[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 38 (Tuesday, February 26, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 10278-10279]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-3576]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[FWS-R5-R-2008-N0012, 50130-1265-0000-S3]
Erie National Wildlife Refuge, Crawford County, PA
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare a comprehensive conservation plan
and environmental assessment; request for comments.
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SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), intend to
prepare a comprehensive conservation plan (CCP) and an associated
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) document for Erie National
Wildlife Refuge (NWR). We provide this notice in compliance with our
planning policy to advise other agencies, Tribes, and the public of our
intentions, and to obtain suggestions and information on the scope of
issues to consider. We are also requesting public comments.
DATES: To ensure consideration, we must receive your written comments
by April 30, 2008. We will hold public meetings to begin the CCP
planning process; see Public Meetings under SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.
We will announce opportunities for public input in local news media
throughout the CCP planning process, and will announce upcoming public
meetings in local news media and the refuge Web site.
ADDRESSES: Send your comments or requests for more information by any
of the following methods.
Electronic mail: [email protected]. Include ``Erie NWR CCP/
EA'' in the subject line of the message.
U.S. Postal Service: Erie NWR, 11296 Wood Duck Lane, Guys Mills, PA
16327.
In-Person Drop-off, Viewing, or Pickup: Call 814-789-3585 to make
an appointment during regular business hours at 11296 Wood Duck Lane,
Guys Mills, PA.
Fax: 814-789-2909.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Thomas Roster, Project Leader, at 585-
948-5445, or Thomas Bonetti, Planning Team Leader, at 413-253-8307.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Introduction
With this notice, we initiate our process for developing a CCP for
Erie NWR in Crawford County, Pennsylvania. We provide this notice in
compliance with our planning policy to (1) advise other Federal and
State agencies and the public of our intention to conduct detailed
planning on this refuge, and (2) obtain suggestions and information on
the scope of topics to consider in the environmental document and
during development of the CCP.
Background
The CCP Process
The National Wildlife Refuge System Improvement Act of 1997
(Improvement Act) (16 U.S.C. 668dd-668ee), which amended the National
Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act of 1966, 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 (NWRS), 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 Improvement Act and NEPA.
We establish each unit of the NWRS for specific purposes. We use
these purposes as the bases to develop and prioritize management goals
and objectives for the refuge within the NWRS mission, and to determine
how the public can use the refuge. The planning process is a way for us
and the public to evaluate management goals and objectives for the best
possible conservation approach to this important wildlife habitat,
while providing for wildlife-dependent recreation opportunities that
are compatible with the refuge's establishing purposes and the mission
of the NWRS.
Our CCP process provides opportunities for Tribal, State, and local
governments; agencies; organizations; and the public to participate. At
this time, we encourage the public to provide input in the form of
issues, concerns, ideas, and suggestions for the future management of
Erie NWR.
We will conduct the environmental review of this Environmental
Assessment in accordance with the requirements of NEPA (42 U.S.C. 4321
et seq.); NEPA regulations (40 CFR parts 1500-1508); other appropriate
Federal laws and regulations; and our policies and procedures for
compliance with those laws and regulations.
Erie National Wildlife Refuge
Erie NWR was established in 1959 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
8,800-acre Erie NWR lies 35 miles south of Lake Erie in northwestern
Pennsylvania in the glaciated Appalachian Plateau. The refuge is
entirely within the French Creek watershed, which is considered an
ecologically significant watershed nationally, as well as in
Pennsylvania, with globally rare freshwater mussels and fish. Erie NWR
is the only national wildlife refuge that hosts the Federal and State
endangered clubshell and northern riffleshell freshwater mussels.
Twenty-two mussels species, dozens of native fishes, and several rare
plants and natural communities are found in the Muddy-Dead Creek
drainage in the Seneca Division of the refuge. The Sugar Lake Division,
10 miles south, is more actively managed with a series of freshwater
impoundments and natural stream drainages, wetland complexes, and
uplands of mature forest, shrublands, and grasslands.
Scoping: Preliminary Issues, Concerns, and Opportunities
We have identified preliminary issues, concerns, and opportunities
that we may address in the CCP. We have briefly summarized these issues
below. During public scoping, we may identify additional issues.
Erie NWR incorporates several management techniques to create
desired habitat types and wildlife rich environments. Some of the
management techniques to be addressed in the CCP will include
prescribed fire, mowing, water level management, invasive species
control through herbicide application, removal/management of select
artificial nest structures, mechanical manipulation of habitats, and
cropland management.
Additionally, public use throughout the refuge will be reevaluated
in relation to wildlife dependent recreation and other mission
compatible uses. These uses will include waterfowl, big game, small
game, and turkey hunting; fishing and fishing access points; trapping
area(s) and the permitting process; seasonal access throughout the
refuge; deletion, addition, or modification of
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the trails, parking areas; and other visitor facilities.
Public Meetings
We will involve the public through open houses, informational and
technical meetings, and written comments. We will release mailings,
news releases, and announcements to provide information about
opportunities for public involvement in the planning process. You can
obtain the schedule from the planning team leader or project leader
(see ADDRESSES). You may also submit comments anytime during the
planning process by mail, electronic mail, or fax (see ADDRESSES).
There will be additional opportunities to provide public input once we
have prepared a draft CCP.
We anticipate that public meetings will be held in at least two
locations: Guys Mills, Pennsylvania; and Meadville, Pennsylvania. For
specific information including dates, times, and locations, contact the
project leader (see ADDRESSES) or visit our Web site at http://www.fws.gov/northeast/erie.
Public Availability of Comments
Our practice is to make comments, including names, home addresses,
home phone numbers, and electronic mail addresses of respondents
available for public review. Individual respondents may request that we
withhold their names and/or home addresses, etc., but if you wish us to
consider withholding this information, you must state this prominently
at the beginning of your comments. In addition, you must present a
rationale for withholding this information. This rationale must
demonstrate that disclosure would constitute a clearly unwarranted
invasion of privacy. Unsupported assertions will not meet this burden.
In the absence of exceptional, documentable circumstances, this
information will be released. We will always make submissions from
organizations or businesses, and from individuals identifying
themselves as representatives of or officials of organizations or
businesses, available for public inspection in their entirety.
Dated: February 19, 2008.
Wendi Weber,
Acting Regional Director, Northeast Region, U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service, Hadley, Massachusetts.
[FR Doc. E8-3576 Filed 2-25-08; 8:45 am]
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