National Fish, Wildlife, and Plants Climate Adaptation Strategy; Notice of Intent: Request for Information and Comments, 30193-30194 [2011-12710]
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Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 100 / Tuesday, May 24, 2011 / Notices
and their bureaus, that enhance hunting
opportunities and support wildlife
conservation; and
(4) other Council business.
The final agenda will be posted on the
Internet at https://www.fws.gov/whhcc.
jlentini on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
Public Input
Interested members of the public may
present, either orally or through written
comments, information for the Council
to consider during the public meeting.
Questions from the public will not be
considered during this period. Speakers
who wish to expand upon their oral
statements, or those who had wished to
speak but could not be accommodated
on the agenda, are encouraged to submit
these comments in written form to the
Council after the meeting.
Individuals or groups requesting an
oral presentation at the public Council
meeting will be limited to 2 minutes per
speaker, with no more than a total of 30
minutes for all speakers. Interested
parties should contact Joshua Winchell,
Council Coordinator, in writing
(preferably via email), by June 6 (See
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT), to
be placed on the public speaker list for
this meeting. Written comments must be
received by June 3, so that the
information may be made available to
the Council for their consideration prior
to this meeting. Written statements must
be supplied to the Council Coordinator
in both of the following formats: One
hard copy with original signature, and
one electronic copy via email
(acceptable file formats: Adobe Acrobat
PDF, Microsoft Word, Microsoft
PowerPoint, or RTF (Rich Text File).
In order to attend this meeting, you
must register by close of business June
6. Because entry to Federal buildings is
restricted, all visitors are required to
pre-register to be admitted. Please
submit your name, time of arrival, email address, and phone number to
Joshua Winchell via e-mail at
joshua_winchell@fws.gov, or by phone
at (703) 358–2639.
Summary minutes of the conference
will be maintained by the Council
Coordinator at 4401 N. Fairfax Drive,
MS–3103–AEA, Arlington, VA 22203,
and will be available for public
inspection within 90 days of the
meeting and will be posted on the
Council’s Web site at https://
www.fws.gov/whhcc.
Dated: May 17, 2011.
Gregory E. Siekaniec,
Acting Deputy Director.
[FR Doc. 2011–12696 Filed 5–23–11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310–55–P
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[FWS–R9–SATD–2011–N079; FY10–90110–
1420–0000]
National Fish, Wildlife, and Plants
Climate Adaptation Strategy; Notice of
Intent: Request for Information and
Comments
Fish and Wildlife Service,
Interior.
ACTION: Notice of intent.
AGENCY:
We, the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service (Service), along with
the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration (NOAA, Department of
Commerce) and other Federal, State,
and tribal partners, announce that we
are seeking public comments and
information necessary to prepare a draft
National Fish, Wildlife, and Plants
Climate Adaptation Strategy (Strategy).
The Strategy will provide a unified
approach—reflecting shared principles
and science-based practices—for
reducing the negative impacts of climate
change on fish, wildlife, plants, habitats,
and our natural resource heritage. It will
serve as a valuable tool for Federal and
State agencies, wildlife managers, tribes,
and private landowners as they
continue to manage their lands and
natural resources in a changing
environment.
SUMMARY:
To ensure that we are able to
consider your comments and
information as we develop our draft
strategy document, please submit them
on or before July 1, 2011 (see
ADDRESSES).
We will release a draft Strategy in
November 2011; at that time, we will
allow additional opportunity for the
public to provide comments. We expect
to complete the final Strategy by May of
2012. Please visit the Strategy Web site
at https://
www.wildlifeadaptationstrategy.gov for
announcements of upcoming public
meetings and engagement opportunities,
as well as additional materials and
information.
DATES:
Submit comments
electronically through our website at
https://
www.wildlifeadaptationstrategy.gov/
contact-us.php. Alternatively, you may
send comments by U.S. mail to the
Office of the Science Advisor, Attn:
National Fish, Wildlife, and Plants
Climate Adaptation Strategy, U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service, 4401 N. Fairfax
Drive, Suite 222, Arlington, VA 22203.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Mark Shaffer, Office of the Science
ADDRESSES:
PO 00000
Frm 00106
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
30193
Advisor, at (703) 358–2603 (telephone),
wildlifeadaptationstrategy@fws.gov (email), or via the Strategy Web site at
https://
www.wildlifeadaptationstrategy.gov. If
you use a telecommunications device
for the deaf (TDD), please call the
Federal Information Relay Service
(FIRS) at (800) 877–8339.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In
cooperation with NOAA and other
Federal, State, and tribal partners, we
intend to gather information necessary
to prepare a National Fish, Wildlife, and
Plants Climate Adaptation Strategy
(Strategy). We are seeking public
comment and information as we
develop a draft Strategy.
The adverse impacts of climate
change transcend political and
administrative boundaries. No single
entity or level of government can
safeguard wildlife and society against
the effects of climate change. This
Strategy will provide a unified
approach—reflecting shared principles
and science-based practice—for
reducing the negative impacts of climate
change on fish, wildlife, plants, habitats,
and our natural resource heritage. It will
serve as a valuable tool for Federal and
State agencies, wildlife managers, tribes,
and private landowners as they
continue to manage their lands and
natural resources in a changing
environment.
I. Background
Climate change affects more than
temperature. According to the U.S.
Global Change Research Program,
impacts include shifts in rainfall and
storm patterns, increasing wildfires and
water shortages, as well as rising sea
levels, loss of sea ice, ocean
acidification, and coastal flooding and
erosion. These changes are already
having significant effects on fish,
wildlife, and plants in the United States,
necessitating new resource management
approaches for climate adaptation.
Rapid warming may also begin to
threaten the benefits that natural
systems provide to people and
communities, creating new challenges
for human health, infrastructure,
agriculture, transportation, and energy
supplies. At risk are clean air and water;
flood and erosion control; natural
resource jobs and income; hunting,
fishing, and wildlife-related recreation;
and, ultimately, our quality of life.
Most simply, climate adaptation
means helping people and natural
systems prepare for and cope with the
effects of a changing climate. Climate
adaptation is an essential complement
to climate change mitigation, or efforts
to decrease the rate and extent of
E:\FR\FM\24MYN1.SGM
24MYN1
30194
Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 100 / Tuesday, May 24, 2011 / Notices
A diverse group of Federal, State, and
tribal agencies have been asked to
participate as members of an
intergovernmental Steering Committee,
to provide advice and support for
development of the Strategy. The
Steering Committee is being supported
by a Management Team composed of
staff from the Fish and Wildlife Service,
NOAA, the Association of Fish and
II. Strategy Development
Wildlife Agencies, and tribal partners.
In response to increasing impacts of
Five Technical Teams will take
climate change and other stressors on
primary responsibility for developing
America’s natural resources, the U.S.
the content of the Strategy, based
Congress has called for the development around five ecosystem sections (marine,
of a national government-wide strategy
coastal, inland waters, forest, and
to safeguard fish, wildlife, plants, and
grasslands/shrublands/deserts). Each
the natural systems upon which they
team is made up of Federal, State, and
depend. Language in the Conference
tribal representatives. Key milestones
Report for the Fiscal Year (FY) 2010
are shown below:
Interior, Environment and Related
• Begin Outreach and Engagement
Agencies Appropriations Act (House
Sessions—2009/2010
Report 111–316, pages 76–77) urged the • Form Steering Committee—December
Council of Environmental Quality (CEQ)
2010
and the Department of the Interior (DOI) • Hold first Steering Committee
to ‘‘develop a national, government-wide
meeting—January 2011
strategy to address climate impacts on
• Establish Technical Teams—February
fish, wildlife, plants, and associated
2011
ecological processes’’ and ‘‘provide that
• Hold first Technical Team meeting—
there is integration, coordination, and
March 2011
public accountability to ensure
• Complete Agency Review Draft—
efficiency and avoid duplication.’’ This
September 2011
national Strategy will set out a unified
• Announce Public Review Draft—
approach to maintaining the key
November 2011
terrestrial, freshwater, and marine
• Release Final Strategy—May 2012
ecosystems and species, as well as the
Ultimately, the Strategy will be a
services they provide, in the face of
blueprint for common action that
accelerating climate change.
outlines needed scientific support,
In the fall of 2010, the U.S. Fish and
policy, and legal frameworks;
Wildlife Service and CEQ invited
NOAA and State wildlife agencies (with recommended management practices;
the New York Division of Fish, Wildlife processes for integration and
communication; and a framework for
and Marine Resources as the State
agencies’ lead representative) to co-lead implementing these approaches. It will
enable national and international
the development of the strategy. The
conservation communities to harness
Association of Fish and Wildlife
collective expertise, authority, and skills
Agencies is also providing support
in order to define and prioritize a shared
through a Cooperative Agreement with
set of conservation goals and objectives.
the Service.
Initial public outreach during 2009
III. Request for Public Comments
and 2010 contributed toward
Public involvement is critical for the
developing the following set of key
development of a robust and relevant
principles to help guide this effort as it
response to the impacts of climate
moves forward:
change. Extremely valuable to the effort
• Endorse a national (not Federal)
are public guidance on priorities,
framework for cooperative climate
recommendations for approaches, and
response;
• Focus on national boundaries while suggestions and contribution of issues
based on local knowledge and
recognizing the international nature of
experience.
natural resources;
Initial outreach and planning for the
• Embrace a philosophy of
Strategy began in 2009 and early 2010,
collaboration and interdependence;
with a number of listening and
• Adopt landscape-scale science and
engagement sessions, as well as several
management approaches;
Conservation Leadership Forums. More
• Integrate adaptation and mitigation
information about past engagement
efforts; and
efforts, as well as upcoming meetings
• Utilize an ecosystem-based
and engagement opportunities, is
management approach to sustain
available at https://
biodiversity and ecosystem services.
jlentini on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
climate change through reducing
greenhouse gas emissions or enhancing
carbon uptake and storage. Coordinated
adaptation planning can help limit the
damage climate change causes to our
natural resources and communities, and
will require new approaches, additional
resources, and a coordinated approach
across Federal, State, and local partners.
VerDate Mar<15>2010
16:47 May 23, 2011
Jkt 223001
PO 00000
Frm 00107
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 9990
www.wildlifeadaptationstrategy.gov/
participate.php.
We will be accepting initial public
comments through our Web site until
the date specified in DATES. We will also
accept written comments at upcoming
public meetings (dates and locations to
be announced on our Web site).
To ensure that any action will be as
effective as possible, we request that
you send relevant information for our
consideration. The comments that are
most useful are those that you support
by quantitative information or studies
and those that include citations and
analyses of applicable laws and
regulations. Please make your comments
as specific as possible and explain the
bases for them. In addition, please
include sufficient information with your
comments to allow us to authenticate
any scientific or commercial data you
include.
You must submit your comments and
materials by one of the methods listed
above in the ADDRESSES section. We will
not accept comments sent to an address
not listed in ADDRESSES.
We are committed to transparency in
developing and implementing the
National Fish, Wildlife, and Plants
Climate Adaptation Strategy. The
Service, NOAA, and other partners will
also actively engage interested parties,
including, as appropriate, State, Tribal,
and local authorities; regional
governance structures; academic
institutions; nongovernmental
organizations; recreational interests; and
private enterprise.
IV. 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 any time.
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.
Authority
Conference Report for the Interior,
Environment and Related Agencies
Appropriations Act, 2010.
Dated: May 10, 2011.
Gabriela Chavarria,
Science Advisor to the Director, U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. 2011–12710 Filed 5–23–11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310–55–P
E:\FR\FM\24MYN1.SGM
24MYN1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 100 (Tuesday, May 24, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 30193-30194]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-12710]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[FWS-R9-SATD-2011-N079; FY10-90110-1420-0000]
National Fish, Wildlife, and Plants Climate Adaptation Strategy;
Notice of Intent: Request for Information and Comments
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of intent.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), along with
the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA, Department
of Commerce) and other Federal, State, and tribal partners, announce
that we are seeking public comments and information necessary to
prepare a draft National Fish, Wildlife, and Plants Climate Adaptation
Strategy (Strategy). The Strategy will provide a unified approach--
reflecting shared principles and science-based practices--for reducing
the negative impacts of climate change on fish, wildlife, plants,
habitats, and our natural resource heritage. It will serve as a
valuable tool for Federal and State agencies, wildlife managers,
tribes, and private landowners as they continue to manage their lands
and natural resources in a changing environment.
DATES: To ensure that we are able to consider your comments and
information as we develop our draft strategy document, please submit
them on or before July 1, 2011 (see ADDRESSES).
We will release a draft Strategy in November 2011; at that time, we
will allow additional opportunity for the public to provide comments.
We expect to complete the final Strategy by May of 2012. Please visit
the Strategy Web site at https://www.wildlifeadaptationstrategy.gov for
announcements of upcoming public meetings and engagement opportunities,
as well as additional materials and information.
ADDRESSES: Submit comments electronically through our website at https://www.wildlifeadaptationstrategy.gov/contact-us.php. Alternatively, you
may send comments by U.S. mail to the Office of the Science Advisor,
Attn: National Fish, Wildlife, and Plants Climate Adaptation Strategy,
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 4401 N. Fairfax Drive, Suite 222,
Arlington, VA 22203.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mark Shaffer, Office of the Science
Advisor, at (703) 358-2603 (telephone),
wildlifeadaptationstrategy@fws.gov (e-mail), or via the Strategy Web
site at https://www.wildlifeadaptationstrategy.gov. If you use a
telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD), please call the Federal
Information Relay Service (FIRS) at (800) 877-8339.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In cooperation with NOAA and other Federal,
State, and tribal partners, we intend to gather information necessary
to prepare a National Fish, Wildlife, and Plants Climate Adaptation
Strategy (Strategy). We are seeking public comment and information as
we develop a draft Strategy.
The adverse impacts of climate change transcend political and
administrative boundaries. No single entity or level of government can
safeguard wildlife and society against the effects of climate change.
This Strategy will provide a unified approach--reflecting shared
principles and science-based practice--for reducing the negative
impacts of climate change on fish, wildlife, plants, habitats, and our
natural resource heritage. It will serve as a valuable tool for Federal
and State agencies, wildlife managers, tribes, and private landowners
as they continue to manage their lands and natural resources in a
changing environment.
I. Background
Climate change affects more than temperature. According to the U.S.
Global Change Research Program, impacts include shifts in rainfall and
storm patterns, increasing wildfires and water shortages, as well as
rising sea levels, loss of sea ice, ocean acidification, and coastal
flooding and erosion. These changes are already having significant
effects on fish, wildlife, and plants in the United States,
necessitating new resource management approaches for climate
adaptation.
Rapid warming may also begin to threaten the benefits that natural
systems provide to people and communities, creating new challenges for
human health, infrastructure, agriculture, transportation, and energy
supplies. At risk are clean air and water; flood and erosion control;
natural resource jobs and income; hunting, fishing, and wildlife-
related recreation; and, ultimately, our quality of life.
Most simply, climate adaptation means helping people and natural
systems prepare for and cope with the effects of a changing climate.
Climate adaptation is an essential complement to climate change
mitigation, or efforts to decrease the rate and extent of
[[Page 30194]]
climate change through reducing greenhouse gas emissions or enhancing
carbon uptake and storage. Coordinated adaptation planning can help
limit the damage climate change causes to our natural resources and
communities, and will require new approaches, additional resources, and
a coordinated approach across Federal, State, and local partners.
II. Strategy Development
In response to increasing impacts of climate change and other
stressors on America's natural resources, the U.S. Congress has called
for the development of a national government-wide strategy to safeguard
fish, wildlife, plants, and the natural systems upon which they depend.
Language in the Conference Report for the Fiscal Year (FY) 2010
Interior, Environment and Related Agencies Appropriations Act (House
Report 111-316, pages 76-77) urged the Council of Environmental Quality
(CEQ) and the Department of the Interior (DOI) to ``develop a national,
government-wide strategy to address climate impacts on fish, wildlife,
plants, and associated ecological processes'' and ``provide that there
is integration, coordination, and public accountability to ensure
efficiency and avoid duplication.'' This national Strategy will set out
a unified approach to maintaining the key terrestrial, freshwater, and
marine ecosystems and species, as well as the services they provide, in
the face of accelerating climate change.
In the fall of 2010, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and CEQ
invited NOAA and State wildlife agencies (with the New York Division of
Fish, Wildlife and Marine Resources as the State agencies' lead
representative) to co-lead the development of the strategy. The
Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies is also providing support
through a Cooperative Agreement with the Service.
Initial public outreach during 2009 and 2010 contributed toward
developing the following set of key principles to help guide this
effort as it moves forward:
Endorse a national (not Federal) framework for cooperative
climate response;
Focus on national boundaries while recognizing the
international nature of natural resources;
Embrace a philosophy of collaboration and interdependence;
Adopt landscape-scale science and management approaches;
Integrate adaptation and mitigation efforts; and
Utilize an ecosystem-based management approach to sustain
biodiversity and ecosystem services.
A diverse group of Federal, State, and tribal agencies have been
asked to participate as members of an intergovernmental Steering
Committee, to provide advice and support for development of the
Strategy. The Steering Committee is being supported by a Management
Team composed of staff from the Fish and Wildlife Service, NOAA, the
Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, and tribal partners.
Five Technical Teams will take primary responsibility for
developing the content of the Strategy, based around five ecosystem
sections (marine, coastal, inland waters, forest, and grasslands/
shrublands/deserts). Each team is made up of Federal, State, and tribal
representatives. Key milestones are shown below:
Begin Outreach and Engagement Sessions--2009/2010
Form Steering Committee--December 2010
Hold first Steering Committee meeting--January 2011
Establish Technical Teams--February 2011
Hold first Technical Team meeting--March 2011
Complete Agency Review Draft--September 2011
Announce Public Review Draft--November 2011
Release Final Strategy--May 2012
Ultimately, the Strategy will be a blueprint for common action that
outlines needed scientific support, policy, and legal frameworks;
recommended management practices; processes for integration and
communication; and a framework for implementing these approaches. It
will enable national and international conservation communities to
harness collective expertise, authority, and skills in order to define
and prioritize a shared set of conservation goals and objectives.
III. Request for Public Comments
Public involvement is critical for the development of a robust and
relevant response to the impacts of climate change. Extremely valuable
to the effort are public guidance on priorities, recommendations for
approaches, and suggestions and contribution of issues based on local
knowledge and experience.
Initial outreach and planning for the Strategy began in 2009 and
early 2010, with a number of listening and engagement sessions, as well
as several Conservation Leadership Forums. More information about past
engagement efforts, as well as upcoming meetings and engagement
opportunities, is available at https://www.wildlifeadaptationstrategy.gov/participate.php.
We will be accepting initial public comments through our Web site
until the date specified in DATES. We will also accept written comments
at upcoming public meetings (dates and locations to be announced on our
Web site).
To ensure that any action will be as effective as possible, we
request that you send relevant information for our consideration. The
comments that are most useful are those that you support by
quantitative information or studies and those that include citations
and analyses of applicable laws and regulations. Please make your
comments as specific as possible and explain the bases for them. In
addition, please include sufficient information with your comments to
allow us to authenticate any scientific or commercial data you include.
You must submit your comments and materials by one of the methods
listed above in the ADDRESSES section. We will not accept comments sent
to an address not listed in ADDRESSES.
We are committed to transparency in developing and implementing the
National Fish, Wildlife, and Plants Climate Adaptation Strategy. The
Service, NOAA, and other partners will also actively engage interested
parties, including, as appropriate, State, Tribal, and local
authorities; regional governance structures; academic institutions;
nongovernmental organizations; recreational interests; and private
enterprise.
IV. 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 any time. 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.
Authority
Conference Report for the Interior, Environment and Related
Agencies Appropriations Act, 2010.
Dated: May 10, 2011.
Gabriela Chavarria,
Science Advisor to the Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. 2011-12710 Filed 5-23-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-55-P
