[Federal Register: June 12, 2008 (Volume 73, Number 114)]
[Notices]
[Page 33451-33452]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr12jn08-96]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[FWS-R4-R-2008-N0087; 40136-1265-0000-S3]
Wolf Island National Wildlife Refuge, McIntosh County, GA
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability; draft comprehensive conservation plan
and environmental assessment; request for comments.
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SUMMARY: We, the Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce the
availability of a draft comprehensive conservation plan and
environmental assessment (Draft CCP/EA) for Wolf Island National
Wildlife Refuge for public review and comment. In this Draft CCP/EA, we
describe the alternative we propose to use to manage this refuge for
the 15 years following approval of the Final CCP.
DATES: To ensure consideration, we must receive your written comments
by July 14, 2008. A meeting will be held to present the Draft CCP/EA to
the public. Mailings, newspaper articles, and posters will be the
avenues to inform the public of the date and time for the meeting.
ADDRESSES: Requests for copies of the Draft CCP/EA should be addressed
to: Jane Griess, Project Leader, Savannah Coastal Refuges' Complex,
1000 Business Center Drive, Suite 10, Savannah, Georgia 31405;
Telephone: 912/652-4415. The Draft CCP/EA may also be accessed and
downloaded from the Service's Internet Site: http://southeast.fws.gov/
planning. Comments on the Draft CCP/EA may be submitted to the above
address or by e-mail to Mr. Randy Williams at: rwilliams@mangi.com.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Randy Williams; Telephone: 985/264-
1979.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Introduction
With this notice, we continue the CCP process for Wolf Island
National Wildlife Refuge. We started the process through a notice in
the Federal Register on October 30, 2006 (71 FR 63344).
Wolf Island National Wildlife Refuge is approximately 12 miles off
the coast of Darien, Georgia, in McIntosh County. It was established on
April 3, 1930, to provide protection and habitat for migratory birds.
The barrier island refuge consists of Wolf Island and two smaller
islands, Egg and Little Egg. More than 75 percent of the refuge's 5,126
acres are composed of saltwater marsh.
Wolf Island National Wildlife Refuge was designated a National
Wilderness Area in 1975, and is maintained as such, with its primary
purpose being to provide protection for migratory birds and such
threatened and endangered species as the loggerhead sea turtle and the
piping plover.
Background
The CCP Process
The National Wildlife Refuge System Improvement Act of 1997 (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 in 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,
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, wildlife 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.
Significant issues addressed in the Draft CCP/EA include:
threatened and endangered species; habitat protection; neotropical
migratory birds; conservation of a remnant maritime forest; visitor
services (e.g., wildlife observation, wildlife photography, and
environmental education and interpretation); funding and staffing;
cultural resources; land acquisition; and invasive species management.
CCP Alternatives, Including Our Proposed Alternative
We developed three alternatives for managing the refuge and chose
Alternative C as the proposed alternative. A full description of each
alternative is in the Draft CCP/EA. We summarize each alternative
below.
Alternative A--No Action Alternative
Wolf Island National Wildlife Refuge is part of the Altamaha River
Ecosystem and is an important part of the Western Hemisphere Shorebird
Reserve Network. As such, the refuge is of significant importance to
migrating and wintering shorebirds and has been designated as part of
critical habitat for the Great Lakes population of the endangered
piping plover. Under Alternative A, management of the refuge would
continue at its current level of participation in these initiatives
throughout the 15-year duration of the CCP. Current approaches to
managing wildlife and habitats, protecting resources, and disallowing
public use would remain unchanged.
Wolf Island National Wildlife Refuge, as a designated National
Wilderness Area, provides protection for threatened and endangered
species, including the loggerhead sea turtle and the piping plover. Due
to its status as a Wilderness Area, no public use facilities exist or
are planned on the refuge. Although the waters surrounding the refuge
are open to a variety of recreational activities, all beach, marsh, and
upland areas are closed to the public. Under this alternative, none of
the above would change. Current management practices, which are
primarily custodial in nature, would continue.
Alternative B--Optimize Biological Program
Under Alternative B, the refuge would strive to optimize its
biological program, recognizing that there may be tradeoffs and
opportunity costs between the various elements of the biological
programs envisioned. Alternative B stresses the principle of
optimization rather than maximization of wildlife and habitat outputs.
The refuge would conduct baseline inventorying and monitoring
programs with several partners to provide a solid foundation of the
current condition of refuge habitat and wildlife. We would continue to
furnish benefits to migratory birds and resident wildlife species. We
would aim to increase the refuge's knowledge base about shorebirds by
developing and implementing
[[Page 33452]]
monitoring programs while continuing to provide habitats for the
benefit of migratory birds. The refuge would also continue to furnish
benefits to federally threatened and endangered species.
Land acquisition and resource protection efforts at Wolf Island
National Wildlife Refuge would be intensified. Efforts to control
invasive species would commence and efforts would be made to reduce
beach erosion. In the Service's Private Lands Program, staff would work
with private landowners of adjacent properties to manage and improve
habitats. Staff would also explore opportunities with partners to
expand land and habitat protection efforts.
The refuge would develop and begin to implement a Cultural
Resources Management Plan (CRMP). Until such time as the CRMP is
completed and implemented, the refuge would follow standard Service
protocols and procedures in conducting cultural resource surveys by
qualified professionals in consultation with the Regional Historic
Preservation Officer (RHPO) and the State Historic Preservation Officer
(SHPO).
Alternative C--Ecosystem Management (Proposed Action)
Under Alternative C, the refuge would practice ecosystem
management, recognizing the ecological role of Wolf Island National
Wildlife Refuge within the interrelated Altamaha River Basin and
coastal barrier island ecosystem. Human activities and natural
processes within these ecosystems influence the refuge in a variety of
ways. Alternative C explicitly commits the Service to acknowledge these
influences and cooperate with other stakeholders in ways that will
ensure the continued protection and enhancement of the ecosystem's
natural resources.
As with Alternative B, the refuge would strive to optimize its
biological program, recognizing that there may be tradeoffs and
opportunity costs between the various elements of the biological
programs envisioned. However, Alternative C emphasizes a broader
ecosystem approach than Alternative B, which is narrowly focused on the
refuge.
The refuge would conduct baseline inventorying and monitoring
programs with several partners to investigate threats and opportunities
within the ecosystem as they may impact refuge goals and objectives.
The Service and our partners would continue to furnish benefits to the
ecosystem's native flora and fauna under Alternative C. The refuge
would also continue to furnish benefits to federally threatened and
endangered species.
Under Alternative C, land acquisition and resource protection
within the ecosystem would be intensified. Control of invasive species
would commence and efforts would be made to reduce beach erosion.
Service staff would work with partners to manage and improve habitats
within the ecosystem. Staff would also explore opportunities with
partners to expand land and habitat protection efforts.
The refuge would develop and begin to implement a CRMP. Until such
time as the CRMP is completed and implemented, the refuge would follow
standard Service protocol and procedures in conducting cultural
resource surveys by qualified professionals in consultation with the
RHPO and the SHPO.
Next Step
After the comment period ends, we will analyze the comments and
address them in the form of a final CCP and Finding of No Significant
Impact.
Public Availability of Comments
Before including your address, phone number, e-mail address, or
other personal identifying information in your comment, you should be
aware that your entire comment--including your personal identifying
information--may be made publicly available at any time. While you can
ask us in your comment to withhold your personal identifying
information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be
able to do so.
Authority: This notice is published under the authority of the
National Wildlife Refuge System Improvement Act of 1997, Public Law
105-57.
Dated: April 24, 2008.
Cynthia K. Dohner,
Acting Regional Director.
[FR Doc. E8-13166 Filed 6-11-08; 8:45 am]
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