Between Bay and Marsh: A Prime Hook Journal: July 19th

Jim and I just submitted a Freedom of Information Request to the Fish and Wildlife Service. The text is below.

[JGH1] Jim and Melanie Hoff

9127 Shore Drive

Milford, DE 19963

May 7, 2010

Johnny Hunt, FWS FOIA Officer
Division of Information Resources and Technology Management
4401 N. Fairfax Drive, Suite 380
Arlington, VA 22203

Lorraine Fox, FOIA Coordinator
Ecological Services
300 Westgate Drive
Hadley, MA 01035

Sent via e-mail

Dear Sir/ Madam,

Pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act, 5 U.S.C. § 552, we request that you disclose within twenty (20) days of your receipt of this request all records that reflect, or refer or relate to:

1. Any decision by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s (FWS) to change management of the Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge (“Refuge”) from a freshwater to a tidally-influenced saltwater marsh system, as referenced in a January 19, 2010 letter from refuge manager Michael Stroeh to Prime Hook Beach community members (hereinafter referred to as the “January 19 Decision”, a copy of which is attached), or any consideration of such a a change.

2. The potential impact of the January 19 Decision, or the flooding of the Refuge marshes, on the health and safety of Prime Hook community residents, including ability to ingress/egress through the Refuge to/from private residences, emergency service access, and function of underground power and phone lines.;

3. The potential economic impact of the January 19 Decision, or flooding of the Refuge marshes, including costs of increased maintenance of Prime Hook and Fowler Beach Roads and the underground power and phone lines that service the Prime Hook community.

4. The environmental and other consequences of the January 19 Decision, including without limitation its impact on (a) freshwater plants previously found in the marsh, (b) animals (both resident and migratory) and their habitat within the refuge, and (c) private property adjacent to the refuge.

5. The ecological, economic and other impacts of the January 19 Decision, and flooding of the Refuge marshes, on farmlands adjacent to the Refuge.

6. FWS efforts to coordinate the January 19 Decision with the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control, the Delaware Department of Transportation, and/or any other local, state, or federal agency.

7. FWS efforts to obtain public comments on the January 19 Decision, all public comments received, FWS responses to these comments, and FWS consideration of, or communications (internal or external) regarding such comments,;

8. FWS’ consideration of, or efforts to comply with, the National Environmental Policy Act, which requires the federal government to use all practicable means to create and maintain conditions under which man and nature can exist in productive harmony.

9. FWS efforts to take emergency action to close dune breaches on FWS property under its authority to respond under emergency situations, as described in PEP – Environmental Statement Memorandum No. ESM 10-11.

http://oepc.doi.gov/ESM/ESM%201011%20%28NEPA%20Compliance%20in%20Emergency%20Situations%29.pdf

10. FWS efforts to review or assess the State of Delaware’s Management Plan for XXXX, or coordinate it management actions with those presented in this plan.

11. Reports of salinity taken in the vicinity of Prime Hook Road and Fowler’s Beach Road during the period January 19, 2010 to May 1, 2010.

12. How the January 19 Decision is consistent with (a) any FWS policy or guidance for how/when the FWS will decide to respond to the threat of sea level rise, and (b) decisions by managers of other FWS refuges to protect or restore refuge property experiencing erosion and shoreline habitat losses attributable to sea level rise (e.g., efforts at Anahuac NWR to prevent salt water intrusion from altering the ecology of brackish and freshwater wetlands, breaching shallow freshwater and intermediate lakes and depressions, and altering hydrology and salinity gradients).

Our request for records includes correspondence, maps, diagrams, letters, photographs, emails, memoranda, reports, studies, testimonies, calendar or diary entries, day books, minutes, agenda, messages, notes, worksheets, tabulations, ledgers and records of meetings, memorialization of telephone and other conversations, regardless of whether maintained in paper or electronic form or medium, in or on which information was conveyed or stored. If the requested documents are maintained or available in an electronic format, then we request that they be provided in that form.

We are residents of the Prime Hook Beach community and are in the “other” category with respect to fees. However, we ask that any search or review fees for this request be waived because (1)release of this information will serve the public interest by likely contribut[ing] significantly to public understanding of the operations or activities of the Government (in this case the FWS) and (2) this request is not primarily in the commercial interest of the requestor. Indeed, we have no commercial interest in seeking disclosure of these records. Rather, we seek to place the full record of agency deliberations and actions regarding this matter before the public in order to increase public understanding of, and dialogue with FWS and other government officials concerning, a matter of tremendous public importance to not only the residents of communities adjacent to the Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge but U.S. citizens nationwide who are deeply concerned about the damage being done to the freshwater habitat of the Refuge and the resident and migratory animal species that depend upon it for survival.

We ask that this request be processed on an expedited basis due to the impact of recent FWS decisions on the Refuge, animal species dependent on the Refuge, and the health and safety of the Prime Hook Beach community in Milford, DE. The freshwater habitat of the Refuge is being eradicated daily by the continued ingress of saltwater into the marsh, and any prospect of restoration of that habitat will be adversely affected by the delay that would be caused by failure to process this request on an expedited basis. Moreover, ingress to and egress from the Prime Hook community is now frequently blocked by flooding of the Refuge marshes, rendering the road through the marsh – the only road into and out of the community -- impassable, and creating a threat to the health and safety of Prime Hook residents.

If you deny all or any part of this request, please describe each record being withheld in sufficient detail for us to pursue an agency or judicial appeal of your decision, including a citation to each specific exemption you think justifies your refusal to release each such record and an explanation of why that exemption applies, and notify us of appeal procedures available under the law. Should you deny a part of this request, we request that you nonethless produce all non-exempt records within the mandated twenty (20) day period.

We ask that you let us know whether the fee waiver is granted prior to the information processing for this FOIA request.

Please contact us at 703-916-0681 if you have any questions regarding this request.

Thank you for your anticipated assistance in this matter.

Sincerely,

Jim and Melanie Hoff

[JGH1]