Final Long Range Transportation Plan for U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Lands in the Northeast Region, 80084-80086 [2016-27442]

Agencies

• Fish and Wildlife Service
• DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 220 (Tuesday, November 15, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 80084-80086]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-27442]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

[FWS-R5-R-2016-N101; FXRS85510553RGO-XXX-FF05R04000]


Final Long Range Transportation Plan for U.S. Fish and Wildlife 
Service Lands in the Northeast Region

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability; final long range transportation plan.

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SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce the 
availability of the final long range transportation plan (LRTP). The 
Final LRTP outlines a strategy for improving and maintaining 
transportation assets that provide access to Service-managed lands in 
the Northeast Region (Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, 
Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, 
Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia) over the next 20 
years.

ADDRESSES: You may view or obtain copies of the final plan by any of 
the following methods. You may also request a hard copy or a CD-ROM.
    Agency Web site: Download a copy of the document at https://www.fws.gov/northeast/refuges/roads/pdf/northeast-region-long-range-transportation-plan.pdf.
    Email: Send requests to carl_melberg@fws.gov, and include ``Region 
5 Final LRTP'' in the subject line of your email.

[[Page 80085]]

    U.S. Mail: Carl Melberg, Acting Regional Transportation 
Coordinator, Northeast Region, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 300 
Westgate Center Drive, Hadley, Massachusetts 01035.
    Facsimile: Attention: Carl Melberg, 413-253-8468.
    In-Person Viewing or Pickup: Call 413-253-8586 to make an 
appointment (necessary for view/pickup only) during regular business 
hours at Northeast Region, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 300 Westgate 
Center Drive, Hadley, Massachusetts 01035.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Carl Melberg, Acting Regional 
Transportation Coordinator, 413-253-8586 (phone); carl_melberg@fws.gov 
(email).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Introduction

    With this notice, we make the Final LRTP for the Northeast Region 
of the Service available for public review. Notice of availability and 
request for comments on the Draft LRTP was published in the Federal 
Register (FR00002485) on March 7, 2016. Comments received were 
evaluated and incorporated, as applicable, into this Final LRTP. The 
Final LRTP outlines a strategy for improving and maintaining 
transportation assets that provide access to Service-managed lands in 
the Northeast Region in Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, 
Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, 
Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia.

Background

    This final report also includes changes made in reference to the 
Federal multi-year transportation funding legislation. The Fixing 
America's Surface Transportation Act (FAST ACT) was signed in December 
2015, and replaces the 2012 Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st 
Century Act (MAP-21). Both require all Federal land management agencies 
to conduct long range transportation planning in a manner that is 
consistent with metropolitan planning organization and State 
departments of transportation planning. This LRTP was initiated within 
the Service to achieve the following:
     Establish a structure for sound transportation planning 
and decision-making.
     Establish a vision, mission, goals, and objectives for 
transportation planning in the Service's Northeast Region.
     Implement coordinated and cooperative transportation 
partnerships in an effort to improve the Service's transportation 
infrastructure.
     Integrate transportation planning and funding for wildlife 
refuges and fish hatcheries into existing and future Service management 
plans and strategies e.g., comprehensive conservation plans and 
comprehensive hatchery management plans.
     Increase awareness of Alternative Transportation Systems 
and associated benefits.
     Develop best management practices for transportation 
improvements on Service lands.
     Serve as a pilot project for the implementation of a 
Regional-level transportation planning process within the Service.

LRTP Mission, Goals, and Objectives

    Through a collaborative effort, the National Wildlife Refuge System 
(Refuge System) and the Fish and Aquatic Conservation programs, in 
cooperation with the Planning Group and the Division of Refuge Field 
Support within the Service's Northeast Region, have contributed to 
defining the mission, goals, and objectives presented in this document. 
The resulting mission, goals, and objectives are intended to provide a 
systematic approach to guide the process for evaluating and selecting 
transportation improvements for the Service lands in the Northeast 
Region. These guiding principles have shaped the development, 
conclusions, and recommendations of this LRTP.

Mission

    To support the Service's mission by connecting people to fish, 
wildlife, and their habitats through strategic implementation of 
transportation programs.

Goals and Objectives

    This long range transportation plan has six categories of goals: 
Coordinated Opportunities; Asset Management; Safety; Environmental; 
Access, Mobility, and Connectivity; and Visitor Experience. Under each 
goal, we present distinct objectives that move us to the goal.
    1. Coordinated Opportunities: The program will seek joint 
transportation opportunities that support the Service mission, maximize 
the utility of Service resources, and provide mutual benefits to the 
Service and external partners.
    Objectives:
     Identify and increase key internal and external 
partnerships at the national, regional, and unit levels.
     Maximize leveraged opportunities by identifying and 
pursuing funding for projects of mutual interest and benefit.
     Develop best practices for external engagement that 
illustrates success in forming and nurturing coalitions and 
partnerships that support the Service's mission.
     Coordinate within Service programs, including the Refuge 
System, Ecological Services, Migratory Birds, and Fish and Aquatic 
Conservation during the development of Regional long-range and project-
level plans.
    2. Asset Management: The program will operate and maintain a 
functional, financially sustainable and resilient transportation 
network to satisfy current and future land management needs in the face 
of a changing climate.
    Objectives:
     Use asset management principles to maintain important 
infrastructure at an appropriate condition level.
     Prioritize work programs through the project selection 
process detailed in this plan or an adaptation thereof.
     Evaluate life cycle costs when considering new assets to 
determine long-term financial sustainability.
     Consider the impacts of climate change in the planning and 
management of transportation assets.
    3. Safety: The program's network will provide a superior level of 
safety for all users and all modes of transportation to and within 
Service lands.
    Objectives:
     Identify safety issue `hot-spots' within the Service's 
transportation system with the Safety Analysis Toolkit.
     Implement appropriate safety countermeasures to resolve 
safety issues and reduce the frequency and severity of crashes (also 
with the Safety Analysis Toolkit).
     Address wildlife-vehicle collisions with design solutions 
(Environmental Enhancements).
     Use cooperation and communication among the ``4E's'' of 
safety, including: Engineering, education, enforcement, and emergency 
medical services.
    4. Environmental: Transportation infrastructure will be landscape 
appropriate and play a key role in the improvement of environmental 
conditions in and around Service lands.
    Objectives:
     Follow the Roadway Design Guidelines for best practices in 
design, planning, management, maintenance, and construction of 
transportation assets.
     Reduce greenhouse gas emissions and air pollutants by 
increasing transportation options and use of alternative fuels.
     Protect wildlife corridors, reduce habitat fragmentation, 
and enhance terrestrial and aquatic organism passage

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on and adjacent to Service lands to conserve fish, wildlife, and plant 
populations.
    5. Access, Mobility, and Connectivity: The program will ensure that 
units open to public visitation have adequate transportation options 
for all users including underserved, underrepresented, and mobility-
limited populations.
    Objectives:
     Offer a wide range of transportation modes and linkages 
for onsite and offsite access.
     Provide a clear way for finding information both on and 
off Service lands.
     Through the Urban Wildlife Conservation Program, integrate 
Service transportation facilities with local community transportation 
systems in a way that encourages local visitation and provides economic 
benefits to partner and gateway communities.
     Through coordinated planning, provide context-appropriate 
transportation facilities that address the specific needs of local 
visitor groups and respect the natural setting of the refuge or 
hatchery.
     Address congestion issues to and within Service units.
    6. Visitor Experience: The program will enhance the visitation 
experience through improvement and investment in the transportation 
network.
    Objectives:
     Integrate interpretation, education, and resource 
stewardship principles into the transportation experience.
     Evaluate the feasibility of alternative transportation 
systems at all stations and implement where appropriate.
     Encourage connections with existing and planned public and 
private transportation services.
     Design infrastructures in such a way that highlights the 
landscape and not the transportation facility.

Comments

    We solicited comments on the Draft LRTP from March 7 to April 7, 
2016 (FR00002485). During the comment period, we received two written 
responses. Comments received were evaluated and incorporated, as 
applicable, into this Final LRTP.

Changes to the Final LRTP

    After considering the comments we received on the Draft LRTP, we 
have updated the report to highlight partnership opportunities at the 
Potomac River National Wildlife Refuge Complex. This final report also 
includes changes made in referencing the Federal multi-year 
transportation funding legislation. The FAST Act was signed in December 
2015, and replaces the MAP-21.

Next Steps

    We will document the Final LRTP, which will be published in the 
Federal Register.

     Dated: August 9, 2016.
Deborah Rocque,
Acting Regional Director, Northeast Region.
[FR Doc. 2016-27442 Filed 11-14-16; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4333-15-P