Chapters 1 - U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Chapter 5
Pest Management
The analysis of potential effects to the Belding’s savannah sparrow from the implementation of the
IPM and Mosquito Management Plans would be the same under this alternative as described
previously for Alternative B.
Public Use
Recent research on the effects of disturbance on Belding’s savannah sparrow indicates that overall
tolerance of human disturbance varies depending upon the level of disturbance occurring in a given
area, as well as between seasons (Fernández-Juricic et al. 2009).
In areas where there are little if any public use activities, alert and flight responses to human
approaches were observed to be greater than those observed in higher use areas. Suggested
reasons for this difference in response includes: habituation (birds become accustomed to some
level of human disturbance) and, 2) existing vegetative structure (higher vegetation seems to
screen approaching humans, some human activity can be closer before a bird takes flight). On the
Refuge, the vegetation in the wetland/upland transition areas adjacent to Belding’s savannah
sparrow habitat is generally low, therefore, disturbance adjacent to remote areas of the Refuge
would likely result in a trend for alert distance (the distance at which the bird becomes alert and
flees the area) and flight distance (the distance fled) to be greater than in areas where human
activity is slightly higher and/or the vegetation between the human use and the marsh is higher.
There also appears to be a trend for greater alert distance and flight distance in the non-breeding
season (Fernández-Juricic et al. 2009).
Public tours of the Refuge are conducted along an established route that directs people around the
marsh, not through the marsh; therefore, the potential for disturbance to Belding’s savannah
sparrows is low. Increasing the number of tours permitted on the Refuge would not substantially
change the overall effects of tours on Refuge resources, including the Belding’s savannah sparrow.
The proposed observation tower would be located in a disturbed area where no impacts to
Belding’s savannah sparrows are anticipated.
If changes in the tour routes are considered, the design of the route should take into consideration
the recommendation that a setback of approximately 210 feet be provided between the public use
area and existing breeding territories and/or areas frequently used by the Belding’s savannah
sparrow during the non-breeding season (Fernández-Juricic et al. 2009). With the implementation
of these measures, no adverse or beneficial effects to the Belding’s savannah sparrow would result
from the expanded public use program proposed under Alternative C.
5.6 Effects to Cultural Resources
The National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) of 1966, as amended, establishes the federal
government’s policy on historic preservation and the programs through which that policy is
implemented. Relevant policies on historic preservation and associated programs, including the
National Register of Historic Places (NRHP), were described previously in Section 4.4.1.
According to the NHPA, historic properties include “any prehistoric or historic district, site,
building, structure, or object included in, or eligible for inclusion in, the National Register of
Historic Places” (16 USC 470w(5)). The criteria used to evaluate eligibility are presented in
Section 4.4.1 of this document.
5-66 Seal Beach National Wildlife Refuge