[Federal Register: June 13, 2008 (Volume 73, Number 115)]
[Notices]
[Page 33848-33849]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr13jn08-83]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[FWS-R4-R-2008-N0090; 40136-1265-0000-S3]
Shell Keys National Wildlife Refuge, Iberia Parish, LA
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 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) announce the
availability of a draft comprehensive conservation plan and
environmental assessment (Draft CCP/EA) for Shell Keys National
Wildlife Refuge for public review and comment. In this Draft CCP/EA, we
describe the alternatives, including our proposed action, 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.
ADDRESSES: To provide written comments or to obtain a copy of the Draft
CCP/EA, please contact Tina Chouinard, Refuge Planner, U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service, 6772 Highway 76 South, Stanton, TN 38069. The Draft
CCP/EA may also be accessed and downloaded from the Service's Internet
site: http://www.fws/southeast/planning.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Tina Chouinard; Telephone: 731/780-
8208; Fax: 731/772-7839; e-mail: tina_chouinard@fws.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Introduction
With this notice, we continue the CCP process for Shell Keys
National Wildlife Refuge. We started this process through a notice in
the Federal Register on June 27, 2007 (72 FR 35255).
Shell Keys National Wildlife Refuge is part of the Southwest
Louisiana National Wildlife Refuge Complex, which also includes the
Cameron Prairie, Lacassine, and Sabine National Wildlife Refuges. Shell
Keys Refuge's eight acres are in the offshore waters of the Louisiana
Gulf Coast to the west of the Atchafalaya River Delta, and south of the
Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries' Marsh Island Refuge, in
Iberia Parish, Louisiana. Shell Keys Refuge is within the Lower
Mississippi River Ecosystem in the Gulf of Mexico.
President Taft established Shell Keys Refuge on August 17, 1907, by
Executive Order 682, to serve ``* * * as a reserve and breeding ground
for native birds.''
Shell Keys Refuge is one of the oldest refuges in the National
Wildlife Refuge System. Its boundary was and still is rather loosely
described as ``* * *a small group of unsurveyed islets located in the
Gulf of Mexico about three and one-half miles south of Marsh Island,
Louisiana, and approximately in latitude 29 degrees 26 minutes north,
longitude 91 degrees 51 minutes west from Greenwich.* * *'' The
boundary of the refuge has been interpreted to be those areas in this
vicinity that are above mean high tide.
Shell Keys Refuge is a small group of islands that is subject to
shell deposits and erosion, so the actual acreage above mean high water
may, of course, be different at this time. How these islands change and
move may affect ownership of that area lying above mean high water.
Under certain circumstances, accreted areas above mean high water may
belong to the State of Louisiana.
For a number of years, there has been only one islet at this
location. This islet is composed almost entirely of shell fragments. It
is extremely dynamic and builds or recedes with passing storms.
Vegetation is almost entirely lacking. Species known to nest here
include royal terns, sandwich terns, black skimmers, and laughing
gulls. In addition, the islet is used at various times as a loafing
area by white pelicans, brown pelicans, and various other species of
terns and gulls. Recent hurricanes and storms have eroded the island to
such an extent that no known nesting has occurred since 1992.
Public access to the refuge is limited due to its remoteness and
the fact that it is accessible only by boat.
[[Page 33849]]
Significant issues addressed in the Draft CCP/EA include: Colonial
nesting birds; endangered species; shorebirds; habitat restoration
feasibility; cooperative management agreement with Louisiana Department
of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF); law enforcement issues; visitor
services (e.g., fishing, wildlife observation and photography, and
environmental education and interpretation); and cultural resource
protection.
Background
The CCP Process
The National Wildlife Refuge System Improvement Act of 1997 (16
U.S.C. 668dd-668ee) (Improvement Act), 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.
CCP Actions We Are Considering, Including Proposed Action
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: Current Management (No Action)
This is the ``status quo'' alternative in which current habitat,
wildlife, and public use management would continue with no changes. On
an annual basis, monitoring and trip report status are conducted.
Periodically during winter migratory bird surveys, fly-over surveys are
conducted to determine if the island is emergent. A cooperative law
enforcement agreement will remain in effect with LDWF.
Alternative B: Custodial Cooperative Management
Under Alternative B, nature would be allowed to take its course
regarding the future of the islands, with no restoration activities
accomplished. If the islands fail to rebuild and continue to erode,
areas available to birds may diminish. With the land area diminishing,
the island would continue to support a reducing population of colonial
nesting birds. Working with LDWF, routine and additional patrols would
be provided in coordination with refuge law enforcement officers.
Through the Southwest Louisiana National Wildlife Refuge Complex,
interpretation would concentrate on the history of the formation and
subsequent changes and erosion of the shell key shoal/island and reef
complex habitat. Alternative B would open the refuge for public use by
offering limited fishing and wildlife observation and photography.
Alternative C: Large-Scale Habitat Restoration and Cooperative
Management Approach (Proposed Alternative)
Under Alternative C, our proposed alternative for Shell Keys
Refuge, we would explore implementing large-scale restoration efforts
in cooperation with partners. We would enter into a new cooperative
agreement with the LDWF Fur and Refuge Division, focusing on natural
resource monitoring and restoration as appropriate. Partners are
necessary to supply expertise and funding for the daunting task of
restoration. Feasibility studies would be performed to determine the
costs associated with rebuilding and re-establishing the Shell Islands,
or portions of the islands. Restoration efforts would adapt to changing
conditions as practices and techniques are assessed. The refuge would
be open to recreational fishing and wildlife observation and
photography. Because the refuge is remote and few guests actually visit
the islands, outreach would center around providing information in
combination with the Southwest Louisiana National Wildlife Refuge
Complex and on Internet web pages.
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.
Next Step
After the comment period ends for the Draft CCP/EA, we will analyze
the comments and address them in the form of a Final CCP and Finding of
No Significant Impact.
Authority: This notice is published under the authority of the
National Wildlife Refuge System Improvement Act of 1997, Public Law
105-57.
Dated: May 5, 2008.
Cynthia K. Dohner,
Acting Regional Director.
[FR Doc. E8-13313 Filed 6-12-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-55-P