[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 213 (Friday, November 3, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Pages 55852-55853]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-27195]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
Notice of Availability of Final Environmental Impact Statement on
the Establishment of the Silvio O. Conte National Fish and Wildlife
Refuge Within the Four-State Connecticut River Watershed of New England
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: This notice advises the public that the Final Environmental
Impact Statement (FEIS) on establishing the Silvio O. Conte National
Fish and Wildlife Refuge (refuge) in the Connecticut River watershed of
Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont and New Hampshire is available. The
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) proposes to work with private
landowners, state or local agencies and private organizations through
the existing Partners for Wildlife and Challenge Cost Share Programs.
The Service's major thrust through the year 2010 would focus on the use
of
[[Page 55853]]
voluntary efforts, developing partnerships, providing technical
assistance, and administering a cost-sharing grants program to help
other conservation interests carry out their land protection programs.
The Service would also initiate its own land protection program--using
a combination of easements, cooperative management agreement and fee
title acquisition--with emphasis on endangered, threatened, rare and
uncommon species and communities. Educational efforts would be carried
out in cooperation with the watershed's many environmental education
providers. This proposal would result in the establishment of a special
watershed-wide cooperative management and education program. This
notice is being furnished pursuant to the National Environmental Policy
Act (NEPA) regulations (40 CFR parts 1500-1508).
DATES: A Record of Decision can be approved after December 4, 1995.
ADDRESSES: A limited number of copies of either the complete FEIS, or a
summary of the FEIS, are available upon request from Larry Bandolin,
Project Leader, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 38 Avenue A, Turners
Falls, Massachusetts 01376.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Larry Bandolin, Project Leader, Telephone (413) 863-0209 or Fax (413)
863-3070.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The FEIS was prepared to fulfill the
requirements of the Silvio O. Conte National Fish and Wildlife Refuge
Act of 1991 (Act), Section 105. The Act's long-term purposes for
establishing a new refuge in the Connecticut River watershed are to:
(1) Conserve, protect, and enhance the Connecticut River watershed
populations of Atlantic salmon, American shad, river herring, shortnose
sturgeon, bald eagles, peregrine falcons, osprey, black ducks, and
other native species of plants, fish, and wildlife; (2) conserve,
protect, and enhance the natural diversity and abundance of plant,
fish, and wildlife species and the ecosystems upon which these species
depend within the refuge; (3) protect species listed as endangered or
threatened, or identified as candidates for listing, pursuant to the
Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended; (4) restore and maintain
the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of wetlands and other
waters within the refuge; (5) fulfill the international treaty
obligations of the United States relating to fish and wildlife and
wetlands; and (6) provide opportunities for scientific research,
environmental education, and fish and wildlife-oriented recreation and
access to the extent compatible with the other purposes stated in this
section. The FEIS describes five alternative ways to fulfill these
purposes. It also discusses the process used to develop them and the
environmental consequences of implementing each one. The first
alternative (No Action) would involve no new conservation efforts in
the watershed on the part of the Service. A second alternative (Private
Lands Work and Education) relies on the voluntary restoration and
enhancement of private lands through the Service's Partners for
Wildlife Program. A third alternative (Private Lands Work, Education
and Partnerships) relies on the voluntary restoration and enhancement
of private lands, developing partnerships, providing technical
assistance and establishing a cost-sharing grants program--through the
Service's Challenge Cost Share Program--to help other conservation
interests carry out their land protection programs. A fourth
alternative (Private Lands Work, Education, Partnerships and Land
Protection--The Service's Revised Proposed Action) is similar to the
third alternative, except that the Service would also acquire lands to
protect threatened or endangered, rare and uncommon species and
communities. Under the fifth alternative (Private Lands Work, Education
and Land Protection) the Service would establish a more traditional
national fish and wildlife refuge. All issues an concerns identified by
the public during scoping were considered and the most significant
analyzed in detail. The potential effects of each alternative on
agriculture and forestry, biological resources, local economies,
environmental education, public use and access, and water use and
quality are also described.
During the public review and comment period on the Draft
Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS), a series of afternoon walk-in
informational sessions and evening public meetings and hearings were
held in 16 different locations throughout the four-state Connecticut
River watershed. Meetings were held in four locations in Massachusetts;
four in Connecticut; four in Vermont; and four in New Hampshire in
June, 1995. During the public review and comment period the Service
received 348 written comments and seven petitions containing 897
signatures. Over 290 people attended the afternoon walk-in sessions and
over 700 attended the evening public meetings and hearings, including
94 who testified. All comments received, both written and verbal, were
taken into consideration during the preparation of the FEIS--to make
corrections or revisions--and have become part of the official record
for the project. The FEIS contains the Service's responses to comments
made by 150 federal or state agencies, private organizations and
individuals. Copies of the FEIS have been sent to all agencies and
individuals who commented on the DEIS and to all others who have
already requested copies, as well as all libraries within the
watershed. A summary of the FEIS has been sent to all other
organizations and individuals on the project mailing list.
Cathleen I. Short,
Acting Regional Director, Region 5, Hadley, Massachusetts.
[FR Doc. 95-27195 Filed 11-2-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-55-M
