Implementation of the Onondaga Lake Invasive Species Control Program, Years 1-5

In March 2018, the United States Department of the Interior (DOI), acting through the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC), together the Trustees, settled a natural resource damage assessment and restoration (NRDAR) claim with the Responsible Parties for the Onondaga Lake Superfund Site in Onondaga County, New York. The settlement of the NRDAR claim provides a suite of ecological restoration projects designed to compensate for injuries to natural resources. The March 2018 “Onondaga Lake Natural Resource...

As identified within the Invasive Species Comprehensive Plan, the Applicant resources necessary to implement a cost effective comprehensive invasive species control program include: Program & Project Management, Implementation (invasive species management and restoration activities), Safety and Quality Assurance and Quality Control Field Oversight, and Monitoring. A.Program Management The Applicant selected for implementing the Invasive Species Control Program (Program) must have specific experience in the identification of native and invasive aquatic species, methods of invasive species control, monitoring, and habitat restoration. Program implementation should be led by a qualified biologist with experience successfully managing complex environmental projects including invasive species management and habitat restoration. An understanding of the target areas and their history will be essential to managing the program as efficiently as possible. A strong Applicant management structure will be necessary for the Program to be implemented in as safe and cost-efficient way as possible that maximizes effective implementation and associated habitat benefits. The Program should be managed by a small team that have experience managing large and complex habitat enhancement projects in New York State, preferably within the Onondaga Lake watershed. Program management tasks will include, at a minimum, coordination with the Trustees and interested parties in the program, oversight of project specific management items such as attaining owner access agreements, contract management, obtaining the necessary permitting paperwork, managing financials and procurement costs, subcontractor oversight, and yearly reporting. B.Implementation The implementation stage of the Program will require a New York State certified herbicide applicator. If herbicide can enter an area of standing water greater than one acre then the applicator must be certified for Category 5A – Aquatic Vegetation Control, and have experience applying selective herbicide targeting invasive species with the objective of improving habitat quality. The ability of field staff to differentiate invasive from native species will be critical. Equipment may include hand held or mechanical application tools depending on the extent of the treatment that needs to be carried out. Implementation efforts will also include restoration activities such as planting and seeding. All planting materials and seed will consist of native species present in the Onondaga Lake watershed and will be approved by the Service. Personnel dedicated to these efforts will at a minimum hold qualifications and experience in working on the restoration and habitat enhancement of large and complex impacted sites in the State of New York, preferably within the Onondaga Lake watershed. See C3 for Safety and Field Oversight, Monitoring

Tifani Holt tifani_holt@fws.gov