Iroquois National Wildlife Refuge, Genesee County and Orleans County, NY; Final Comprehensive Conservation Plan and Finding of No Significant Impact for Environmental Assessment, 64375-64376 [2011-26934]
Download as PDF
Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 201 / Tuesday, October 18, 2011 / Notices
Pleomele hawaiiensis (hala pepe),
Portulaca sclerocarpa (poe),
Sesbania tomentosa (ohai).
National Environmental Policy Act
(NEPA)
In compliance with NEPA (42 U.S.C.
4321 et seq.), we have made an initial
determination that the proposed
activities in this permit are categorically
excluded from the requirement to
prepare an environmental assessment or
environmental impact statement (516
DM 6 Appendix 1, 1.4C(1)).
Public Availability of Comments
All comments and materials we
receive in response to this request will
be available for public inspection, by
appointment, during normal business
hours at the address listed in the
ADDRESSES section of this notice.
Before including your address, phone
number, email 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
We provide this notice under section
10 of the Act (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.)
Dated: October 7, 2011.
Richard R. Hannan,
Acting Regional Director, Pacific Region, U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. 2011–26866 Filed 10–17–11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310–55–P
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[FWS–R5–R–2011–N156; BAC–4311–K9–S3]
Iroquois National Wildlife Refuge,
Genesee County and Orleans County,
NY; Final Comprehensive
Conservation Plan and Finding of No
Significant Impact for Environmental
Assessment
Fish and Wildlife Service,
Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability.
mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
AGENCY:
We, the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service (Service), announce the
availability of our final comprehensive
conservation plan (CCP) and finding of
no significant impact (FONSI) for the
environmental assessment (EA) for
Iroquois National Wildlife Refuge
SUMMARY:
VerDate Mar<15>2010
16:46 Oct 17, 2011
Jkt 226001
(NWR, refuge), Genesee County and
Orleans County, New York. In this final
CCP, we describe how we will manage
this refuge for the next 15 years.
ADDRESSES: You may view or obtain
copies of the final CCP and FONSI/EA
by any of the following methods. You
may request a hard copy or CD–ROM.
Agency Web site: Download a copy of
the documents at https://www.fws.gov/
northeast/planning/Iroquois/
ccphome.html.
E-mail: northeastplanning@fws.gov.
Include ‘‘Iroquois NWR final CCP’’ in
the subject line of the message.
U.S. Mail: Iroquois NWR, 1101 Casey
Road, Basom, NY 14013.
In-Person Viewing or Pickup: Call
585–948–5445 to make an appointment
(necessary for view/pickup only) during
regular business hours at above address.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Thomas Roster, Project Leader, 585–
948–5445, or Thomas Bonetti, Planning
Team Leader, 413–253–8307 (phone);
tom_bonetti@fws.gov (e-mail).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Introduction
With this notice, we finalize the CCP
process for Iroquois NWR in Basom,
New York. We started this process
through a notice in the Federal Register
(73 FR 10279, February 26, 2008). We
released the draft CCP and the EA to the
public, announcing and requesting
comments in a notice of availability in
the Federal Register (75 FR 61171,
October 4, 2010).
Iroquois NWR was established in
1958 under the Migratory Bird
Conservation Act for ‘‘* * * use as an
inviolate sanctuary, or for any other
management purpose, for migratory
birds’’ (16 U.S.C. 715d). The refuge
consists of more than 10,800 acres
within the rural townships of Alabama
and Shelby, New York, midway
between Buffalo and Rochester.
Freshwater marshes and hardwood
swamps are bounded by forests,
grasslands, and wet meadows. These
areas serve the habitat needs of both
migratory and resident wildlife,
including waterfowl, songbirds,
mammals, and amphibians, as well as
numerous indigenous plant species.
We announce our decision and the
availability of the FONSI for the final
CCP for Iroquois NWR 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, which we included in the
EA that accompanied the draft CCP. The
CCP will guide us in managing and
administering Iroquois NWR for the
next 15 years.
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Fmt 4703
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64375
Background
The National Wildlife Refuge System
Administration Act of 1966 (16 U.S.C.
668dd–668ee) (Administration Act), as
amended by the National Wildlife
Refuge System Improvement Act of
1997, requires us to develop a CCP for
each NWR. 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. In addition
to outlining broad management
direction on conserving wildlife and
their habitats, CCPs identify wildlifedependent recreational opportunities
available to the public, including
opportunities for hunting, fishing,
wildlife observation and photography,
and environmental education and
interpretation. We will review and
update the CCP at least every 15 years
in accordance with the Administration
Act.
CCP Alternatives, Including Selected
Alternative
Our draft CCP and our EA (75 FR
61171) addressed several issues. To
address these, we developed and
evaluated the following alternatives.
Alternative A (Current Management):
Alternative A continues existing
programs and activities and serves as
the baseline against which to compare
the other alternatives. Under current
management, we manage open water
and emergent marsh impoundments,
early successional habitat including
grasslands, shrublands, and forest
habitat including a conifer plantation.
Under alternative A, we would continue
to conduct furbearer management,
monitor waterfowl during spring and
fall migration, conduct landbird
surveys, and manage for invasive
species in the same manner as at
present. We would maintain existing
opportunities for visitors to engage in
wildlife observation and photography,
and environmental education and
interpretation, as well as maintain
existing hunting and fishing
opportunities on the refuge. We would
maintain existing infrastructure and
buildings, and maintain current staffing
levels.
Alternative B (the Service-preferred
alternative): This alternative focuses on
enhancing the conservation of wildlife
through habitat management, as well as
providing additional visitor
opportunities on the refuge. Alternative
B incorporates existing management
E:\FR\FM\18OCN1.SGM
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mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
64376
Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 201 / Tuesday, October 18, 2011 / Notices
activities and/or provides new
initiatives or actions aimed at improving
efficiency and progress towards refuge
goals and objectives. Some of the major
strategies proposed include increasing
grassland, shrubland, and forest
habitats, replacing non-native conifer
plantation with native forest species,
restricting public access to designated
areas of the refuge year-round, and
implementing a permit system for
hunting upland game, migratory birds,
and big game. This alternative would
increase some existing wildlifedependent recreational activities,
including wildlife observation and
hunting. We would co-locate the Lower
Great Lakes Fish and Wildlife
Conservation Office (LGLFWCO) with a
new visitor contact station and
administrative building by adding on to
the existing building. If funds permit,
we would expand our existing staff to
include a full-time permanent law
enforcement officer, maintenance
worker, biological technician, and one
part-time biological technician.
Alternative C (Improved Biological
Integrity): Alternative C prominently
features additional management that
aims to restore or mimic natural
ecosystem processes or function to
achieve refuge purposes. Under
alternative C, refuge habitat conditions
would change as a result of management
decisions that target a more natural state
and emphasize restoration to historical
habitats. Refuge impoundments would
no longer be actively managed and some
would be removed. This would result in
a decrease of 329 acres of open water
and emergent marsh habitat. Grassland
acres would be reduced by 50 percent
as only the two largest grassland units
would be managed. Management of
shrublands would be discontinued, and
the only shrub habitats that would
remain are small native shrub swamps.
Forest cover would increase (1,548
additional acres) under this alternative
in response to the reversion, succession,
and conversion of conifer plantations
and other refuge habitats to forest.
Similar to alternative B, we propose to
restrict public access to designated areas
of the refuge year-round, allowing
wildlife observation, hiking, and
walking on established refuge nature
trails. Also, we propose to co-locate the
LGLFWCO currently located in
Amherst, New York, with a new visitor
contact station and administration
building at Iroquois NWR.
Comments
We solicited comments on the draft
CCP and the EA for Iroquois NWR via
a Federal Register notice that was
published on October 4, 2010 (75 FR
VerDate Mar<15>2010
16:46 Oct 17, 2011
Jkt 226001
61171). We received 37 comments,
which we assessed during the content
analysis process. Appendix I in the final
CCP includes a summary of those
comments, our responses to them, and
additional rationale for any changes
made.
Selected Alternative
We have selected alternative B for
implementation, with the following
modifications:
• Due to comments directed at
closing the refuge to wandering, we
decided to allow visitors unrestricted
access off designated trails, but only
during the hunting season (October 1 to
the end of February). All visitors,
including those wandering on the
refuge, must wear hunter orange during
the firearm deer seasons. Hunter orange
must be visible from 360 degrees and
must be at least 400 square inches of
solid fluorescent orange on head, chest,
and back. There will be no wandering
in any refuge wetlands, only upland
wandering will be permitted. The refuge
will continue to restrict public access
for hiking and walking to designated
trails from March 1 to September 30.
• Based on feedback we received
from our partners and the public, we
decided to modify the alternative B
turkey hunting proposal. The new
framework will consist of two seasons.
The first season will run from May 1 to
May 15 with 50 permits available. The
second season will run from May 16 to
May 31 with 25 permits available.
Permits will be allocated on a lottery
system basis with hunters choosing
their desired season in order of
preference. Hunters may receive a
permit for one season only.
• The refuge also reconsidered its
decision to not allow fall turkey hunting
on the refuge. There will be no
additional administrative burden on the
refuge by having this season added to
the refuge hunts.
Public Availability of Documents
In addition to any methods in
you can view or obtain
documents on our regional planning
Web site: https://www.fws.gov/northeast/
planning/.
ADDRESSES,
Dated: September 16, 2011.
Theresa E. Rabot,
Acting Regional Director, Northeast Region,
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Hadley,
Massachusetts.
[FR Doc. 2011–26934 Filed 10–17–11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310–55–P
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
FWS–R1–R–2011–N064; 10137–8555–
11RG–8H]
Long Range Transportation Plan for
Fish and Wildlife Service Lands in
Hawai‘i, Idaho, Northern Nevada,
Oregon, Washington, and the Pacific
Island Territories
Fish and Wildlife Service,
Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability; request
for comments.
AGENCY:
We, the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service (Service), announce the
availability of the final draft Long Range
Transportation Plan (LRTP) for Fish and
Wildlife Service Lands in Hawai‘i,
Idaho, Northern Nevada, Oregon,
Washington, and the Pacific Island
Territories (the Service’s Region 1) for
public review and comment. The Draft
LRTP outlines a strategy for improving
and maintaining transportation assets
that provide access to Service-managed
lands in Region 1 over the next 20 years.
DATES: Please provide your comments
by November 17, 2011.
ADDRESSES: The Draft LRTP is available
on our Web site: https://www.fws.gov/
pacific/planning/. We also have a
limited number of printed and CD-ROM
copies of the Draft LRTP. You may
request a copy or submit comments by
any of the following methods.
• E-mail: fw1LRTPComments@
fws.gov.
• U.S. mail: Jeff Holm, Regional
Transportation Coordinator, U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service, 911 NE 11th
Avenue, Portland, OR 97232.
• Fax: Attn: Jeff Holm, (503) 231–
2364.
• In-Person Drop-off: During regular
business hours to Jeff Holm, Regional
Transportation Coordinator, U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service, 911 NE 11th
Avenue, Portland, OR 97232.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jeff
Holm, (503) 231–2126.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
SUMMARY:
Introduction
The Safe, Accountable, Flexible,
Efficient, Transportation Equity Act: A
Legacy for Users (SAFETEA–LU) of
August 10, 2005, (Pub. L. 109–59)
requires all Federal land management
agencies to conduct long-range
transportation planning in a manner
that is consistent with metropolitan
planning organizations and state
departments of transportation planning.
With this notice, we make the Draft
E:\FR\FM\18OCN1.SGM
18OCN1
Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 201 (Tuesday, October 18, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 64375-64376]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-26934]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[FWS-R5-R-2011-N156; BAC-4311-K9-S3]
Iroquois National Wildlife Refuge, Genesee County and Orleans
County, NY; Final Comprehensive Conservation Plan and Finding of No
Significant Impact for Environmental Assessment
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce the
availability of our final comprehensive conservation plan (CCP) and
finding of no significant impact (FONSI) for the environmental
assessment (EA) for Iroquois National Wildlife Refuge (NWR, refuge),
Genesee County and Orleans County, New York. In this final CCP, we
describe how we will manage this refuge for the next 15 years.
ADDRESSES: You may view or obtain copies of the final CCP and FONSI/EA
by any of the following methods. You may request a hard copy or CD-ROM.
Agency Web site: Download a copy of the documents at https://www.fws.gov/northeast/planning/Iroquois/ccphome.html.
E-mail: northeastplanning@fws.gov. Include ``Iroquois NWR final
CCP'' in the subject line of the message.
U.S. Mail: Iroquois NWR, 1101 Casey Road, Basom, NY 14013.
In-Person Viewing or Pickup: Call 585-948-5445 to make an
appointment (necessary for view/pickup only) during regular business
hours at above address.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Thomas Roster, Project Leader, 585-
948-5445, or Thomas Bonetti, Planning Team Leader, 413-253-8307
(phone); tom_bonetti@fws.gov (e-mail).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Introduction
With this notice, we finalize the CCP process for Iroquois NWR in
Basom, New York. We started this process through a notice in the
Federal Register (73 FR 10279, February 26, 2008). We released the
draft CCP and the EA to the public, announcing and requesting comments
in a notice of availability in the Federal Register (75 FR 61171,
October 4, 2010).
Iroquois NWR was established in 1958 under the Migratory Bird
Conservation Act for ``* * * use as an inviolate sanctuary, or for any
other management purpose, for migratory birds'' (16 U.S.C. 715d). The
refuge consists of more than 10,800 acres within the rural townships of
Alabama and Shelby, New York, midway between Buffalo and Rochester.
Freshwater marshes and hardwood swamps are bounded by forests,
grasslands, and wet meadows. These areas serve the habitat needs of
both migratory and resident wildlife, including waterfowl, songbirds,
mammals, and amphibians, as well as numerous indigenous plant species.
We announce our decision and the availability of the FONSI for the
final CCP for Iroquois NWR 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, which we
included in the EA that accompanied the draft CCP. The CCP will guide
us in managing and administering Iroquois NWR for the next 15 years.
Background
The National Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act of 1966 (16
U.S.C. 668dd-668ee) (Administration Act), as amended by the National
Wildlife Refuge System Improvement Act of 1997, requires us to develop
a CCP for each NWR. 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. In addition to
outlining broad management direction on conserving wildlife and their
habitats, CCPs identify wildlife-dependent recreational opportunities
available to the public, including opportunities for hunting, fishing,
wildlife observation and photography, and environmental education and
interpretation. We will review and update the CCP at least every 15
years in accordance with the Administration Act.
CCP Alternatives, Including Selected Alternative
Our draft CCP and our EA (75 FR 61171) addressed several issues. To
address these, we developed and evaluated the following alternatives.
Alternative A (Current Management): Alternative A continues
existing programs and activities and serves as the baseline against
which to compare the other alternatives. Under current management, we
manage open water and emergent marsh impoundments, early successional
habitat including grasslands, shrublands, and forest habitat including
a conifer plantation. Under alternative A, we would continue to conduct
furbearer management, monitor waterfowl during spring and fall
migration, conduct landbird surveys, and manage for invasive species in
the same manner as at present. We would maintain existing opportunities
for visitors to engage in wildlife observation and photography, and
environmental education and interpretation, as well as maintain
existing hunting and fishing opportunities on the refuge. We would
maintain existing infrastructure and buildings, and maintain current
staffing levels.
Alternative B (the Service-preferred alternative): This alternative
focuses on enhancing the conservation of wildlife through habitat
management, as well as providing additional visitor opportunities on
the refuge. Alternative B incorporates existing management
[[Page 64376]]
activities and/or provides new initiatives or actions aimed at
improving efficiency and progress towards refuge goals and objectives.
Some of the major strategies proposed include increasing grassland,
shrubland, and forest habitats, replacing non-native conifer plantation
with native forest species, restricting public access to designated
areas of the refuge year-round, and implementing a permit system for
hunting upland game, migratory birds, and big game. This alternative
would increase some existing wildlife-dependent recreational
activities, including wildlife observation and hunting. We would co-
locate the Lower Great Lakes Fish and Wildlife Conservation Office
(LGLFWCO) with a new visitor contact station and administrative
building by adding on to the existing building. If funds permit, we
would expand our existing staff to include a full-time permanent law
enforcement officer, maintenance worker, biological technician, and one
part-time biological technician.
Alternative C (Improved Biological Integrity): Alternative C
prominently features additional management that aims to restore or
mimic natural ecosystem processes or function to achieve refuge
purposes. Under alternative C, refuge habitat conditions would change
as a result of management decisions that target a more natural state
and emphasize restoration to historical habitats. Refuge impoundments
would no longer be actively managed and some would be removed. This
would result in a decrease of 329 acres of open water and emergent
marsh habitat. Grassland acres would be reduced by 50 percent as only
the two largest grassland units would be managed. Management of
shrublands would be discontinued, and the only shrub habitats that
would remain are small native shrub swamps. Forest cover would increase
(1,548 additional acres) under this alternative in response to the
reversion, succession, and conversion of conifer plantations and other
refuge habitats to forest. Similar to alternative B, we propose to
restrict public access to designated areas of the refuge year-round,
allowing wildlife observation, hiking, and walking on established
refuge nature trails. Also, we propose to co-locate the LGLFWCO
currently located in Amherst, New York, with a new visitor contact
station and administration building at Iroquois NWR.
Comments
We solicited comments on the draft CCP and the EA for Iroquois NWR
via a Federal Register notice that was published on October 4, 2010 (75
FR 61171). We received 37 comments, which we assessed during the
content analysis process. Appendix I in the final CCP includes a
summary of those comments, our responses to them, and additional
rationale for any changes made.
Selected Alternative
We have selected alternative B for implementation, with the
following modifications:
Due to comments directed at closing the refuge to
wandering, we decided to allow visitors unrestricted access off
designated trails, but only during the hunting season (October 1 to the
end of February). All visitors, including those wandering on the
refuge, must wear hunter orange during the firearm deer seasons. Hunter
orange must be visible from 360 degrees and must be at least 400 square
inches of solid fluorescent orange on head, chest, and back. There will
be no wandering in any refuge wetlands, only upland wandering will be
permitted. The refuge will continue to restrict public access for
hiking and walking to designated trails from March 1 to September 30.
Based on feedback we received from our partners and the
public, we decided to modify the alternative B turkey hunting proposal.
The new framework will consist of two seasons. The first season will
run from May 1 to May 15 with 50 permits available. The second season
will run from May 16 to May 31 with 25 permits available. Permits will
be allocated on a lottery system basis with hunters choosing their
desired season in order of preference. Hunters may receive a permit for
one season only.
The refuge also reconsidered its decision to not allow
fall turkey hunting on the refuge. There will be no additional
administrative burden on the refuge by having this season added to the
refuge hunts.
Public Availability of Documents
In addition to any methods in ADDRESSES, you can view or obtain
documents on our regional planning Web site: https://www.fws.gov/northeast/planning/.
Dated: September 16, 2011.
Theresa E. Rabot,
Acting Regional Director, Northeast Region, U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service, Hadley, Massachusetts.
[FR Doc. 2011-26934 Filed 10-17-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-55-P