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Compensatory Mitigation for Coral Reef Impacts

Compensatory Mitigation for Coral Reef Impacts. Michael Molina USFWS, Pacific Island Fish and Wildlife Office. Resolution 4 from the 8 th Coral Reef Task Force Meeting, Puerto Rico, 2002.

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Compensatory Mitigation for Coral Reef Impacts

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  1. Compensatory Mitigation for Coral Reef Impacts Michael Molina USFWS, Pacific Island Fish and Wildlife Office

  2. Resolution 4 from the 8th Coral Reef Task Force Meeting, Puerto Rico, 2002 • Investigate effectiveness of compensatory mitigation from federally funded and permitted activities • Analyze which mitigation actions are most successful and provide recommendations for improving and identifying successful mitigation • Conduct similar studies in Atlantic/Caribbean

  3. Compensatory Mitigation For Coral Reef Impacts In The Pacific Islands Antonio Bentivoglio USFWS Pacific Islands Fish and Wildlife Office

  4. Study Scope/Limits • 11 Projects, from 1980-2001, which recommended compensatory mitigation for 179 acres impacted • Projects were in Hawaii (4), Guam (3), CNMI (2), American Samoa (1), Republic of the Marshall Islands (1) • Types of projects reviewed: cable landings; harbor creation/improvements; bridge, road, airport construction; underwater observatory; swim lagoons

  5. File Review Results Compensatory mitigation was implemented in 82% of projects, 98% of acres (9/11) Anticipated project-related impacts were quantified in 100% of projects and acres (11/11) Coral reef resources were assessed in 9% of projects, 4% of acres (1/11) Valid long-term mitigation monitoring was done in 77% of projects, 73% of acres (7/9) Performance standards were written in 22% of projects, 3% of acres (2/9) Overall Effectiveness of implemented compensatory mitigation actions was 44% of projects and 66% of acres .

  6. Types of Mitigation Actions Marine Protected Areas Created 1459 acres designated to replace 112 acres of impacts Ratio of 13:1 Transplantation 6 transplantation projects with varying degrees of success Not enough long-term monitoring data of mitigation actions available to assess the success of different types of mitigation .

  7. Recommendations • Develop Interagency Coral Reef Compensatory Mitigation Strategy • Interagency Working Group established for Hawaii • Participants include: US Fish and Wildlife Service, Environmental Protection Agency, National Marine Fisheries Service, US Geological Survey, Army Corp of Engineers, Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources, Hawaii Department of Health • Incorporate Corps RGL 02-2 as critical component of Strategy and refine over time

  8. Recommendations • 2. Develop a better way to identify adequate compensatory mitigation based on resource impacts • Held Resource Assessment Workshop to develop list of key coral reef characteristics • Hold additional workshops as necessary to further refine the process • 3. Develop systems to monitor and track compensatory mitigation • To be examined in the future

  9. Recommendations • 4. Identify and evaluate additional forms of compensatory mitigation • Future Workshop being discussed • 5. Give greater emphasis to compensatory mitigation for large projects • HI Working Group will implement and refine Strategy in all future Hawaii projects

  10. Compensatory Mitigation for Coral Reef Impacts in the U.S. Western Atlantic: Florida and the Caribbean USFWS Vero Beach Ecological Services Field Office, Florida USFWS Boquerón Ecological Services Field Office, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands

  11. Study Scope/Limits • Florida:Atlantic Coast from Brevard County south including the Keys. • Caribbean:Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands (St. Thomas, St. John, St. Croix), and associated smaller islands. • Database searches limited from1985 to the present. • Project selection limited to projects identified as havingimpacts to coral reefs and coral colonized hardgrounds(projects impacting only seagrass beds, mangroves, and soft bottom habitat were excluded).

  12. Types of Projects • Beach renourishment • Port Development • Shoreline Protection/Revetment • Linear Utility Lines (pipes and cables) • Private Marinas • Private Docks and Boat or Barge Landings Benthic Map: Dial-Cordy & Assoc., Inc.

  13. Preliminary Results • Over 2000 Corps permits or civil works projects screened for coral reef impacts • To date, 54 selected projects have been reviewed: 25 from Florida and 29 from the Caribbean • Total coral habitat impacts were conservatively estimated at 250 acres: 200 in Florida and 50 in the Caribbean

  14. Important Notes • Many coral reef habitat impacts to South Florida and the Caribbean were prior to 1985 and were not included in this study • A trend towards improvements in recommending, requiring, monitoring, and completing mitigation is beginning to emerge Staghorn coral module Photo: Tim McIntosh, Miam-Dade County DERM Photo: B. Yoshioka, FWS

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