Tetlin National Wildlife Refuge, Tok, AK, 63190-63192 [E8-25283]
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63190
Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 206 / Thursday, October 23, 2008 / Notices
HUD with records from the MFIS,
DLOS, and GLS systems that identify
recipients of emergency Rental
Assistance and Natural Disaster/
Hurricane housing loans and grants and
loan guarantees. The notice for this
system is contained in the System of
Records titled ‘‘USDA/Rural
Development’’, last published in 63 FR
38546 (July 17, 1998), and the
disclosure will be made in accordance
with routine use ‘‘15,’’ which permits
disclosure to another Federal agency
‘‘for the purpose of determining
compliance with Federal regulations
and appropriate servicing actions
against those not entitled to program
benefits, including possible recovery of
improper benefits.’’ The comparisons
will identify, based on criteria
established by HUD–OIG, individuals
whose incomes, family size, address, or
benefit levels require further verification
to determine if they received
appropriate levels of Federal assistance.
dwashington3 on PRODPC61 with NOTICES
A. Income Verification Procedures
Any match (i.e., a ‘‘hit’’) will be
further reviewed by the HUD–OIG to
determine whether the recipient was
eligible to receive the assistance. Hits
shall also be provided to, and further
reviewed by, RHA and USDA–OIG to
determine whether duplicate assistance
was provided.
In order to protect any individuals
whose records are used in matching, the
HA or subsidized multifamily project
owner or management agent will not
suspend, terminate, reduce, or make a
final denial of any housing assistance to
such individual, or take other adverse
action against such individual as a
result of information produced by such
matching program, until an officer or
employee of such agency has
independently verified such
information. This independent
verification includes: (1) Comparing
automated tenant data with manual files
to verify tenant identity, family
composition and reported income; (2)
verifying the tenants’ income by sending
HUD prepared income confirmations to
employers for cases where records
indicate unreported or under-reported
income; (3) analyzing the confirmed
information; (4) calculating the
unreported income and excessive
housing assistance received by the
family; (5) determining whether the
individual actually has or had access to
such income for the individual’s own
use; and (6) determining the period or
periods when the individual actually
had such income.
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14:58 Oct 22, 2008
Jkt 217001
B. Administrative or Legal Actions
HUD–OIG shall also provide reports
to RHS and/or USDA–OIG for reasons of
information verification concerning
excess and/or duplicate housing
assistance payments. Upon completion
of the verification procedures, cases
may be referred to Federal, state or local
law enforcement authorities (including
HUD–OIG and USDA–OIG) for
consideration of criminal or civil
prosecution. Cases that are not referred
for—or after referral are rejected for—
criminal or civil prosecution, may be
referred to HAs, multifamily project
owners or management agents to initiate
administrative actions according to
applicable procedures.
A HA, project owner or management
agent may not suspend, terminate,
reduce, or make a final denial of any
housing assistance to any individual or
take other adverse action against such
individual as a result of information
produced by a matching program: (1)
Unless the individual has received a
statement of the findings, including
notice to the individual of the
opportunity to contest such findings;
and (2) until the expiration of a 30
calendar-day period from the date of the
notice in (1).
If the matching subject responds
within the 30 calendar-day notice
period and indicates acceptance of the
validity of the adverse information,
immediate action to reduce or terminate
benefits may be taken.
IV. Records To Be Matched
A description of the tenant records
(one record for each family member)
includes these data elements: (1) SSNs
for each family member; (2) family
control number to identify each tenant
with a particular family; (3) Head of
Household Indicator; (4) Last Name,
First Name, Middle Initial, and Address
for household; (5) Sex; (6) Birth Date; (7)
Reported Income by source, description
and amount; (8) Program Code; and (9)
Recertification Date.
DLOS and GLS systems records (one
record for each loan/grant) includes
these data elements: (1) Account
number for each loan/grant; (2) SSNs for
each borrower/co-borrower (Borrower
ID—primary/secondary); (3) Last Name,
First Name, Middle Initial, and Property
Address for loan/grant; (5) Sex; (6)
Program Title; (7) Date of the Obligation,
amount, and unpaid balance; (8) Age of
borrower/co-borrower; (9) Date of
Application; (10) Date of Approval; and
(11) Program Type Code.
For matched applicants (i.e., ‘‘hits’’),
HUD–OIG will match the following
information from MFIS, DLOS and GLS:
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Frm 00059
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
name(s), address(es), social security
number(s), assistance date(s), and
rental/loan/grant assistance amount(s).
V. Period of the Match
This agreement shall become effective
30 days after publication of a computer
matching notice in the Federal Register,
or 40 days after the agreement is signed
by both Data Integrity Boards and has
been transmitted to Congress and the
OMB for review, whichever is later.
This agreement will terminate when the
purpose of the computer match is
accomplished, or 18 months from the
date this signed agreement is sent to
both Houses of Congress and OMB,
whichever comes first. Should the
purpose not be accomplished within 18
months, the agreement may be extended
for one 12-month period, with the
mutual agreement of all involved
parties, if within three months of the
expiration date, the respective Data
Integrity Boards review the agreement
and find that the program will be
conducted without change, find a
continued favorable examination of
cost/benefit results, and all involved
parties certify that the program has been
conducted in compliance with this
agreement. This agreement may be
terminated, prior to accomplishment of
the computer matching purpose or 18
months from the date this signed
agreement is sent to both Houses of
Congress and OMB (whichever comes
first), by the mutual agreement of all
involved parties, with 30 days written
notice.
Authority: 5 U.S.C. 552a; 88 Stat. 1986; 42
U.S.C. 3535(d).
Dated: October 16, 2008.
Lisa Schlosser,
Chief Information Officer.
[FR Doc. E8–25267 Filed 10–22–08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4210–67–P
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[FWS–R7–R–2008–N0068; 70133–1265–000–
S3]
Tetlin National Wildlife Refuge, Tok,
AK
Fish and Wildlife Service,
Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability of the
revised comprehensive conservation
plan and finding of no significant
impact for environmental assessment.
AGENCY:
SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service (Service) announce the
availability of our Revised
E:\FR\FM\23OCN1.SGM
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Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 206 / Thursday, October 23, 2008 / Notices
Comprehensive Conservation Plan
(CCP) and Finding of No Significant
Impact (FONSI) for the Environmental
Assessment (EA) for the Tetlin National
Wildlife Refuge (Tetlin Refuge). In this
revised CCP, we describe how we will
manage this refuge for the next 15 years.
ADDRESSES: You may view or obtain
copies of the revised CCP and FONSI by
any of the following methods. You may
request a paper copy, a summary, or a
CD–ROM containing both.
Agency Web Site: Download a copy of
the documents at https://alaska.fws.gov/
nwr/planning/tetpol.htm.
E-mail: fw7_tetlin_planning@fws.gov.
Please include ‘‘Tetlin Refuge Revised
CCP’’ in the subject line of the message.
Mail: Mikel Haase, Planning Team
Leader, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,
1011 East Tudor Road, MS 231,
Anchorage, AK 99503–6199.
In-Person Viewing or Pickup: Call
(907) 786–3357 to make an appointment
during regular business hours at the
USFWS Regional Office, 1011 E. Tudor
Road, Anchorage, AK 99503 or call
(907) 883–5312 to make an appointment
during regular business hours at Tetlin
Refuge, Mile Post 1314 Alaska Highway,
Tok, AK 99780.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Mikel Haase, Planning Team Leader,
(907) 786–3402 or
fw7_tetlin_planning@fws.gov.
dwashington3 on PRODPC61 with NOTICES
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Introduction
With this notice, we finalize the CCP
process for the Tetlin Refuge. We started
this process with a notice of intent in
the Federal Register (69 FR 70704, Dec.
7, 2004) and a revised notice of intent
in the Federal Register (71 FR 42116,
July 25, 2006). We announced the
availability of the draft CCP and EA, and
requested comments in a notice of
availability in the Federal Register (72
FR 56371, Oct. 3, 2007).
Tetlin Refuge is located northeast of
the Alaska Range, adjacent to the U.S.–
Canada border in the headwaters of the
Tanana River. It is bordered by
Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and
Preserve to the south and Canada to the
east. The Alaska Highway runs adjacent
to its northeastern border. The Refuge
lies within the Nabesna/Chisana River
Basin, in the Upper Tanana Valley. The
large, flat basin of the Upper Tanana
River Valley is dominated by lakes,
ponds, and wetland tundra. Most of the
Refuge is rolling lowlands; however, the
Mentasta Mountains in the refuge’s
southwest corner are rugged, glaciercarved peaks reaching elevations of
8,000 feet. The Refuge boundaries
encompass over 900,000 acres, of which
VerDate Aug<31>2005
14:58 Oct 22, 2008
Jkt 217001
about 700,000 acres are Federal lands.
The landscape provides valuable habitat
for a wide variety of fish and wildlife
species. The Upper Tanana Valley,
including Tetlin Refuge, is one of the
most significant migratory bird corridors
in the world as it is located along three
major flyways. The extensive wetlands,
rivers, ponds, and forests of the Refuge
provide resting and breeding habitats for
hundreds of thousands of migratory
birds.
We announce our decision and the
availability of the FONSI for the revised
CCP for the Tetlin Refuge in accordance
with National Environmental Policy Act
(NEPA) (40 CFR 1506.6(b))
requirements. We completed a thorough
analysis of impacts on the human
environment in the EA that
accompanied the draft revised CCP.
The CCP will guide us in managing
and administering the Tetlin Refuge for
the next 15 years. The revised CCP is
Alternative B, the preferred alternative
in the draft CCP, developed in response
to public scoping comments.
Background
The Alaska National Interest Lands
Conservation Act of 1980 (94 Stat. 2371;
ANILCA) and the National Wildlife
Refuge System Improvement Act of
1997 (16 U.S.C. 668dd–668ee) require
us to develop a CCP for each Alaska
refuge. The purpose for developing a
CCP is to provide refuge managers with
a 15-year plan for achieving refuge
purposes and contributing toward the
mission of the National Wildlife Refuge
System, consistent with sound
principles of fish and wildlife
management, conservation, legal
mandates, and our policies. We will
review and update the CCP at least
every 15 years in accordance with
national policy and ANILCA.
ANILCA requires us is to designate
areas according to their respective
resources and values and to specify
programs and uses within the areas
designated. To meet this requirement,
the Alaska Region established
management categories for refuges
including Wilderness, Minimal,
Moderate, Intensive, and Wild River
management. For each management
category we identified appropriate
activities, public uses, commercial uses,
and facilities. Only the Minimal,
Moderate, and Intensive management
categories are applied to Tetlin Refuge.
Draft CCP Alternatives
Our draft CCP and EA addressed five
issues and evaluated three alternatives.
The five significant issues raised during
scoping were: (1) The visitor services
role of Tetlin Refuge in the upper
PO 00000
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Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
63191
Tanana Valley; (2) refuge role in
providing opportunities for access and
associated facilities for existing and
expanding wildlife-dependent uses of
the Refuge; (3) management of fire on
the Refuge to provide adequate
protection of refuge resources and
private property within and adjacent to
the Refuge; (4) use of prescribed fire as
a method of habitat management; and
(5) use of fishery management actions to
maintain native fish breeding stocks and
enhance recreational fishing.
Alternative A (the no-action
alternative—a NEPA requirement)
described what would happen with a
continuation of current management
activities and served as a baseline for
comparison of other alternatives. Under
Alternative A, management of the refuge
would continue to follow the current
course of action as described in the 1987
Tetlin CCP and Record of Decision as
modified by subsequent programspecific plans. Refuge lands would
remain in their present management
categories—about 564,300 acres (82.7
percent) in Minimal management,
116,600 acres (17.1 percent) in Moderate
management, and 1,700 acres (less than
one percent) in Intensive management.
Under our selected alternative,
Alternative B, refuge lands would
continue to be managed in their present
management categories. New regional
policies and guidelines for national
wildlife refuges in Alaska would be
incorporated. In addition to the actions
included under Alternative A, the
Refuge would work to gain ‘‘Gateway
Community’’ status for Tok, promote
opportunities for current and new
public uses and facilities, continue to
protect resources and property from fire,
emphasizing the use of natural fire and
a variety of fire management techniques,
and native fisheries would be managed
to maintain natural diversity. See below
for additional details.
Under Alternative C, no changes in
land management classifications would
occur. New regional policies and
guidelines for national wildlife refuges
in Alaska would be incorporated. In
addition to actions under Alternatives A
and B, this alternative would expand
the refuge interpretive program and
includes construction of additional
interpretive facilities, hiking trails, boat
launches, other recreation and accessrelated facilities, and public use cabins.
It would also establish a fee system at
some campgrounds to support
additional amenities, and mark
campsites and maintain portages on
canoe routes. Fire suppression would be
the primary tool to protect resources
and property on the Refuge. Fisheries
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63192
Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 206 / Thursday, October 23, 2008 / Notices
management would be the same as
under Alternative B.
dwashington3 on PRODPC61 with NOTICES
Comments on the Draft CCP
Comments on the draft CCP/EA for
Tetlin Refuge were solicited by the
Service from October 3, 2007, through
January 18, 2008. During the public
review and comment period the Service
held public meetings in Fairbanks,
Northway, Tanacross, Tetlin, and Tok.
The planning team reviewed, analyzed,
and summarized all comments received
at the public meetings and in writing.
We received a number of comments
which supported plans for additional
recreational opportunities and facilities,
additional access to the Refuge, and that
all-terrain vehicle use be restricted.
Support was expressed for use of
natural fire management regimes,
restricted use of prescribed fire, and use
of aggressive fire control only in or near
intensive use areas and around private
inholdings. Several comments were
made regarding management of fish and
wildlife populations-related specifically
to invasive species, non-native species,
predator control, and trophy fisheries.
Selected Alternative—Alternative B
Under the selected alternative, refuge
lands would remain in their present
management categories—about 564,300
acres (82.7 percent) in Minimal
management, 116,600 acres (17.1
percent) in Moderate management, and
1,700 acres (less than one percent) in
Intensive management. Along with the
actions described under Alternative A,
the Refuge would pursue additional
management actions under Alternative
B. The Refuge would work with the
local community to seek formal
recognition of Tok as a ‘‘Gateway
Community’’ and to increase
opportunities for environmental
education, interpretation, and recreation
off-Refuge and in support of or in
conjunction with refuge programs.
Opportunities for current and new
public use would be promoted (canoe
routes established and public outreach
would encourage use of administrative
cabins); additional public use facilities
would be constructed, upgraded, or
established (additional hiking trails and
primitive campsites at Seaton
Roadhouse and sanitary facilities-in
conjunction with the Alaska Department
of Transportation—at highway
pullouts). The Refuge would upgrade or
establish additional access (to promote
day-use near the Alaska Highway, to
increase season of use at Lakeview and
Deadman Lake campgrounds, and to
provide additional backcountry
opportunities); and additional signing
(for interpretive pullouts and
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14:58 Oct 22, 2008
Jkt 217001
undeveloped trailheads and access
points). There would continue to be no
use of all-terrain vehicles authorized on
the refuge.
The Refuge would continue to protect
resources and property using a variety
of fire management techniques
including prescribed burning,
suppression, thinning, and wildland fire
use. The use of natural fire would be
emphasized with prescribed burns
based only on specific project objectives
(e.g. fuels reduction, habitat protection,
or fire effects research) and suppression
to reduce potential for large-scale
wildfires and to maintain long-term
ecological health of refuge lands.
Natural fire would be the primary tool
to maintain and enhance habitat. Native
fisheries would be managed to maintain
self-sustaining, healthy populations to
contribute to the natural diversity in the
Upper Tanana Valley; any new
reintroduction plans will be based on
historic distribution.
Dated: October 10, 2008.
Thomas O. Melius,
Regional Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service, Anchorage, Alaska.
[FR Doc. E8–25283 Filed 10–22–08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310–55–P
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[FWS–R9–EA–2008–N0266]
Sport Fishing and Boating Partnership
Council
Fish and Wildlife Service,
Interior.
ACTION: Notice of meeting.
AGENCY:
SUMMARY: We, Fish and Wildlife
Service, announce a public meeting of
the Sport Fishing and Boating
Partnership Council (Council).
DATES: The meeting will be held on
Friday, November 7, 2008, from 8:30
a.m. to 3:30 p.m. (Eastern Time).
Members of the public wishing to
participate in the meeting must notify
Douglas Hobbs by close of business on
Friday, October 24, 2008, per
instructions under SUPPLEMENTARY
INFORMATION.
ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at
the Hotel Monaco Alexandria, in the
Athens Room, 480 King Street,
Alexandria, VA; telephone (703) 549–
6080.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Douglas Hobbs, Council Coordinator,
4401 North Fairfax Drive, Mailstop
3103–AEA, Arlington, VA 22203;
telephone (703) 358–2336; fax (703)
PO 00000
Frm 00061
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
358–2548; or via e-mail at
doug_hobbs@fws.gov.
In
accordance with the requirements of the
Federal Advisory Committee Act, 5
U.S.C. App., we announce that the Sport
Fishing and Boating Partnership
Council will hold a meeting on Friday,
November 7, 2008.
The Council was formed in January
1993 to advise the Secretary of the
Interior, through the Director, U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service, on nationally
significant recreational fishing, boating,
and aquatic resource conservation
issues. The Council represents the
interests of the public and private
sectors of the sport fishing, boating, and
conservation communities and is
organized to enhance partnerships
among industry, constituency groups,
and government. The 18-member
Council, appointed by the Secretary of
the Interior, includes the Director of the
Service and the president of the
Association of Fish and Wildlife
Agencies, who both serve in ex officio
capacities. Other Council members are
Directors from State agencies
responsible for managing recreational
fish and wildlife resources and
individuals who represent the interests
of saltwater and freshwater recreational
fishing, recreational boating, the
recreational fishing and boating
industries, recreational fisheries
resource conservation, Native American
tribes, aquatic resource outreach and
education, and tourism. Background
information on the Council is available
at https://www.fws.gov/sfbpc.
The Council will convene to consider:
(1) The Council’s continuing role in
providing input to the Fish and Wildlife
Service on the Service’s strategic plan
for its Fisheries Program; (2) the
Council’s work in addressing the issue
of boating and fishing access; (3)
methods for communicating
programmatic issues of interest to
incoming Department and Service
personnel; (4) the Council’s work to
assess the Sport Fish Restoration
Boating Access Program; (5) information
pertaining to Sport Fish Restoration and
Boating Trust Fund; (6) the Council’s
role in providing the Secretary with
information about the implementation
of the Strategic Plan for the National
Outreach and Communications
Program, authorized by the 1998
Sportfishing and Boating Safety Act,
that is now being implemented by the
Recreational Boating and Fishing
Foundation, a private, nonprofit
organization; and (7) other Council
business. The final agenda will be
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 206 (Thursday, October 23, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 63190-63192]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-25283]
=======================================================================
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[FWS-R7-R-2008-N0068; 70133-1265-000-S3]
Tetlin National Wildlife Refuge, Tok, AK
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability of the revised comprehensive
conservation plan and finding of no significant impact for
environmental assessment.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) announce the
availability of our Revised
[[Page 63191]]
Comprehensive Conservation Plan (CCP) and Finding of No Significant
Impact (FONSI) for the Environmental Assessment (EA) for the Tetlin
National Wildlife Refuge (Tetlin Refuge). In this revised CCP, we
describe how we will manage this refuge for the next 15 years.
ADDRESSES: You may view or obtain copies of the revised CCP and FONSI
by any of the following methods. You may request a paper copy, a
summary, or a CD-ROM containing both.
Agency Web Site: Download a copy of the documents at https://
alaska.fws.gov/nwr/planning/tetpol.htm.
E-mail: fw7_tetlin_planning@fws.gov. Please include ``Tetlin
Refuge Revised CCP'' in the subject line of the message.
Mail: Mikel Haase, Planning Team Leader, U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service, 1011 East Tudor Road, MS 231, Anchorage, AK 99503-6199.
In-Person Viewing or Pickup: Call (907) 786-3357 to make an
appointment during regular business hours at the USFWS Regional Office,
1011 E. Tudor Road, Anchorage, AK 99503 or call (907) 883-5312 to make
an appointment during regular business hours at Tetlin Refuge, Mile
Post 1314 Alaska Highway, Tok, AK 99780.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mikel Haase, Planning Team Leader,
(907) 786-3402 or fw7_tetlin_planning@fws.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Introduction
With this notice, we finalize the CCP process for the Tetlin
Refuge. We started this process with a notice of intent in the Federal
Register (69 FR 70704, Dec. 7, 2004) and a revised notice of intent in
the Federal Register (71 FR 42116, July 25, 2006). We announced the
availability of the draft CCP and EA, and requested comments in a
notice of availability in the Federal Register (72 FR 56371, Oct. 3,
2007).
Tetlin Refuge is located northeast of the Alaska Range, adjacent to
the U.S.-Canada border in the headwaters of the Tanana River. It is
bordered by Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve to the south
and Canada to the east. The Alaska Highway runs adjacent to its
northeastern border. The Refuge lies within the Nabesna/Chisana River
Basin, in the Upper Tanana Valley. The large, flat basin of the Upper
Tanana River Valley is dominated by lakes, ponds, and wetland tundra.
Most of the Refuge is rolling lowlands; however, the Mentasta Mountains
in the refuge's southwest corner are rugged, glacier-carved peaks
reaching elevations of 8,000 feet. The Refuge boundaries encompass over
900,000 acres, of which about 700,000 acres are Federal lands. The
landscape provides valuable habitat for a wide variety of fish and
wildlife species. The Upper Tanana Valley, including Tetlin Refuge, is
one of the most significant migratory bird corridors in the world as it
is located along three major flyways. The extensive wetlands, rivers,
ponds, and forests of the Refuge provide resting and breeding habitats
for hundreds of thousands of migratory birds.
We announce our decision and the availability of the FONSI for the
revised CCP for the Tetlin Refuge in accordance with National
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) (40 CFR 1506.6(b)) requirements. We
completed a thorough analysis of impacts on the human environment in
the EA that accompanied the draft revised CCP.
The CCP will guide us in managing and administering the Tetlin
Refuge for the next 15 years. The revised CCP is Alternative B, the
preferred alternative in the draft CCP, developed in response to public
scoping comments.
Background
The Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act of 1980 (94
Stat. 2371; ANILCA) and the National Wildlife Refuge System Improvement
Act of 1997 (16 U.S.C. 668dd-668ee) require us to develop a CCP for
each Alaska refuge. The purpose for developing a CCP is to provide
refuge managers with a 15-year plan for achieving refuge purposes and
contributing toward the mission of the National Wildlife Refuge System,
consistent with sound principles of fish and wildlife management,
conservation, legal mandates, and our policies. We will review and
update the CCP at least every 15 years in accordance with national
policy and ANILCA.
ANILCA requires us is to designate areas according to their
respective resources and values and to specify programs and uses within
the areas designated. To meet this requirement, the Alaska Region
established management categories for refuges including Wilderness,
Minimal, Moderate, Intensive, and Wild River management. For each
management category we identified appropriate activities, public uses,
commercial uses, and facilities. Only the Minimal, Moderate, and
Intensive management categories are applied to Tetlin Refuge.
Draft CCP Alternatives
Our draft CCP and EA addressed five issues and evaluated three
alternatives. The five significant issues raised during scoping were:
(1) The visitor services role of Tetlin Refuge in the upper Tanana
Valley; (2) refuge role in providing opportunities for access and
associated facilities for existing and expanding wildlife-dependent
uses of the Refuge; (3) management of fire on the Refuge to provide
adequate protection of refuge resources and private property within and
adjacent to the Refuge; (4) use of prescribed fire as a method of
habitat management; and (5) use of fishery management actions to
maintain native fish breeding stocks and enhance recreational fishing.
Alternative A (the no-action alternative--a NEPA requirement)
described what would happen with a continuation of current management
activities and served as a baseline for comparison of other
alternatives. Under Alternative A, management of the refuge would
continue to follow the current course of action as described in the
1987 Tetlin CCP and Record of Decision as modified by subsequent
program-specific plans. Refuge lands would remain in their present
management categories--about 564,300 acres (82.7 percent) in Minimal
management, 116,600 acres (17.1 percent) in Moderate management, and
1,700 acres (less than one percent) in Intensive management.
Under our selected alternative, Alternative B, refuge lands would
continue to be managed in their present management categories. New
regional policies and guidelines for national wildlife refuges in
Alaska would be incorporated. In addition to the actions included under
Alternative A, the Refuge would work to gain ``Gateway Community''
status for Tok, promote opportunities for current and new public uses
and facilities, continue to protect resources and property from fire,
emphasizing the use of natural fire and a variety of fire management
techniques, and native fisheries would be managed to maintain natural
diversity. See below for additional details.
Under Alternative C, no changes in land management classifications
would occur. New regional policies and guidelines for national wildlife
refuges in Alaska would be incorporated. In addition to actions under
Alternatives A and B, this alternative would expand the refuge
interpretive program and includes construction of additional
interpretive facilities, hiking trails, boat launches, other recreation
and access-related facilities, and public use cabins. It would also
establish a fee system at some campgrounds to support additional
amenities, and mark campsites and maintain portages on canoe routes.
Fire suppression would be the primary tool to protect resources and
property on the Refuge. Fisheries
[[Page 63192]]
management would be the same as under Alternative B.
Comments on the Draft CCP
Comments on the draft CCP/EA for Tetlin Refuge were solicited by
the Service from October 3, 2007, through January 18, 2008. During the
public review and comment period the Service held public meetings in
Fairbanks, Northway, Tanacross, Tetlin, and Tok. The planning team
reviewed, analyzed, and summarized all comments received at the public
meetings and in writing. We received a number of comments which
supported plans for additional recreational opportunities and
facilities, additional access to the Refuge, and that all-terrain
vehicle use be restricted. Support was expressed for use of natural
fire management regimes, restricted use of prescribed fire, and use of
aggressive fire control only in or near intensive use areas and around
private inholdings. Several comments were made regarding management of
fish and wildlife populations-related specifically to invasive species,
non-native species, predator control, and trophy fisheries.
Selected Alternative--Alternative B
Under the selected alternative, refuge lands would remain in their
present management categories--about 564,300 acres (82.7 percent) in
Minimal management, 116,600 acres (17.1 percent) in Moderate
management, and 1,700 acres (less than one percent) in Intensive
management. Along with the actions described under Alternative A, the
Refuge would pursue additional management actions under Alternative B.
The Refuge would work with the local community to seek formal
recognition of Tok as a ``Gateway Community'' and to increase
opportunities for environmental education, interpretation, and
recreation off-Refuge and in support of or in conjunction with refuge
programs. Opportunities for current and new public use would be
promoted (canoe routes established and public outreach would encourage
use of administrative cabins); additional public use facilities would
be constructed, upgraded, or established (additional hiking trails and
primitive campsites at Seaton Roadhouse and sanitary facilities-in
conjunction with the Alaska Department of Transportation--at highway
pullouts). The Refuge would upgrade or establish additional access (to
promote day-use near the Alaska Highway, to increase season of use at
Lakeview and Deadman Lake campgrounds, and to provide additional
backcountry opportunities); and additional signing (for interpretive
pullouts and undeveloped trailheads and access points). There would
continue to be no use of all-terrain vehicles authorized on the refuge.
The Refuge would continue to protect resources and property using a
variety of fire management techniques including prescribed burning,
suppression, thinning, and wildland fire use. The use of natural fire
would be emphasized with prescribed burns based only on specific
project objectives (e.g. fuels reduction, habitat protection, or fire
effects research) and suppression to reduce potential for large-scale
wildfires and to maintain long-term ecological health of refuge lands.
Natural fire would be the primary tool to maintain and enhance habitat.
Native fisheries would be managed to maintain self-sustaining, healthy
populations to contribute to the natural diversity in the Upper Tanana
Valley; any new reintroduction plans will be based on historic
distribution.
Dated: October 10, 2008.
Thomas O. Melius,
Regional Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Anchorage, Alaska.
[FR Doc. E8-25283 Filed 10-22-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-55-P
