Draft Comprehensive Conservation Plan and Environmental Assessment for Missisquoi National Wildlife Refuge, 12632-12633 [E7-4854]
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12632
Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 51 / Friday, March 16, 2007 / Notices
Written comments on the ITP
applications and HCPs should be sent to
the South Florida Ecological Services
Office (see ADDRESSES) and should be
received on or before April 16, 2007.
ADDRESSES: Persons wishing to review
the application and HCP may obtain a
copy by writing the Service’s South
Florida Ecological Services Office.
Please reference permit number TE
136147–0 in such requests. Documents
will also be available for public
inspection by appointment during
normal business hours at the South
Florida Ecological Services Office, 1339
20th Street, Vero Beach, Florida 32960–
3559.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms.
Trish Adams, Fish and Wildlife
Biologist, South Florida Ecological
Services Office, Vero Beach, Florida (see
ADDRESSES), telephone: 772/562–3909,
ext. 232.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: If you
wish to comment, you may submit
comments by any one of several
methods. Please reference permit
number TE 136147–0 in such requests.
You may mail comments to the
Service’s South Florida Ecological
Services Office (see ADDRESSES). You
may also comment via the Internet to
trish_adams@fws.gov. Please also
include your name and return address
in your Internet message. If you do not
receive a confirmation from us that we
have received your internet message,
contact us directly at the telephone
number listed under FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION CONTACT. Finally, you may
hand deliver comments to the Service
office listed under ADDRESSES. Our
practice is to make comments, including
names and home addresses of
respondents, available for public review
during regular business hours.
Individual respondents may request that
we withhold their home address from
the administrative record. We will
honor such requests to the extent
allowable by law. There may also be
other circumstances in which we would
withhold from the administrative record
a respondent’s identity, as allowable by
law. If you wish us to withhold your
name and address, you must state this
prominently at the beginning of your
comments. We will not, however,
consider anonymous comments. We
will make all submissions from
organizations or businesses, and from
individuals identifying themselves as
representatives or officials of
organizations or businesses, available
for public inspection in their entirety.
Construction of the Project will take
place within Section 30, Township 40
South, Range 43 East, Tequesta, Palm
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DATES:
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Beach County, Florida. The Project site
is bounded by the Casa del Sol
development project on the north,
County Line Plaza on the south, U.S.
Highway 1 on the east, and by the
Village of Tequesta water treatment
plant on the west. Scrub-jays occupy
3.58 acres of the 6-acre site.
The Applicant proposes to minimize
take of scrub-jays by avoiding land
clearing activities during the breeding or
nesting season (March through June)
and by preserving, restoring, and
maintaining 1.34 acres of scrub-jay
habitat on their 6-acre lot in perpetuity.
The Applicants propose to mitigate for
the loss of 2.24 acres of occupied scrubjay habitat by contributing a total of
$384,017.78 to the Florida Scrub-jay
Conservation Program Fund
administered by The Nature
Conservancy. Funds in this account are
ear-marked for use in the conservation
and recovery of scrub-jays and may
include habitat acquisition, restoration,
and management.
The Service has determined that the
Applicant’s proposal, including the
proposed mitigation and minimization
measures, will have a minor or
negligible effect on the species covered
in the HCP. Therefore, the ITP is for a
‘‘low-effect’’ project and qualifies as a
categorical exclusion under the National
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), as
provided by the Department of the
Interior Manual (516 DM 2, Appendix 1
and 516 DM 6, Appendix 1). This
preliminary information may be revised
based on our review of public comments
that we receive in response to this
notice. Low-effect HCPs are those
involving (1) minor or negligible effects
on federally listed or candidate species
and their habitats, and (2) minor or
negligible effects on other
environmental values or resources.
The Service will evaluate the HCP
and comments submitted thereon to
determine whether the application
meets the requirements of section 10(a)
of the Act (16 U.S.C. 1531 et. seq.). If it
is determined that those requirements
are met, the ITP will be issued for the
incidental take of the Florida scrub-jay.
The Service will also evaluate whether
issuance of the section 10(a)(1)(B) ITP
complies with section 7 of the Act by
conducting an intra-Service section 7
consultation. The results of this
consultation, in combination with the
above findings, will be used in the final
analysis to determine whether or not to
issue the ITP.
Authority: This notice is provided
pursuant to Section 10 of the Endangered
Species Act and NEPA regulations (40 CFR
1506.6).
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Dated: March 9, 2007.
Paul Souza,
Field Supervisor, South Florida Ecological
Services Office.
[FR Doc. E7–4853 Filed 3–15–07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310–55–P
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
Draft Comprehensive Conservation
Plan and Environmental Assessment
for Missisquoi National Wildlife Refuge
Fish and Wildlife Service,
Department of the Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability.
AGENCY:
SUMMARY: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service (Service) announces the
availability of the Missisquoi National
Wildlife Refuge (NWR) Draft
Comprehensive Conservation Plan
(CCP) and Environmental Assessment
(EA). It describes how we intend to
manage Missisquoi NWR during the
next 15 years. We prepared this Draft
CCP/EA in conformance with the
National Environmental Policy Act
(NEPA) and the National Wildlife
Refuge System Administration Act, as
amended.
The Draft CCP/EA will be
available for public review and
comment for a 30-day period starting
with the publication of this notice.
ADDRESSES: You may obtain copies of
the draft CCP/EA on compact diskette or
in print by writing to Carl Melberg, U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service, Northeast
Regional Office, 300 Westgate Center
Drive, Hadley, Massachusetts 01035–
9589, or by electronic mail at
northeastplanning@fws.gov, noting in
the subject line ‘‘Missisquoi National
Wildlife Refuge.’’ You may also view
the draft on the Web at https://
library.fws.gov/ccps.htm. During the 30day comment period, we plan to host
public meetings in the local area. We
will post the details of each meeting at
least 2 weeks in advance to our project
mailing list in local papers, at the refuge
and at our Web site, https://
www.fws.gov/northeast/
missisquoirefuge/.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Carl
Melberg, 413–253–8521.
DATES:
The
National Wildlife Refuge System
Administration Act of 1966, as amended
by the National Wildlife Refuge System
Improvement Act of 1997, requires the
Service to develop a CCP for each
refuge. The purpose of developing a
CCP is to provide refuge managers with
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
E:\FR\FM\16MRN1.SGM
16MRN1
sroberts on PROD1PC70 with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 51 / Friday, March 16, 2007 / Notices
a 15-year strategy for achieving refuge
purposes and contributing to the
mission of the National Wildlife Refuge
System (NWRS), in conformance with
the sound principles of fish and wildlife
science, natural resources conservation,
legal mandates, and Service policies. In
addition to outlining broad management
direction on conserving wildlife and
habitats, CCPs identify wildlifedependent recreational opportunities
available to the public, including
opportunities for hunting, fishing,
wildlife observation and photography,
and environmental interpretation and
education. The Service will review and
update each CCP at least once every 15
years, in accordance with the National
Wildlife Refuge System Improvement
Act of 1997 and the National
Environmental Policy Act of 1969
(NEPA).
This Draft CCP/EA identifies goals,
long-range objectives, and strategies for
achieving the purposes for which this
refuge was established. The document
poses two management alternatives:
Alternative A (Current Management):
This alternative is the ‘‘No Action’’
alternative required by NEPA.
Alternative A defines our current
management activities, including those
planned, funded, or underway, and
serves as the baseline for comparing
Alternative B, our preferred alternative.
It would maintain our present levels of
approved refuge staffing and the
biological and visitor programs now in
place. The refuge would continue to
pursue acquisition of the eight parcels
composing 253 acres that remain within
the original approved acquisition
boundary of the refuge, and the
occasional parcel that becomes available
adjacent to the refuge.
Alternative B (the Service-preferred
alternative): This alternative represents
the combination of actions that we
believe will most effectively achieve the
purposes and goals of the refuge and
address the major issues. It builds on
the programs identified under
Alternative A. Funding and staffing
would need to increase to adequately
support the program expansions we
propose. Key strategies in this
alternative include greater inventory,
monitoring, and management of the
Missisquoi River Delta wetlands to
maintain their ecological integrity and
diversity of plants and animals on the
refuge; increased management of highquality grasslands, shrublands, and
other early successional habitats for a
range of wildlife species of conservation
concern; enhanced, expanded programs
of outreach, and environmental
education and interpretation; expanded
wildlife-dependent recreational
VerDate Aug<31>2005
15:24 Mar 15, 2007
Jkt 211001
opportunities, including hunting,
fishing, wildlife observation and
photography; greater inventory,
protection, and interpretation of the rich
cultural history of the Missisquoi River
Delta and enhanced partnerships with
the local Abenaki Tribe; a new $1.00
Refuge Activity Fee that will raise
additional funds for trail maintenance,
informational kiosks, educational
programs, and other actions to benefit
all visitors to the refuge; a critical new
law enforcement position to enhance
staff and visitor safety; other new
critical positions, including a park
ranger, maintenance worker, and
biological technician. Alternative B also
proposes that, within 1 year of CCP
completion, upon Director’s approval,
we will conduct a study with our
partners to determine if undeveloped
lands within 5 miles of the refuge
warrant additional Service protection to
conserve Federal trust resources and aid
in fulfilling the mission of the NWRS
and the purposes of the refuge.
A wilderness review of the refuge was
completed in 1974. This review, based
on refuge management needs and public
input at the time, proposed that Shad
Island be designated wilderness under
the Wilderness Act of 1964. As part of
the CCP process, we completed a
wilderness review, evaluating all refuge
land for its current wilderness potential.
The review concluded no lands at the
refuge are suitable for inclusion into the
National Wilderness Preservation
System, and we propose to withdraw
Shad Island as a proposed wilderness to
the U.S. Congress.
After the 30-day review and comment
period ends, we will analyze, address,
and consider all comments received and
prepare a final CCP. Availability of the
final CCP will be published in the
Federal Register. All comments,
including names and addresses, become
part of the official public record.
Requests for the public record of this
plan will be handled in accordance with
the Freedom of Information Act, the
Council on Environmental Quality’s
NEPA regulations, and other Service
and Departmental policies and
procedures.
Dated: August 2, 2006.
Marvin E. Moriarty,
Regional Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service, Hadley, MA 01035–9589.
This document was received at the Office
of the Federal Register on March 13, 2007.
[FR Doc. E7–4854 Filed 3–15–07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310–55–P
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12633
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[CA–110]
Meeting of the Central California
Resource Advisory Council
ACTION:
Notice of public meeting.
SUMMARY: In accordance with the
Federal Land Policy and Management
Act (FLPMA) and the Federal Advisory
Committee Act of 1972 (FACA), the U.S.
Department of the Interior, Bureau of
Land Management (BLM) Central
California Resource Advisory Council
will meet as indicated below.
DATES: The meeting will be held Friday
and Saturday, April 20 and 21, 2007, in
the University of California Lindcove
Research and Extension Center meeting
room, 22963 Carson Ave., Exeter,
California. On April 20, the members
will convene at 8 a.m. for a business
meeting, followed by a field trip to
Atwell Island beginning at noon.
Members of the public are welcome to
attend the tour and meeting. Field tour
participants must provide their own
transportation and lunch. The Advisory
Council will resume its meeting at 8
a.m. on April 21 in the Lindcove
Research and Extension Center meeting
room. Time for public comment is
reserved from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. on
April 21.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
BLM Bakersfield Field Office Acting
Manager Patty Gradek, (661) 391–6006;
or BLM Central California Public Affairs
Officer David Christy, (916) 985–4474.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The
twelve-member Central California
Resource Advisory Council advises the
Secretary of the Interior, through the
Bureau of Land Management, on a
variety of public land issues associated
with public land management in the
Central California. At this meeting,
agenda items include discussion of the
Caliente Resource Management Plan
update by the Bakersfield Field Office
and preparation of an Environmental
Impact Statement for the Carrizo Plain
National Monument. The RAC members
will also hear status reports from
managers for the Folsom, Hollister,
Bakersfield and Bishop field offices. The
meeting is open to the public. The
public may present written comments to
the Council, and time will be allocated
for hearing public comments.
Depending on the number of persons
wishing to comment and the time
available, the time for individual oral
comments may be limited. Individuals
who plan to attend and need special
E:\FR\FM\16MRN1.SGM
16MRN1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 51 (Friday, March 16, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 12632-12633]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-4854]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
Draft Comprehensive Conservation Plan and Environmental
Assessment for Missisquoi National Wildlife Refuge
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Department of the Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) announces the
availability of the Missisquoi National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) Draft
Comprehensive Conservation Plan (CCP) and Environmental Assessment
(EA). It describes how we intend to manage Missisquoi NWR during the
next 15 years. We prepared this Draft CCP/EA in conformance with the
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and the National Wildlife
Refuge System Administration Act, as amended.
DATES: The Draft CCP/EA will be available for public review and comment
for a 30-day period starting with the publication of this notice.
ADDRESSES: You may obtain copies of the draft CCP/EA on compact
diskette or in print by writing to Carl Melberg, U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service, Northeast Regional Office, 300 Westgate Center Drive, Hadley,
Massachusetts 01035-9589, or by electronic mail at
northeastplanning@fws.gov, noting in the subject line ``Missisquoi
National Wildlife Refuge.'' You may also view the draft on the Web at
https://library.fws.gov/ccps.htm. During the 30-day comment period, we
plan to host public meetings in the local area. We will post the
details of each meeting at least 2 weeks in advance to our project
mailing list in local papers, at the refuge and at our Web site, http:/
/www.fws.gov/northeast/missisquoirefuge/.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Carl Melberg, 413-253-8521.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The National Wildlife Refuge System
Administration Act of 1966, as amended by the National Wildlife Refuge
System Improvement Act of 1997, requires the Service to develop a CCP
for each refuge. The purpose of developing a CCP is to provide refuge
managers with
[[Page 12633]]
a 15-year strategy for achieving refuge purposes and contributing to
the mission of the National Wildlife Refuge System (NWRS), in
conformance with the sound principles of fish and wildlife science,
natural resources conservation, legal mandates, and Service policies.
In addition to outlining broad management direction on conserving
wildlife and habitats, CCPs identify wildlife-dependent recreational
opportunities available to the public, including opportunities for
hunting, fishing, wildlife observation and photography, and
environmental interpretation and education. The Service will review and
update each CCP at least once every 15 years, in accordance with the
National Wildlife Refuge System Improvement Act of 1997 and the
National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA).
This Draft CCP/EA identifies goals, long-range objectives, and
strategies for achieving the purposes for which this refuge was
established. The document poses two management alternatives:
Alternative A (Current Management): This alternative is the ``No
Action'' alternative required by NEPA. Alternative A defines our
current management activities, including those planned, funded, or
underway, and serves as the baseline for comparing Alternative B, our
preferred alternative. It would maintain our present levels of approved
refuge staffing and the biological and visitor programs now in place.
The refuge would continue to pursue acquisition of the eight parcels
composing 253 acres that remain within the original approved
acquisition boundary of the refuge, and the occasional parcel that
becomes available adjacent to the refuge.
Alternative B (the Service-preferred alternative): This alternative
represents the combination of actions that we believe will most
effectively achieve the purposes and goals of the refuge and address
the major issues. It builds on the programs identified under
Alternative A. Funding and staffing would need to increase to
adequately support the program expansions we propose. Key strategies in
this alternative include greater inventory, monitoring, and management
of the Missisquoi River Delta wetlands to maintain their ecological
integrity and diversity of plants and animals on the refuge; increased
management of high-quality grasslands, shrublands, and other early
successional habitats for a range of wildlife species of conservation
concern; enhanced, expanded programs of outreach, and environmental
education and interpretation; expanded wildlife-dependent recreational
opportunities, including hunting, fishing, wildlife observation and
photography; greater inventory, protection, and interpretation of the
rich cultural history of the Missisquoi River Delta and enhanced
partnerships with the local Abenaki Tribe; a new $1.00 Refuge Activity
Fee that will raise additional funds for trail maintenance,
informational kiosks, educational programs, and other actions to
benefit all visitors to the refuge; a critical new law enforcement
position to enhance staff and visitor safety; other new critical
positions, including a park ranger, maintenance worker, and biological
technician. Alternative B also proposes that, within 1 year of CCP
completion, upon Director's approval, we will conduct a study with our
partners to determine if undeveloped lands within 5 miles of the refuge
warrant additional Service protection to conserve Federal trust
resources and aid in fulfilling the mission of the NWRS and the
purposes of the refuge.
A wilderness review of the refuge was completed in 1974. This
review, based on refuge management needs and public input at the time,
proposed that Shad Island be designated wilderness under the Wilderness
Act of 1964. As part of the CCP process, we completed a wilderness
review, evaluating all refuge land for its current wilderness
potential. The review concluded no lands at the refuge are suitable for
inclusion into the National Wilderness Preservation System, and we
propose to withdraw Shad Island as a proposed wilderness to the U.S.
Congress.
After the 30-day review and comment period ends, we will analyze,
address, and consider all comments received and prepare a final CCP.
Availability of the final CCP will be published in the Federal
Register. All comments, including names and addresses, become part of
the official public record. Requests for the public record of this plan
will be handled in accordance with the Freedom of Information Act, the
Council on Environmental Quality's NEPA regulations, and other Service
and Departmental policies and procedures.
Dated: August 2, 2006.
Marvin E. Moriarty,
Regional Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Hadley, MA 01035-
9589.
This document was received at the Office of the Federal
Register on March 13, 2007.
[FR Doc. E7-4854 Filed 3-15-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-55-P
