER THROUGH FEBRUARY).THE COORDINATOR S SUCCESS WITH PLANNING LOGISTICS, IMPLEMENTING THE STUDY DESIGN, SUPERVISING AND LEADING DATA COLLECTION, COMMUNICATING CLOSELY WITH THE BIOMETRICIAN AND THE PLANNING TEAM, AND MEETING REPORTING REQUIREMENTS FOR COMPLIANCE WILL BE CRITICAL TO THE PROGRAM S OVERALL OBJECTIVE OF ESTIMATING BREEDING ALEUTIAN TERN ABUNDANCE IN SOUTHEAST ALASKA.THE DRAFT REPORT SUMMARIZING THE 2023 SURVEY EFFORTS WILL BE SUBMITTED ELECTRONICALLY TO THE WORKING GROUP BY SEPTEMBER 15, 2023. THE COORDINATOR WILL WORK TO INCORPORATE COMMENTS INTO SUBSEQUENT VERSIONS OF THE REPORT THROUGH FEBRUARY. THE FINALIZED REPORT WILL BE DISBURSED AMONG THE WORKING GROUP AS WELL AS TO INTERESTED STAKEHOLDERS (E.G., ICY BAY LODGE, NATIONAL PARK WILDERNESS PARTNERS).