96-15960. Notice of Withdrawal of the Waimanu Valley National Estuarine Research Reserve From the National Estuarine Research Reserve System

[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 123 (Tuesday, June 25, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Page 32774]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-15960]



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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Notice of Withdrawal of the Waimanu Valley National Estuarine 
Research Reserve From the National Estuarine Research Reserve System

AGENCY: Sanctuaries and Reserves Division (SRD), Office of Ocean and 
Coastal Resource Management (OCRM), National Ocean Service (NOS), 
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Department of 
Commerce (DOC).

ACTION: Public notice.

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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that the Waimanu Valley National 
Estuarine Research Reserve (NERR) is withdrawn from the NERR System, 
established by section 315 of the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972, 
as amended. The Waimanu Valley NERR, located on the windward side of 
the Island of Hawaii, was designated in 1978 as the second NERR in the 
system. Serious budget cuts within the State have hindered efforts to 
adequately staff the Waimanu Valley NERR and complete a site management 
plan, which are required by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
Administration (NOAA) to be in compliance with regulations governing 
the NERR System. In addition, the remoteness and relative 
inaccessibility of the Waimanu Valley NERR, and the inability of the 
State of Hawaii to secure adequate protection of 200 acres of property 
in the WVNERR due to ownership by the Department of Hawaiian Homelands, 
renders the Waimanu Valley NERR unable to meet the research, education, 
and management purposes of the NERR System. After much effort to seek 
alternatives to withdrawal from the NERR System, both the State of 
Hawaii and NOAA agree that the only feasible solution at this time is 
to withdraw the Waimanu Valley NERR from the NERR System.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Nina Garfield, NOAA/NOS/OCRM/SRD, 1305 East-West Highway, SSMC4 12th 
Floor, Silver Spring, MD. 20910; Phone [phone], ext. 171.

Federal Domestic Assistance Catalog Number 11.420 (Coastal Zone 
Management) Estuarine Sanctuaries.

    Dated: June 12, 1996.
David L. Evans
Acting Deputy Assistant Administrator for Ocean Services and Coastal 
Zone Management.
[FR Doc. 96-15960 Filed 6-24-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-08-M