[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 224 (Monday, November 22, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 63790-63791]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-30322]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
National Estuarine Research Reserve System
AGENCY: Estuarine Reserves Division, Office of Ocean and Coastal
Resource Management, National Ocean Service, National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of approval and availability of the final revised
Management Plan for the Narragansett Bay National Estuarine Research
Reserve, 1998-2003.
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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that the Estuarine Reserves Division
(ERD), Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management, has approved
the revised Management Plan for the Narragansett Bay National Estuarine
Research Reserve (NBNERR). The NBNERR was designated in 1980 and has
been operating under a Management Plan approved in 1983. Pursuant to
Section 315 of the Coastal Zone Management Act, 16 U.S.C. 1461, and
Section 921.33(c) of the implementing regulations, a state must revise
its management plan at least every five years, or more often if
necessary.
The revisions to the NBNERR Management Plan include:
Information about the Reserve's boundary expansion that increased
from 2626 acres to 4259 acres. The land area is 2478 acres including
the privately owned Prudence Conservancy, all state owned properties on
Prudence Island, all of Hope and most of Patience islands. The aquatic
areas of the Reserve are delineated by all waters out to a depth of 18
feet and is 1781 acres in extent.
Addition of dedicated positions for the NBNERR Manager and Research
Coordinator.
Under a NOAA matching grant, the NBNERR renovated an existing
building to create a new 2,500 square-foot multi-purpose facility to
support research, education, and office space. The newly renovated
building provides educational exhibit space, a research lab, meeting
rooms, the NBNERR office. Other construction improvements include the
repair and upgrading of the caretaker's and visitors' cottages.
The revised management plan demonstrates continued strong support
from the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (DEM) and
NOAA for research, monitoring and education programs. A long-term
research plan focuses on understanding the structure and function of
key habitats, such as the Reserve's five major marsh systems. A
comparative ecology approach provides the basis for research project
design and priority setting. Collaborative studies with Federal, state,
and institutional researchers are encouraged. An associated long-term
monitoring
[[Page 63791]]
program will characterize the environmental quality and the occurrence
and abundance of living resources. Monitoring is designed to determine
baseline status and trends in habitat quality and the health of
important resource species.
Copies of the document can be obtained from the Narragansett Bay
National Estuarine Research Reserve, Department of Environmental
Management, 55 South Reserve Drive, Prudence, Rhode Island 02872. (401)
683-6780.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Doris Grimm, OCRM, Estuarine Reserves
Division, 1305 East-West Highway, 11th Floor (N/ORM5), Silver Spring,
Maryland 20910. (301) 713-3132, Extension 107.
Federal Domestic Assistance Catalog Number 11.420 (Coastal Zone
Management) Research Reserves.
Dated: November 16, 1999.
Ted I. Lillestolen,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Ocean Services and Coastal Zone
Management, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
[FR Doc. 99-30322 Filed 11-19-99; 8:45 am]
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