Crane Meadows National Wildlife Refuge, Morrison County, MN, 39037-39038 [2010-16426]
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39037
Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 129 / Wednesday, July 7, 2010 / Notices
Number of
respondents
Annual
responses
3,174
1
Reporting burden ..............................................................................
Total Estimated Burden Hours: 3,644.
Status: Extension of a currently
approved collection.
Authority: Section 3507 of the Paperwork
Reduction Act of 1995, 44 U.S.C. 35, as
amended.
Dated: July 1, 2010.
Leroy McKinney, Jr.,
Departmental Reports Management Officer,
Office of the Chief Information Officer.
2. E-mail: r3planning@fws.gov.
Include ‘‘Crane Meadows Draft CCP/EA’’
in the subject line of the message.
3. Fax: 763–389–3493.
4. Mail: Attention: Refuge Manager,
Sherburne-Crane Meadows National
Wildlife Refuge Complex, 17076 293
Avenue, Zimmerman, Minnesota 55398.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
[FR Doc. 2010–16505 Filed 7–6–10; 8:45 am]
Anne Sittauer, 763–389–3323.
BILLING CODE 4210–67–P
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Introduction
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[FWS–R3–R–2010–N117; 30136–1265–0000–
S3]
Crane Meadows National Wildlife
Refuge, Morrison County, MN
cprice-sewell on DSK8KYBLC1PROD with NOTICES
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service,
Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability: Draft
comprehensive conservation plan and
environmental assessment; request for
comments.
SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service (Service), announce the
availability of a draft comprehensive
conservation plan (CCP) and draft
environmental assessment (EA) for
Crane Meadows National Wildlife
Refuge (NWR) for public review and
comment. In this draft CCP/EA we
describe how we propose to manage the
refuge for the next 15 years.
DATES: To ensure consideration, we
must receive your written comments by
August 6, 2010. An open house style
meeting will be held during the
comment period to receive comments
and provide information on the draft
plan. Special mailings, newspaper
articles, internet postings, and other
media announcements will inform
people of the meeting and opportunities
for written comments.
ADDRESSES: Comments or requests for
more information can be sent by any of
the following methods. You may also
drop off comments in person at Crane
Meadows NWR.
1. Agency Web site: View or
download a copy of the document and
comment at https://www.fws.gov/
midwest/planning/CraneMeadows/
index.html.
VerDate Mar<15>2010
15:28 Jul 06, 2010
Jkt 220001
With this notice, we continue the CCP
process for Crane Meadows NWR,
which we began by publishing a notice
of intent on (73 FR 76677–76678,
December 17, 2008). For more
information about the planning process,
see that notice.
Crane Meadows NWR was established
in 1992 for ‘* * * the conservation of
the wetlands of the Nation * * *’ under
the Emergency Wetland Resources Act
of 1986. The Service owns and manages
approximately 1,800 acres of 13,540
acres proposed for acquisition. The
unique wetland complex contains rare
and declining habitat types, important
archaeological resources, a diversity of
local and migratory species, and an
abundance of recreational opportunities.
Background
The CCP Process
The National Wildlife Refuge System
Administration Act of 1966, as amended
by the National Wildlife Refuge System
Improvement Act of 1997 (16 U.S.C.
668dd–668ee), requires us to develop a
comprehensive conservation plan for
each national wildlife refuge. The
purpose in developing a CCP is to
provide refuge managers with a 15-year
strategy 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 Service policies. In
addition to outlining broad management
direction on conserving wildlife and
their habitats, plans identify wildlifedependent recreational opportunities
available to the public, including
opportunities for hunting, fishing,
wildlife observation, wildlife
photography, and environmental
education and interpretation.
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Fmt 4703
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×
Hours per
response
1.148
=
Burden hours
3,644
CCP Alternatives and Our Preferred
Alternative
Priority Issues
During the public scoping process,
we, other stakeholders and partners, and
the public identified several priority
issues related to habitat, land
acquisition, water resources, wildlife,
visitor services, archaeological
resources, and support for the Refuge.
To address these issues, we developed
and evaluated the following alternatives
during the planning process.
Alternative A: Current Management
Direction (No Action)
The current management direction of
Crane Meadows NWR would be
maintained under this alternative.
Required by NEPA, this is referred to as
the ‘‘No Action’’ alternative. Land
acquisition is minimal, conservation
work on private lands is extensive, and
both occur opportunistically. As land is
acquired quality habitats are maintained
in their current state, degraded habitats
are improved or restored, and all habitat
types are considered to have relatively
equal priority. There is an active
prescribed fire program, little
involvement with local water resources,
minimal active wildlife management,
and monitoring efforts follow existing,
broader state and federal efforts. Visitor
use is concentrated on the Headquarters
Unit, and consists of wildlife
observation, photography, hiking, crosscountry skiing, and snowshoeing as
seasons and trail conditions allow. No
hunting or fishing is permitted.
Alternative B: Habitat Restoration to
Pre-Settlement Benchmark Conditions
and Increased Provision of Visitors
Services (Preferred Alternative)
Alternative B portrays a long-term
vision for habitat restoration to nearhistoric benchmark conditions and
increases recreation opportunities for
visitors. Historic ecological data is used
to set habitat restoration priorities
favoring savanna and wetland habitats
over existing prairies and woodlands.
This alternative includes active
participation in monitoring and
improving local water resources, a welldeveloped prescribed fire plan,
increased land acquisition efforts in
high priority areas, additional
inventories and monitoring of plant and
animal species, recreational
opportunities in a greater number of
E:\FR\FM\07JYN1.SGM
07JYN1
39038
Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 129 / Wednesday, July 7, 2010 / Notices
locations, and new visitor uses
including hunting.
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
Alternative C: High Involvement in
Watershed Improvement
[FWS–R3–R–2010–N118; 30136–1265–0000–
S3]
The third alternative, Alternative C,
retains many of the concepts and
objectives from alternative B, but
increases the emphasis given to water
resources both on-Refuge and in the
watershed upstream of the wetland
complex. Alternative C restores
additional wetland and upland acres
up-watershed of the Refuge, expands
water resource monitoring and
improvement activities throughout the
east half of the Platte-Spunk watershed,
targets a limited quantity of additional
lands with critical water resource value
adjacent to the existing Refuge boundary
for acquisition, increases and directs
private lands work to priority aquatic
and riparian areas upstream of the
Refuge, emphasizes fishing as a primary
recreation opportunity, directs
additional education and interpretation
efforts to water resource topics, and
highlights partnerships, outreach
opportunities, and volunteerism that
occur within, or directly affect the
Refuge’s watershed.
Public Meeting
We will give the public an
opportunity to provide input at a public
meeting. You can obtain the schedule
from the address or Web site listed in
this notice (see ADDRESSES). You may
also submit comments anytime during
the comment period.
Public Availability of Comments
cprice-sewell on DSK8KYBLC1PROD with NOTICES
Before including your address, phone
number, e-mail address, or other
personal identifying information in your
comment, you should be aware that
your entire comment—including your
personal identifying information—may
be made publicly available at anytime.
While you can ask us in your comment
to withhold your personal identifying
information from public review, we
cannot guarantee that we will be able to
do so.
Dated: June 18, 2010.
Lynn M. Lewis,
Acting Regional Director, U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service, Fort Snelling, Minnesota.
[FR Doc. 2010–16426 Filed 7–6–10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310–55–P
VerDate Mar<15>2010
15:28 Jul 06, 2010
Jkt 220001
Tamarac National Wildlife Refuge and
Wetland Management District,
Minnesota
AGENCY:
Fish and Wildlife Service,
Interior.
ACTION: Notice of Availability: draft
comprehensive conservation plan and
environmental assessment; request for
comments.
SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service (Service), announce the
availability of a draft comprehensive
conservation plan (CCP) and draft
environmental assessment (EA) for
Tamarac National Wildlife Refuge
(NWR) and Tamarac Wetland
Management District (WMD) for public
review and comment. In this draft CCP/
EA we describe how we propose to
manage the refuge and district for the
next 15 years.
DATES: To ensure consideration, we
must receive your written comments by
August 6, 2010. An open house style
meeting will be held during the
comment period to receive comments
and provide information on the draft
plan. Special mailings, newspaper
articles, internet postings, and other
media announcements will inform
people of the meetings and
opportunities for written comments.
ADDRESSES: Comments or requests for
more information can be sent by any of
the following methods. You may also
drop off comments in person at Tamarac
NWR.
1. Agency Web site: View or
download a copy of the document and
comment at https://www.fws.gov/
midwest/planning/Tamarac/.
2. E-mail: r3planning@fws.gov.
Include ‘‘Tamarac Draft CCP/EA’’ in the
subject line of the message.
3. Fax: 218–847–2641.
4. Mail: Attention: Refuge Manager,
Tamarac National Wildlife Refuge,
35704 County Road 26, Rochert,
Minnesota 56578.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Barbara Boyle, 218–847–2641.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Introduction
With this notice, we continue the CCP
process for Tamarac NWR and WMD,
which we began by publishing a notice
of intent on (72 FR 27587–27588, May
16, 2007). For more about the initial
process and the history of this refuge
and district, see that notice.
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Fmt 4703
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The 42,738-acre Tamarac National
Wildlife Refuge was established in 1938.
The Refuge includes 2,180 Federallydesignated wilderness acres. The
Tamarac Wetland Management District
consists of 8,577 acres of wetland
easements distributed throughout five
counties.
Background
The CCP Process
The National Wildlife Refuge System
Administration Act of 1966, as amended
by the National Wildlife Refuge System
Improvement Act of 1997 (16 U.S.C.
668dd–668ee), requires us to develop a
comprehensive conservation plan for
each national wildlife refuge. The
purpose in developing a CCP is to
provide refuge managers with a 15-year
strategy 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 Service policies. In
addition to outlining broad management
direction on conserving wildlife and
their habitats, plans identify wildlifedependent recreational opportunities
available to the public, including
opportunities for hunting, fishing,
wildlife observation, wildlife
photography, and environmental
education and interpretation.
CCP Alternatives and Our Preferred
Alternative
Priority Issues
During the public scoping process,
we, other stakeholders and partners, and
the public identified several priority
issues, which include habitat
management, invasive species, and
demand for additional recreation
opportunities and visitor services. To
address these issues, we developed and
evaluated the following alternatives
during the planning process.
Tamarac National Wildlife Refuge
Alternative 1: Management of Habitat in
Context of Providing Migratory Bird
Benefits and Complemented with
Priority Public Use (Preferred
Alternative)
The preferred alternative for Tamarac
NWR over the next 15 years directs
management of habitats to focus on
maintaining and using ecological
processes that shaped these
communities prior to European
settlement and will allow for some
emphasis of priority bird habitat.
Wildlife-dependant recreation
opportunities, biological surveys and
monitoring activities, and native
E:\FR\FM\07JYN1.SGM
07JYN1
Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 129 (Wednesday, July 7, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 39037-39038]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-16426]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[FWS-R3-R-2010-N117; 30136-1265-0000-S3]
Crane Meadows National Wildlife Refuge, Morrison County, MN
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability: Draft comprehensive conservation plan
and environmental assessment; request for comments.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce the
availability of a draft comprehensive conservation plan (CCP) and draft
environmental assessment (EA) for Crane Meadows National Wildlife
Refuge (NWR) for public review and comment. In this draft CCP/EA we
describe how we propose to manage the refuge for the next 15 years.
DATES: To ensure consideration, we must receive your written comments
by August 6, 2010. An open house style meeting will be held during the
comment period to receive comments and provide information on the draft
plan. Special mailings, newspaper articles, internet postings, and
other media announcements will inform people of the meeting and
opportunities for written comments.
ADDRESSES: Comments or requests for more information can be sent by any
of the following methods. You may also drop off comments in person at
Crane Meadows NWR.
1. Agency Web site: View or download a copy of the document and
comment at https://www.fws.gov/midwest/planning/CraneMeadows/.
2. E-mail: r3planning@fws.gov. Include ``Crane Meadows Draft CCP/
EA'' in the subject line of the message.
3. Fax: 763-389-3493.
4. Mail: Attention: Refuge Manager, Sherburne-Crane Meadows
National Wildlife Refuge Complex, 17076 293 Avenue, Zimmerman,
Minnesota 55398.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Anne Sittauer, 763-389-3323.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Introduction
With this notice, we continue the CCP process for Crane Meadows
NWR, which we began by publishing a notice of intent on (73 FR 76677-
76678, December 17, 2008). For more information about the planning
process, see that notice.
Crane Meadows NWR was established in 1992 for `* * * the
conservation of the wetlands of the Nation * * *' under the Emergency
Wetland Resources Act of 1986. The Service owns and manages
approximately 1,800 acres of 13,540 acres proposed for acquisition. The
unique wetland complex contains rare and declining habitat types,
important archaeological resources, a diversity of local and migratory
species, and an abundance of recreational opportunities.
Background
The CCP Process
The National Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act of 1966, as
amended by the National Wildlife Refuge System Improvement Act of 1997
(16 U.S.C. 668dd-668ee), requires us to develop a comprehensive
conservation plan for each national wildlife refuge. The purpose in
developing a CCP is to provide refuge managers with a 15-year strategy
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
Service policies. In addition to outlining broad management direction
on conserving wildlife and their habitats, plans identify wildlife-
dependent recreational opportunities available to the public, including
opportunities for hunting, fishing, wildlife observation, wildlife
photography, and environmental education and interpretation.
CCP Alternatives and Our Preferred Alternative
Priority Issues
During the public scoping process, we, other stakeholders and
partners, and the public identified several priority issues related to
habitat, land acquisition, water resources, wildlife, visitor services,
archaeological resources, and support for the Refuge. To address these
issues, we developed and evaluated the following alternatives during
the planning process.
Alternative A: Current Management Direction (No Action)
The current management direction of Crane Meadows NWR would be
maintained under this alternative. Required by NEPA, this is referred
to as the ``No Action'' alternative. Land acquisition is minimal,
conservation work on private lands is extensive, and both occur
opportunistically. As land is acquired quality habitats are maintained
in their current state, degraded habitats are improved or restored, and
all habitat types are considered to have relatively equal priority.
There is an active prescribed fire program, little involvement with
local water resources, minimal active wildlife management, and
monitoring efforts follow existing, broader state and federal efforts.
Visitor use is concentrated on the Headquarters Unit, and consists of
wildlife observation, photography, hiking, cross-country skiing, and
snowshoeing as seasons and trail conditions allow. No hunting or
fishing is permitted.
Alternative B: Habitat Restoration to Pre-Settlement Benchmark
Conditions and Increased Provision of Visitors Services (Preferred
Alternative)
Alternative B portrays a long-term vision for habitat restoration
to near-historic benchmark conditions and increases recreation
opportunities for visitors. Historic ecological data is used to set
habitat restoration priorities favoring savanna and wetland habitats
over existing prairies and woodlands. This alternative includes active
participation in monitoring and improving local water resources, a
well-developed prescribed fire plan, increased land acquisition efforts
in high priority areas, additional inventories and monitoring of plant
and animal species, recreational opportunities in a greater number of
[[Page 39038]]
locations, and new visitor uses including hunting.
Alternative C: High Involvement in Watershed Improvement
The third alternative, Alternative C, retains many of the concepts
and objectives from alternative B, but increases the emphasis given to
water resources both on-Refuge and in the watershed upstream of the
wetland complex. Alternative C restores additional wetland and upland
acres up-watershed of the Refuge, expands water resource monitoring and
improvement activities throughout the east half of the Platte-Spunk
watershed, targets a limited quantity of additional lands with critical
water resource value adjacent to the existing Refuge boundary for
acquisition, increases and directs private lands work to priority
aquatic and riparian areas upstream of the Refuge, emphasizes fishing
as a primary recreation opportunity, directs additional education and
interpretation efforts to water resource topics, and highlights
partnerships, outreach opportunities, and volunteerism that occur
within, or directly affect the Refuge's watershed.
Public Meeting
We will give the public an opportunity to provide input at a public
meeting. You can obtain the schedule from the address or Web site
listed in this notice (see addresses). You may also submit comments
anytime during the comment period.
Public Availability of Comments
Before including your address, phone number, e-mail address, or
other personal identifying information in your comment, you should be
aware that your entire comment--including your personal identifying
information--may be made publicly available at anytime. While you can
ask us in your comment to withhold your personal identifying
information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be
able to do so.
Dated: June 18, 2010.
Lynn M. Lewis,
Acting Regional Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Fort
Snelling, Minnesota.
[FR Doc. 2010-16426 Filed 7-6-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-55-P