Research Technical Report

Restoration of Common Murre colonies in central California: annual report 2005

McChesney, G.J., L.E. Eigner, T.B. Poitras, P.J. Kappes, D. Le Fer, L.T. Nason, P.J. Capitolo, H. Beeler, C.E. Fitzpatrick, R.T. Golightly, K.S. Bixler, H.R. Carter, S.W. Kress, and M.W. Parker (December 2006)

Unpublished report, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY (partial)

This report summarizes the tenth year of seabird restoration and associated monitoring in central California conducted by the Common Murre Restoration Project (CMRP) in 2005. These efforts began in 1996 to restore breeding colonies of seabirds, especially Common Murres, harmed by the 1986 Apex Houston oil spill, gill net fishing, and other factors. Our primary goal has been to restore the extirpated Devil's Slide Rock murre colony, as well as to monitor and restore other colonies impacted by the spill. In 2005, the CMRP was augmented to restore seabird colonies impacted by the 1998 Command oil spill, with the goal to restore affected breeding colonies mainly through reduction of human disturbance. This augmentation included the reestablishment of monitoring and disturbance surveillance at Point Reyes where monitoring by CMRP was discontinued following the 2002 breeding season.

Citation: McChesney, G. J., L. E. Eigner, T. B. Poitras, P. J. Kappes, D. Le Fer, L. T. Nason, P. J. Capitolo, H. Beeler, C. E. Fitzpatrick, R. T. Golightly, K. S. Bixler, H. R. Carter, S. W. Kress, and M. W. Parker. 2006. Restoration of Common Murre colonies in central California: annual report 2005. Unpublished report, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge Complex, Newark, California (prepared for the Apex Houston and Command Trustee Councils).