I don't think this made it to the list serve. Please see below an update on the efforts to restore the West Pond and surrounding environs at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge.
Gateway Announces Public Availability of Finding of No Significant Impact For Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge West Pond Trail Breach Repair Superintendent Jennifer Nersesian announced today the next step toward completing the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge West Pond Trail Breach Repair: a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) for the Preferred Alternative has been signed by the NPS Northeast Regional Director and is now available online at http://parkplanning.nps.gov/documentsList.cfm?projectID=44691. The NPS has selected Alternative B: Repair the Breach and Improve Habitat Conditions, the NPS Preferred Alternative, for implementation, which includes repairing the embankment at the breach and installing a water control structure and a groundwater well. The FONSI explains why this action will have no significant effects on the human environment, based on the analysis in the environmental assessment (EA) as well as the comments received from the public and agencies during the public review period, which concluded November 6, 2015. One small design refinement to the planned breach repair was made since the issuance of the EA and is described in the FONSI, but the impacts to the environment will be the same or fewer than those described in the EA. An updated version of the EA with very minor changes, including a more descriptive title and the design refinement, is also available online at the address above; these changes are itemized in the errata attached to the FONSI. The purpose of the project is to plan for environmentally sensitive and resilient conditions along the West Pond loop trail that support a diversity of Jamaica Bay habitats, wildlife, and enhanced visitor experiences. Repairing the primary breach in West Pond and installing a freshwater source through a groundwater well will allow the NPS to return West Pond to more freshwater conditions and provide a diversity of habitats for wildlife, unusual in an urban area. --NPS— Daphne Yun Acting Public Affairs Officer Gateway National Recreation Area 風 Swift as the wind 林 Quiet as the forest 火 Conquer like the fire 山 Steady as the mountain Sun Tzu The Art of War > (\__/) > (= '.'=) > (") _ (") > Sent from somewhere in the field using my mobile device! Andrew Baksh www.birdingdude.blogspot.com -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
