Spring 2000 Table of Contents

Tern Update

Remember the Caspian tern colony on the old Asarco plant in Tacoma’s Commencement Bay? Asarco had agreed to allow the terns to finish their nesting season in 1999 with the promise that WDFW would help keep terns off the site in 2000. WDFW biologists in the South Puget Sound are currently investigating several potential new homes for the birds, including sites on McNeil Island, Steilacoom, Vashon Island, and Commencement Bay. Ideally, a new location is one that would not put listed salmon species at risk of predation by terns, one that does not create a noise or smell problem for people, and one that is long term.

Management of Caspian terns in Commencement Bay is separate from issues surrounding Caspian terns on the Columbia River. Work has also proceeded on moving Caspian terns off dredge spoil islands in the Columbia River to a more acceptable location in Grays Harbor.

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