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Endangered Species Management Plan
Gateway National Recreation Area » Endangered Species Management Plan » Document List
The National Park Service (NPS) is in the initial stages of planning for an updated endangered species management plan for the Sandy Hook Unit of Gateway National Recreation Area. The management plan would include conservation measures for the federally-listed piping plover (Charadrius melodus), Northeastern beach tiger beetle (Cincindela dorsalis dorsalis), and seabeach amaranth (Amaranthus pumilus). In compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), an Environmental Assessment (EA) is being prepared for the proposed management plan. The Sandy Hook Unit of Gateway National Recreation Area is a barrier beach peninsula located at the northern tip of the New Jersey shore in Monmouth County; the Borough of Sea Bright is immediately to the south of the Park. The Park consists of over 2,000 acres of ocean beaches, salt marshes, and maritime forest. Between 2 and 2.5 million people visit the Sandy Hook Unit annually.
Purpose and Need for Action
The current management plan for endangered species at the Sandy Hook Unit was prepared in 1992 and only described management actions for the federally-threatened piping plover. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service revised the Recovery Plan for the piping plover in 1996, and its productivity at the Park has declined in recent years. The federally-threatened Northeastern beach tiger beetle was reintroduced to the Park in 1994. In addition, seabeach amaranth (a federally-threatened plant) reappeared at the Park in 2000 after a century of absence from New Jersey beaches. The purpose of the proposed action is to update the Park's endangered species management plan to include all three species and modify existing management activities as needed to address the decline in piping plover productivity.
Proposed Actions
The NPS proposes to update the endangered species management plan for the Sandy Hook Unit of the Gateway National Recreation Area to include conservation measures for the federally-listed piping plover, Northeastern beach tiger beetle and seabeach amaranth. The No Action Alternative will consist of the 1992 Management Plan for the Threatened Piping Plover and would maintain the status quo of management activities at the Park. The proposed management plan may include both existing and new conservation measures that address a recent decline in piping plover productivity, predation, habitat loss and degradation, and human disturbance.
Before we begin the environmental analysis for this project, we would like to hear your viewpoints on the proposed management plan and any issues or concerns you have regarding the proposal. Please provide comments on the Planning, Environment, and Public Comment web page or send your written comments to the Superintendent by July 30, 2006 at:
Superintendent
Gateway National Recreation Area, Sandy Hook Unit
P.O. Box 530
Fort Hancock, NJ 07732
Please be aware that names and addresses of respondents may be released if requested under the Freedom of Information Act. Our practice is to make comments, including names and home addresses of respondents, available for public review during regular business hours. Respondents may request that we withhold their home addresses from the record, which we will honor to the extent allowable by law. There also may be circumstances in which we would withhold from the record a respondent's identity, as allowable by law. If you wish us to withhold your name and/or address, you must state this prominently at the beginning of your comment. We will make all submissions from organizations or businesses, and from individuals identifying themselves as representatives or officials of organizations or businesses, available for public inspection in their entirety.
We appreciate your input on this proposal. If you have any questions regarding this project, please call Bruce Lane, Natural Resource Specialist, at (732) 872-5931.
Natural Resource Specialist
PO Box 530
Fort Hancock, NJ 07732
732-872-5931
Purpose and Need for Action
The current management plan for endangered species at the Sandy Hook Unit was prepared in 1992 and only described management actions for the federally-threatened piping plover. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service revised the Recovery Plan for the piping plover in 1996, and its productivity at the Park has declined in recent years. The federally-threatened Northeastern beach tiger beetle was reintroduced to the Park in 1994. In addition, seabeach amaranth (a federally-threatened plant) reappeared at the Park in 2000 after a century of absence from New Jersey beaches. The purpose of the proposed action is to update the Park's endangered species management plan to include all three species and modify existing management activities as needed to address the decline in piping plover productivity.
Proposed Actions
The NPS proposes to update the endangered species management plan for the Sandy Hook Unit of the Gateway National Recreation Area to include conservation measures for the federally-listed piping plover, Northeastern beach tiger beetle and seabeach amaranth. The No Action Alternative will consist of the 1992 Management Plan for the Threatened Piping Plover and would maintain the status quo of management activities at the Park. The proposed management plan may include both existing and new conservation measures that address a recent decline in piping plover productivity, predation, habitat loss and degradation, and human disturbance.
Before we begin the environmental analysis for this project, we would like to hear your viewpoints on the proposed management plan and any issues or concerns you have regarding the proposal. Please provide comments on the Planning, Environment, and Public Comment web page or send your written comments to the Superintendent by July 30, 2006 at:
Superintendent
Gateway National Recreation Area, Sandy Hook Unit
P.O. Box 530
Fort Hancock, NJ 07732
Please be aware that names and addresses of respondents may be released if requested under the Freedom of Information Act. Our practice is to make comments, including names and home addresses of respondents, available for public review during regular business hours. Respondents may request that we withhold their home addresses from the record, which we will honor to the extent allowable by law. There also may be circumstances in which we would withhold from the record a respondent's identity, as allowable by law. If you wish us to withhold your name and/or address, you must state this prominently at the beginning of your comment. We will make all submissions from organizations or businesses, and from individuals identifying themselves as representatives or officials of organizations or businesses, available for public inspection in their entirety.
We appreciate your input on this proposal. If you have any questions regarding this project, please call Bruce Lane, Natural Resource Specialist, at (732) 872-5931.
Contact Information
Bruce LaneNatural Resource Specialist
PO Box 530
Fort Hancock, NJ 07732
732-872-5931