[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 247 (Thursday, December 24, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 71298-71299]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-34178]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish And Wildlife Service
Comprehensive Conservation Plans; Michigan and Minnesota
ACTION: Notice of Intent to Prepare Comprehensive Conservation Plans
and Associated Environmental Documents.
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SUMMARY: This notice advises the public that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service
[[Page 71299]]
(Service) intends to gather information necessary to prepare
Comprehensive Conservation Plans (CCPs) and environmental assessments
for units within Michigan and Minnesota. The CCPs will be prepared for
the Wyandotte and Michigan Islands National Wildlife Refuges (NWRs) and
the East Lansing Wetland Management District as part of the planning
process for Shiawassee NWR. The CCP will be prepared for the Minnesota
Valley Wetland Management District as part of the planning process for
Minnesota Valley NWR. The Service is furnishing this notice in
compliance with the National Wildlife Refuge System Improvement Act of
1997 and the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and implementing
regulations:
(1) to advise other agencies and the public of our intentions, and
(2) to obtain suggestions and information on the scope of issues to
include in the environmental document.
DATES: Inquire at the address below for due dates for comments
regarding specific projects.
ADDRESSES: Address comments and requests for more information or to be
put on a mailing list to: Chief, Branch of Ascertainment and Planning,
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building,
1 Federal Drive, Fort Snelling, Minnesota 55111, 612-713-5429, E-mail:
[email protected]
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Service will solicit information from
the public via open houses and written comments. Special mailings,
newspaper articles, and radio announcements in the areas near each unit
will inform people of the time and place of open houses to be held in
1999 related to the CCP and NEPA documentation.
The National Wildlife Refuge System Improvement Act of 1997
requires that all lands within the National Wildlife Refuge System be
managed in accordance with an approved CCP. The CCP guides management
decisions and identifies goals, objectives, and strategies for
achieving unit purposes. Public input into this planning process is
encouraged. The CCPs will provide other agencies and the public with a
clear understanding of the desired conditions for each of its units and
how the Service will implement management strategies.
Shiawassee NWR administers the Wyandotte and Michigan Islands NWRs.
Minnesota Valley NWR administers the Minnesota Valley Wetland
Management District. The intent to prepare a CCP for the Shiawassee and
Minnesota Valley NWRs was published October 1, 1997 (62 FR 51482).
Wyandotte NWR consists of two islands and adjacent shallow waters
in the Detroit River offshore from Wyandotte, Michigan. The refuge is
situated in what was once one of the most significant migratory staging
areas for diving ducks in the United States. Extensive beds of aquatic
vegetation have disappeared and only a remnant of the once vast rafts
of migratory waterfowl are now seen in Wyandotte. Public access is not
permitted on either island.
Michigan Islands NWR consists of five islands. Thunder Bay and
Scarecrow Islands are located in Lake Huron near Alpena, Michigan. The
islands total 128 acres and are home to the Federally-threatened Dwarf
lake iris (Iris lacustris). American redstarts (Setophaga ruticilla)
and American black ducks (Anas rubripes) nest on the islands. Gull,
Pismire, and Shoe Islands are part of the Beaver Island Group in
northern Lake Michigan. The three islands total 235 acres. Pismire and
Shoe Islands are officially designated as the Michigan Islands
Wilderness Area. Herring (Larus argentatus) and ring bill gulls (L.
Delawarensis), double-crested cormorants (Phalacrocorax auritus), great
blue herons (Ardea herodias), and Caspian terns (Sterna caspia) nest on
the islands.
The East Lansing Wetland Management District consists of two
Waterfowl Production Areas, a 160 acre area in Jackson County and a 77
acre area in VanBuren County. The areas are managed primarily to
maintain wetland and upland habitat for migrating and nesting
waterfowl, migratory birds, and resident game species.
Minnesota Valley Wetland Management District is a 13 county
district located in east central Minnesota. The district includes
portions of the Minnesota, Cannon, and Mississippi River watersheds.
Pre-settlement habitat included prairie pothole, native prairie, oak
savannah, and big woods habitats. Prevalent land use in the district is
agriculture and urban development around the Twin Cities metropolitan
area. The major breeding species of waterfowl in the district are
mallards (Anas platyrhynchos), blue-winged teal (A. discors), and wood
ducks (Aix sponsa). The district consists of 2,248 acres of waterfowl
production areas and approximately 700 easement acres.
The Service units need CCPs because no formal, up-to-date, long-
term management direction exists. Until the CCPs are completed,
management will be guided by official unit purposes; the National
Wildlife Refuge System Improvement Act of 1997; other Federal
legislation regarding management of national wildlife refuges and
wilderness; and other legal, regulatory and policy guidance.
Upon implementation, the CCPs will apply to Federal lands,
easements, and lands leased by the Service within the boundaries of the
units. The plans will be consistent with the Service's Ecosystem
Approach to Fish and Wildlife Conservation and include approaches to
habitat management, wildlife population management, public use
management, cultural resource identification and protection, and
management of any special uses. The compatibility of uses will be
determined as part of the CCP process.
The environmental review of these projects will be conducted in
accordance with the requirements of the National Environmental Policy
Act of 1969, as amended (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), NEPA Regulations (40
CFR parts 1500-1508), the National Wildlife Refuge System Improvement
Act of 1997, other appropriate Federal laws and regulations, Executive
Order 12996, and Service policies and procedures for compliance with
those regulations.
We estimate that the first draft CCPs and associated environmental
documents will be available by August 1999.
Dated: December 8, 1998.
Marvin E. Moriarty,
Acting Regional Director.
[FR Doc. 98-34178 Filed 12-23-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-55-M
