Presquile National Wildlife Refuge, Chesterfield County, VA; Comprehensive Conservation Plan and Environmental Assessment, 47433-47435 [2012-19394]
Download as PDF
Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 153 / Wednesday, August 8, 2012 / Notices
permit allows such activity. Along with
our implementing regulations in the
Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) at 50
CFR 17, the Act provides for permits,
and requires that we invite public
comment before issuing these permits.
A permit granted by us under section
10(a)(1)(A) of the Act authorizes
applicants to conduct activities with
U.S. endangered or threatened species
for scientific purposes, enhancement of
propagation or survival, or interstate
commerce (the latter only in the event
that it facilitates scientific purposes or
enhancement of propagation or
survival). Our regulations implementing
section 10(a)(1)(A) for these permits are
found at 50 CFR 17.22 for endangered
wildlife species, 50 CFR 17.32 for
threatened wildlife species, 50 CFR
17.62 for endangered plant species, and
50 CFR 17.72 for threatened plant
species.
Applications Available for Review and
Comment
We invite local, State, and Federal
agencies, and the public to comment on
the following applications. Please refer
to the appropriate permit number (e.g.,
Permit No. TE–123456) for the
application when submitting comments.
Documents and other information the
applicants have submitted with these
applications are available for review,
subject to the requirements of the
Privacy Act (5 U.S.C. 552a) and
Freedom of Information Act (5 U.S.C.
552).
wreier-aviles on DSK7SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
Permit Application Number: 79842A
Applicant: Jeremy White, University
of Nebraska, Omaha, Nebraska.
The applicant requests a permit to
take (harass by survey) Indiana bat
(Myotis sodalis) in conjunction with
surveys and population monitoring
activities in Nebraska for the purpose of
enhancing the species’ survival.
Permit Application Number: 047252
Applicant: John Ko, SWCA
Environmental Consultants, Broomfield,
Colorado.
The applicant requests renewal of an
existing permit to take (harass by
survey) Southwestern willow flycatcher
(Empidonax traillii extimus) in
conjunction with population monitoring
activities in Colorado, Utah, and
Wyoming, for the purpose of enhancing
the species’ survival.
National Environmental Policy Act
(NEPA)
In compliance with the NEPA (42
U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), we have made an
initial determination that the proposed
activities in these permits are
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15:11 Aug 07, 2012
Jkt 226001
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: July 18, 2012.
Michael G. Thabault,
Acting Regional Director, Mountain-Prairie
Region.
[FR Doc. 2012–19433 Filed 8–7–12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310–55–P
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[FWS–R5–R–2012–N125; BAC–4311–K9–S3]
Presquile National Wildlife Refuge,
Chesterfield County, VA;
Comprehensive Conservation Plan and
Environmental Assessment
AGENCY:
Fish and Wildlife Service,
Interior.
Notice of availability; request
for comments.
ACTION:
We, the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service (Service), announce the
availability of a draft comprehensive
conservation plan (CCP) and
environmental assessment (EA) for
Presquile National Wildlife Refuge
(NWR) for public review and comment.
Presquile NWR is located in
Chesterfield County, Virginia, and is
administered by staff at Eastern Virginia
Rivers NWR Complex. The draft CCP/
EA describes two alternatives for
managing Presquile NWR for the next 15
years. Alternative B is identified as the
Service-preferred alternative. Also
available for public review and
comment are the draft compatibility
determinations, which are included as
appendix B in the draft CCP/EA.
SUMMARY:
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Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
47433
To ensure consideration of your
written comments, please send them by
September 7, 2012. We will also hold
public meetings. We will announce
those meetings and other opportunities
for public input in local news media,
via our project mailing list, and on the
refuge planning Web site: https://
www.fws.gov/northeast/presquile/
refuge_planning.html.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments
or requests for copies or more
information by any of the following
methods. You may request hard copies
or a CD–ROM of the documents.
Email:
EasternVirginiaRiversNWRC@fws.gov.
Please include ‘‘Presquile CCP’’ in the
subject line of the message.
U.S. Mail: Meghan Carfioli, Natural
Resource Planner, U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service, 11116 Kimages Road,
Charles City, VA 23030.
Fax: Attention: Meghan Carfioli, 804–
829–9606.
In-Person Drop-off, Viewing, or
Pickup: Call Meghan Carfioli at 804–
829–5413, or Andy Hofmann, Refuge
Manager, at 804–333–1470 extension
112 during regular business hours to
make an appointment to view the
document.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Meghan Carfioli, Natural Resource
Planner, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service;
mailing address: 11116 Kimages Road,
Charles City, VA 23030; 804–829–5413
(phone); 804–829–9606 (fax);
EasternVirginiaRiversNWRC@fws.gov
(email) (please put ‘‘Presquile NWR’’ in
the subject line).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
DATES:
Introduction
With this notice, we continue the CCP
process for Presquile NWR. We
published our original notice of intent
to prepare a CCP in the Federal Register
on April 14, 2011 (76 FR 21001).
The 1,329-acre Presquile NWR is an
island in the James River near
Hopewell, Virginia, 20 miles southeast
of Richmond. It was established in 1953
as ‘‘an inviolate sanctuary, or for any
other management purpose, for
migratory birds.’’ It is one of many
important migratory bird stopover sites
along the Atlantic Flyway and provides
protected breeding habitat for Federal
and State-listed threatened and
endangered species, as well as many
neotropical migrant bird species. The
refuge is comprised of a variety of
wildlife habitats, including the open
waters of the James River, tidal swamp
forest, tidal freshwater marshes,
grasslands, mixed mesic forest, and
river escarpment.
E:\FR\FM\08AUN1.SGM
08AUN1
47434
Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 153 / Wednesday, August 8, 2012 / Notices
Presquile NWR also offers a wide
range of wildlife-dependent recreational
opportunities, including environmental
education programs for approximately
120 school-aged students each year and
a 3-day deer hunt each fall.
Background
wreier-aviles on DSK7SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
The CCP Process
The National Wildlife Refuge System
Administration Act of 1966 (16 U.S.C.
668dd–668ee) (Refuge Administration
Act), as amended by the National
Wildlife Refuge System Improvement
Act of 1997, requires us to develop a
CCP for each national wildlife 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. 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 Refuge
Administration Act.
Public Outreach
In March 2011, we distributed a
planning newsletter to over 160 parties
on our project mailing list. The
newsletter informed people about the
planning process and asked recipients
to contact us about issues or concerns
they would like us to address. We also
posted the newsletter on our Web site
for people to access electronically. In
addition, we notified the general public
of our planning project, and our interest
in hearing about issues and concerns, by
publishing news releases in local
newspapers. We also held afternoon and
evening public scoping meetings on
April 19, 2011, in Chester, Virginia, and
an evening meeting on April 20, 2011,
in Richmond, Virginia. The purpose of
the three meetings was to share
information on the planning process
and to solicit management issues and
concerns. Throughout the process,
refuge staff have conducted additional
outreach via participation in community
meetings, events, and other public
forums. We have considered and
evaluated all of the comments we
received and addressed them in various
ways in the alternatives presented in the
draft CCP/EA.
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15:11 Aug 07, 2012
Jkt 226001
CCP Alternatives We Are Considering
During the scoping process, which
initiated work on our draft CCP/EA, we,
other governmental partners, and the
public raised the following general
issues that are further detailed and
addressed in the draft CCP/EA:
• How will the refuge respond to
potential impacts of climate change on
existing refuge habitats?
• How will the refuge improve its
biological integrity in light of landscapelevel ecological concerns such as
biological connectivity with other
nearby habitats or impacts from air and
noise pollution from surrounding
industry?
• How will the refuge address erosion
and sediment deposition issues on and
adjacent to the refuge?
• How will the refuge manage
invasive, nonnative, and overabundant
species?
• What will the refuge do to manage
approximately 200 acres of grassland
habitat?
• To what extent would the refuge
interpret or educate the public about
cultural resources, historical
landscapes, and American Indian
history and culture on or around the
refuge?
• What will the refuge do to improve
its environmental education,
interpretation, wildlife-dependent
recreation, and compatible public uses?
• How does the refuge plan to
accommodate an increase in visitor
population while maintaining
protection of sensitive fish and wildlife
resources?
• To what extent will the Service use
partnerships with area agencies,
businesses, and organizations to achieve
the refuge’s resource conservation and
visitation goals?
• At what levels does the Service
plan to continue staffing and
management of the refuge?
We developed two management
alternatives in the draft CCP/EA for
Presquile NWR to address these issues
and to achieve the refuge’s
establishment purposes, and the vision
and goals we developed. The
alternatives identify several actions in
common. Both alternatives include
measures to continue to share staff
across the Eastern Virginia Rivers NWR
Complex, require a permit for refuge
access, maintain existing facilities,
control invasive species, protect cultural
resources, monitor for climate change
impacts, distribute refuge revenue
sharing payments, support research on
the refuge, and participate in
conservation and education
partnerships. There are other actions
PO 00000
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Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
that differ among the alternatives. The
draft CCP/EA provides a full description
of both alternatives and relates each to
the issues and concerns that arose
during the planning process. Below, we
provide summaries for the two
alternatives.
Presquile NWR Alternatives
Alternative A (Current Management)
This alternative is the ‘‘no action’’
alternative required by the National
Environmental Policy Act. Alternative A
defines our current management
activities, including those planned,
funded, or underway, and serves as the
baseline against which to compare
alternative B. Under alternative A, we
would continue to protect tidal swamp
forest and marsh habitats for priority
refuge resources of concern on the
refuge, such as the bald eagle,
prothonotary warbler, American black
duck and other waterfowl, and the
federally threatened sensitive jointvetch. We would accomplish this
through continued partnerships with
universities and the Virginia
Department of Game and Inland
Fisheries, and by limiting public access
in sensitive areas. For James River
aquatic resources, we would continue to
improve riparian habitat, work with the
James River Association (JRA) on water
quality monitoring, and support efforts
by Virginia Commonwealth University
and other partners to restore
sustainable, healthy populations of the
federally endangered Atlantic sturgeon.
We would also continue to maintain
approximately 200 acres of grassland
habitat for breeding and migrating
songbirds.
Additionally, we would continue to
provide environmental education
programs both on- and off-refuge in
partnership with the JRA, support
wildlife-dependent recreation, and
implement the 3-day fall deer hunt.
Alternative B (Focus on Species of
Conservation Concern; Service-preferred
Alternative)
Alternative B is the Service-preferred
alternative. It combines the actions we
believe would best achieve the refuge’s
purposes, vision, and goals and respond
to public issues. Under alternative B, we
would emphasize the management of
specific refuge habitats to support
priority species whose habitat needs
would benefit other species of
conservation concern that are found in
the area. Species of conservation
concern include migrating waterfowl,
waterbirds, and forest-dependent birds,
the federally endangered Atlantic
sturgeon, and the federally threatened
E:\FR\FM\08AUN1.SGM
08AUN1
Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 153 / Wednesday, August 8, 2012 / Notices
sensitive joint-vetch. We would
emphasize maintaining and restoring
the forest integrity of tidal freshwater
marsh, tidal swamp forest, the James
River and associated backwater habitats,
and mature mixed mesic forest habitats
through increased monitoring and data
collection, and a more aggressive
response to habitat changes associated
with invasive species, global climate
change, or storm events. We would also
convert 200 acres of grassland habitat to
transitional mixed mesic forest habitat.
This alternative would enhance our
visitor services programs to improve
opportunities for environmental
education and wildlife-dependent
recreation. The improvements would
include expanding the on-refuge
environmental education program
through a partnership with the JRA and
enhancing interpretive materials. We
would also evaluate opportunities to
expand the hunting program to include
turkey hunting, a 5-day hunt for deer,
and a youth deer or turkey hunt.
We would also expand our
conservation, research, monitoring, and
management partnerships to help
restore and conserve the refuge.
Public Availability of Documents
In addition to any methods in
ADDRESSES, you can view or obtain
documents from the agency Web site at:
https://www.fws.gov/northeast/presquile/
refuge_planning.html.
Next Steps
After this comment period ends, we
will analyze the comments and address
them in the form of a final CCP and
finding of no significant impact.
wreier-aviles on DSK7SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
Public Availability of Comments
Before including your address, phone
number, email address, or other
personal identifying information in your
comments, 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.
Dated: July 17, 2012.
Henry Chang,
Acting Regional Director, Northeast Region.
[FR Doc. 2012–19394 Filed 8–7–12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310–55–P
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15:11 Aug 07, 2012
Jkt 226001
47435
Fish and Wildlife Service
notice. We are reopening the public
comment period on the draft CCP/EIS in
response to requests we have received.
[FWS–R5–R–2012–N166; BAC–4311–K9–S3]
Public Availability of Documents
Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge,
Sussex County, DE; Draft
Comprehensive Conservation Plan and
Environmental Impact Statement
In addition to any methods in
you can view or obtain
documents on the refuge Web site:
https://www.fws.gov/northeast/planning/
Prime%20Hook/ccphome.html.
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service,
Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability; reopening
of comment period.
AGENCY:
We, the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service (Service), advise the
public that we are reopening the public
comment period for the draft
comprehensive conservation plan and
draft environmental impact statement
(draft CCP/EIS) for Prime Hook National
Wildlife Refuge (NWR), located in
Sussex County, Delaware. If you have
previously submitted comments, please
do not resubmit them. We have already
incorporated them in the public record
and will fully consider them in the final
decision.
DATES: To ensure consideration, please
send your comments no later than
August 27, 2012.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments
by any one of the following methods.
You may also request hard copies or a
CD–ROM of the documents.
Email: northeastplanning@fws.gov.
Please include ‘‘Prime Hook NWR Draft
CCP’’ in the subject line of the message.
Fax: Attention: Thomas Bonetti, 413–
253–8468.
U.S. Mail: Thomas Bonetti, U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service, 300 Westgate
Center Drive, Hadley, MA 01035.
In-Person Drop-off, Viewing, or
Pickup: Call 302–684–8419 to make an
appointment (necessary for view/pickup
only) during regular business hours at
Prime Hook NWR, 11978 Turkle Pond
Road, Milton, DE 19968.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Michael Stroeh, Project Leader, 302–
653–9345 (phone), or Thomas Bonetti,
Planning Team Leader, 413–253–8307
(phone); northeastplanning@fws.gov
(email).
SUMMARY:
On May
31, 2012, we published a Federal
Register notice (77 FR 32131)
announcing the availability of and
requesting comments on the draft CCP/
EIS for Prime Hook NWR in accordance
with National Environmental Policy Act
(40 CFR 1506.6(b)) requirements. We
originally opened this comment period
from May 31, 2012, to August 6, 2012.
For background and more information
on the draft CCP/EIS, please see that
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
PO 00000
Frm 00078
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
ADDRESSES,
Public Availability of Comments
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.
Dated: July 17, 2012.
Henry Chang,
Acting Regional Director, Northeast Region.
[FR Doc. 2012–19395 Filed 8–7–12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310–55–P
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[LLOR957000–L63100000–HD0000: HAG12–
0257]
Filing of Plats of Survey: Oregon/
Washington
Bureau of Land Management,
Interior.
ACTION: Notice.
AGENCY:
The plats of survey of the
following described lands are scheduled
to be officially filed in the Bureau of
Land Management Oregon/Washington
State Office, Portland, Oregon, 30 days
from the date of this publication.
SUMMARY:
Willamette Meridian
Oregon
T. 9 S., 19 E., accepted July 23, 2012
T. 18 S., R. 1 W., accepted July 23, 2012
T. 3 S., R. 3 E., accepted July 23, 2012
T. 27 S., R. 3 W., accepted July 27, 2012
T. 25 S., R. 4 W., accepted July 27, 2012
Washington
Tps. 23 & 24 N., Rs. 10 & 10 1⁄2 W.,
accepted July 27, 2012.
A copy of the plats may be
obtained from the Land Office at the
Bureau of Land Management, Oregon/
Washington State Office, 333 SW. 1st
Avenue, Portland, Oregon 97204, upon
required payment. A person or party
who wishes to protest against a survey
ADDRESSES:
E:\FR\FM\08AUN1.SGM
08AUN1
Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 153 (Wednesday, August 8, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 47433-47435]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-19394]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[FWS-R5-R-2012-N125; BAC-4311-K9-S3]
Presquile National Wildlife Refuge, Chesterfield County, VA;
Comprehensive Conservation Plan and Environmental Assessment
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability; request for comments.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce the
availability of a draft comprehensive conservation plan (CCP) and
environmental assessment (EA) for Presquile National Wildlife Refuge
(NWR) for public review and comment. Presquile NWR is located in
Chesterfield County, Virginia, and is administered by staff at Eastern
Virginia Rivers NWR Complex. The draft CCP/EA describes two
alternatives for managing Presquile NWR for the next 15 years.
Alternative B is identified as the Service-preferred alternative. Also
available for public review and comment are the draft compatibility
determinations, which are included as appendix B in the draft CCP/EA.
DATES: To ensure consideration of your written comments, please send
them by September 7, 2012. We will also hold public meetings. We will
announce those meetings and other opportunities for public input in
local news media, via our project mailing list, and on the refuge
planning Web site: https://www.fws.gov/northeast/presquile/refuge_planning.html.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments or requests for copies or more
information by any of the following methods. You may request hard
copies or a CD-ROM of the documents.
Email: EasternVirginiaRiversNWRC@fws.gov. Please include
``Presquile CCP'' in the subject line of the message.
U.S. Mail: Meghan Carfioli, Natural Resource Planner, U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service, 11116 Kimages Road, Charles City, VA 23030.
Fax: Attention: Meghan Carfioli, 804-829-9606.
In-Person Drop-off, Viewing, or Pickup: Call Meghan Carfioli at
804-829-5413, or Andy Hofmann, Refuge Manager, at 804-333-1470
extension 112 during regular business hours to make an appointment to
view the document.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Meghan Carfioli, Natural Resource
Planner, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; mailing address: 11116 Kimages
Road, Charles City, VA 23030; 804-829-5413 (phone); 804-829-9606 (fax);
EasternVirginiaRiversNWRC@fws.gov (email) (please put ``Presquile NWR''
in the subject line).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Introduction
With this notice, we continue the CCP process for Presquile NWR. We
published our original notice of intent to prepare a CCP in the Federal
Register on April 14, 2011 (76 FR 21001).
The 1,329-acre Presquile NWR is an island in the James River near
Hopewell, Virginia, 20 miles southeast of Richmond. It was established
in 1953 as ``an inviolate sanctuary, or for any other management
purpose, for migratory birds.'' It is one of many important migratory
bird stopover sites along the Atlantic Flyway and provides protected
breeding habitat for Federal and State-listed threatened and endangered
species, as well as many neotropical migrant bird species. The refuge
is comprised of a variety of wildlife habitats, including the open
waters of the James River, tidal swamp forest, tidal freshwater
marshes, grasslands, mixed mesic forest, and river escarpment.
[[Page 47434]]
Presquile NWR also offers a wide range of wildlife-dependent
recreational opportunities, including environmental education programs
for approximately 120 school-aged students each year and a 3-day deer
hunt each fall.
Background
The CCP Process
The National Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act of 1966 (16
U.S.C. 668dd-668ee) (Refuge Administration Act), as amended by the
National Wildlife Refuge System Improvement Act of 1997, requires us to
develop a CCP for each national wildlife 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. 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 Refuge Administration Act.
Public Outreach
In March 2011, we distributed a planning newsletter to over 160
parties on our project mailing list. The newsletter informed people
about the planning process and asked recipients to contact us about
issues or concerns they would like us to address. We also posted the
newsletter on our Web site for people to access electronically. In
addition, we notified the general public of our planning project, and
our interest in hearing about issues and concerns, by publishing news
releases in local newspapers. We also held afternoon and evening public
scoping meetings on April 19, 2011, in Chester, Virginia, and an
evening meeting on April 20, 2011, in Richmond, Virginia. The purpose
of the three meetings was to share information on the planning process
and to solicit management issues and concerns. Throughout the process,
refuge staff have conducted additional outreach via participation in
community meetings, events, and other public forums. We have considered
and evaluated all of the comments we received and addressed them in
various ways in the alternatives presented in the draft CCP/EA.
CCP Alternatives We Are Considering
During the scoping process, which initiated work on our draft CCP/
EA, we, other governmental partners, and the public raised the
following general issues that are further detailed and addressed in the
draft CCP/EA:
How will the refuge respond to potential impacts of
climate change on existing refuge habitats?
How will the refuge improve its biological integrity in
light of landscape-level ecological concerns such as biological
connectivity with other nearby habitats or impacts from air and noise
pollution from surrounding industry?
How will the refuge address erosion and sediment
deposition issues on and adjacent to the refuge?
How will the refuge manage invasive, nonnative, and
overabundant species?
What will the refuge do to manage approximately 200 acres
of grassland habitat?
To what extent would the refuge interpret or educate the
public about cultural resources, historical landscapes, and American
Indian history and culture on or around the refuge?
What will the refuge do to improve its environmental
education, interpretation, wildlife-dependent recreation, and
compatible public uses?
How does the refuge plan to accommodate an increase in
visitor population while maintaining protection of sensitive fish and
wildlife resources?
To what extent will the Service use partnerships with area
agencies, businesses, and organizations to achieve the refuge's
resource conservation and visitation goals?
At what levels does the Service plan to continue staffing
and management of the refuge?
We developed two management alternatives in the draft CCP/EA for
Presquile NWR to address these issues and to achieve the refuge's
establishment purposes, and the vision and goals we developed. The
alternatives identify several actions in common. Both alternatives
include measures to continue to share staff across the Eastern Virginia
Rivers NWR Complex, require a permit for refuge access, maintain
existing facilities, control invasive species, protect cultural
resources, monitor for climate change impacts, distribute refuge
revenue sharing payments, support research on the refuge, and
participate in conservation and education partnerships. There are other
actions that differ among the alternatives. The draft CCP/EA provides a
full description of both alternatives and relates each to the issues
and concerns that arose during the planning process. Below, we provide
summaries for the two alternatives.
Presquile NWR Alternatives
Alternative A (Current Management)
This alternative is the ``no action'' alternative required by the
National Environmental Policy Act. Alternative A defines our current
management activities, including those planned, funded, or underway,
and serves as the baseline against which to compare alternative B.
Under alternative A, we would continue to protect tidal swamp forest
and marsh habitats for priority refuge resources of concern on the
refuge, such as the bald eagle, prothonotary warbler, American black
duck and other waterfowl, and the federally threatened sensitive joint-
vetch. We would accomplish this through continued partnerships with
universities and the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries,
and by limiting public access in sensitive areas. For James River
aquatic resources, we would continue to improve riparian habitat, work
with the James River Association (JRA) on water quality monitoring, and
support efforts by Virginia Commonwealth University and other partners
to restore sustainable, healthy populations of the federally endangered
Atlantic sturgeon. We would also continue to maintain approximately 200
acres of grassland habitat for breeding and migrating songbirds.
Additionally, we would continue to provide environmental education
programs both on- and off-refuge in partnership with the JRA, support
wildlife-dependent recreation, and implement the 3-day fall deer hunt.
Alternative B (Focus on Species of Conservation Concern; Service-
preferred Alternative)
Alternative B is the Service-preferred alternative. It combines the
actions we believe would best achieve the refuge's purposes, vision,
and goals and respond to public issues. Under alternative B, we would
emphasize the management of specific refuge habitats to support
priority species whose habitat needs would benefit other species of
conservation concern that are found in the area. Species of
conservation concern include migrating waterfowl, waterbirds, and
forest-dependent birds, the federally endangered Atlantic sturgeon, and
the federally threatened
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sensitive joint-vetch. We would emphasize maintaining and restoring the
forest integrity of tidal freshwater marsh, tidal swamp forest, the
James River and associated backwater habitats, and mature mixed mesic
forest habitats through increased monitoring and data collection, and a
more aggressive response to habitat changes associated with invasive
species, global climate change, or storm events. We would also convert
200 acres of grassland habitat to transitional mixed mesic forest
habitat.
This alternative would enhance our visitor services programs to
improve opportunities for environmental education and wildlife-
dependent recreation. The improvements would include expanding the on-
refuge environmental education program through a partnership with the
JRA and enhancing interpretive materials. We would also evaluate
opportunities to expand the hunting program to include turkey hunting,
a 5-day hunt for deer, and a youth deer or turkey hunt.
We would also expand our conservation, research, monitoring, and
management partnerships to help restore and conserve the refuge.
Public Availability of Documents
In addition to any methods in ADDRESSES, you can view or obtain
documents from the agency Web site at: https://www.fws.gov/northeast/presquile/refuge_planning.html.
Next Steps
After this comment period ends, we will analyze the comments and
address them in the form of a final CCP and finding of no significant
impact.
Public Availability of Comments
Before including your address, phone number, email address, or
other personal identifying information in your comments, 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.
Dated: July 17, 2012.
Henry Chang,
Acting Regional Director, Northeast Region.
[FR Doc. 2012-19394 Filed 8-7-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-55-P