Flanking a federal navigation channel and jetty, the Coos Bay North Spit is one of the most important wintering and breeding areas for the western snowy plover.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Portland District maintains the federal navigation channel and jetties at Coos Bay, Oregon, which includes the North Spit. To support ongoing USACE navigation at Coos Bay, Moffatt & Nichol prepared environmental documentation to comply with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), Endangered Species Act (ESA), Clean Water Act, and Coastal Zone Management Act (CZMA) for two projects. Work included updating the Western Snowy Plover Site Management Plan (SMP), completed to define actions that USACE may take in managing USACE-administered land at the North Spit for the ESA-protected western snowy plover. Moffatt & Nichol completed a NEPA Environmental Assessment and ESA-required Biological Assessment for the SMP. Work also included completion of a NEPA Environmental Assessment and ESA-required Biological Assessment for proposed North Jetty repairs, along with a WQC Section 404(b)(1) evaluation and a CZMA consistency determination for the repairs. Important to both projects, was a comprehensive understanding of the critical nature of the USACE mission at Coos Bay for navigation coupled with the responsibility to protect the western snowy plover and its habitat.
