Chapters 1 - U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Chapter 3
activities at NWSSB are directed toward achieving this mission, there are also various actions
taken at NWSSB to conserve the Station’s natural resources. Existing laws and regulations, such
as the Sikes Improvement Act of 1997 (Sikes Act), provide guidance for achieving a balance on
military lands between ensuring the continued support of the military mission and protecting
natural resources.
The “General Plan for Use of U.S. Navy Lands and Waters for Wildlife Conservation and
Management, Seal Beach National Wildlife Refuge” states that the Secretary of the Interior shall
administer the lands and waters identified by the Navy as available for fish and wildlife
conservation and management purposes pursuant to plans which are mutually acceptable to the
Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of the Navy. As such, coordination with NWSSB to
ensure that management is consistent with the primary and collateral purposes of the Station is an
essential part of the Refuge management program at Seal Beach NWR. The Refuge Manager
coordinates habitat and wildlife management and public use activities with the Commanding
Officer and various appropriate departments at NWSSB. Coordination occurs most often with the
Environmental Programs and Services Department, Public Affairs Office, Security Department,
and Facilities Department. The NWSSB also provides funding for some of the management
actions implemented on the Refuge.
To continue cooperative management within the Refuge, the Service has been coordinating with
staff from NWSSB in the development of this CCP. At the same time, NWSSB, in accordance with
the Sikes Act, has been coordinating the completion of the Integrated Natural Resources
Management Plan (INRMP) for NWSSB. The purposes of a CCP and an INRMP are similar in
many ways. Both provide a framework for managing natural resources on lands owned or
controlled by the entity preparing the plan. Just as CCPs are required for all Refuges, the Sikes
Act has committed the Department of Defense to develop INRMPs for all of its military
installations. An INRMP is intended to help installation commanders manage their natural
resources in a manner that is consistent with sustainability of those resources and to ensure
continued support of the military mission. At NWSSB the INRMP is ecosystem based and is
developed in cooperation with the Service and the California Department of Fish and Game.
3.3.5 Current Refuge Management
The Management Plan for the Seal Beach NWR, the Endangered Species Management and
Protection Plan, and applicable recovery plans and bird conservation plans provide the basis for
the current management activities being implemented on the Refuge. Between the late 1980s to
today, Refuge management has involved monitoring of listed species; implementation of predator
management; control of invasive upland plants; maintenance of NASA Island to optimize
conditions for least tern nesting; repair or replacement of light-footed clapper rail nesting
platforms; maintenance, and where necessary, replacement of culverts that facilitate tidal flow
within the main marsh and adjacent restored wetlands; and planting of native upland plants in
disturbed upland areas.
The majority of the wildlife and habitat management activities being conducted on the Refuge are
directed primarily at the protection and management of the Federally listed endangered California
least tern and light-footed clapper rail, both of which nest on the Refuge. However, these and
other activities conducted on the Refuge also provide benefits to the other native species that are
supported on the Refuge.
The Refuge Manager is also responsible for ensuring the protection of cultural resources;
coordinating issues related to contaminants with the Navy and the Service’s Environmental
Contaminants Program; and coordinating with the Navy on activities occurring on the Refuge
3-6 Seal Beach National Wildlife Refuge