[Federal Register: November 5, 2008 (Volume 73, Number 215)]
[Notices]
[Page 65873-65874]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr05no08-79]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[FWS-R4-R-2008-N0232; 40136-1265-0000-S3]
Wolf Island National Wildlife Refuge, McIntosh County, GA
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability: Final comprehensive conservation plan
and finding of no significant impact.
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SUMMARY: We, the Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce the
availability of our final comprehensive conservation plan (CCP) and
finding of no significant impact (FONSI) for Wolf Island National
Wildlife Refuge (NWR). In the final CCP, we describe how we will manage
this refuge for the next 15 years.
ADDRESSES: A copy of the CCP may be obtained by writing to: Mr. Shaw
Davis, Savannah Coastal Refuges' Complex, 1000 Business Center Drive,
Parkway Business Center, Suite 10, Savannah, GA 31405. The CCP may also
be accessed and downloaded from the Service's Web site: http://
southeast.fws.gov/planning.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Shaw Davis; Telephone: 912-652-
4030 x 106; fax: 912-652-4385; e-mail: shaw_davis@fws.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Introduction
With this notice, we finalize the CCP process for Wolf Island NWR.
We started this process through a notice in the Federal Register on
October 30, 2006 (71 FR 63344). For more about the process, see that
notice.
Wolf Island NWR, 12 miles east of Darien, Georgia (by boat),
consists of a long narrow strip of oceanfront beach backed by a broad
band of salt marsh. Over 75 percent of the refuge's 5,126 acres are
composed of saltwater marshes. The refuge was established by Executive
Order 5316 on April 3, 1930, when the 538 acres already in government
ownership were set aside as a sanctuary for migratory birds. Wolf
Island NWR is a designated National Wilderness Area and is maintained
as such, with its primary purpose being to provide protection for
migratory birds and such endangered and threatened species as the
loggerhead sea turtle and piping plover. Due to its Wilderness
designation, no public use facilities exist on the refuge. Though the
refuge's saltwaters are open to a variety of recreational activities,
all beach, marsh, and upland areas are closed to the public.
This three-island wildlife refuge at the mouth of the Altamaha
River consists mainly of salt marsh and provides critical sanctuary for
rare migrating birds and nursery habitat for sea turtles. Wolf Island,
the largest island in the refuge, covers 4,519 acres. Its boundaries
are defined by the South River to the north, Little Mud River to
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the west, Altamaha Sound to the south, and the Atlantic Ocean to the
east. The island has only 300 acres of dune and beach along its narrow,
4-mile-long eastern shoreline. It fronts the ocean in the Altamaha
River Delta and forms a physical barrier between Doboy Sound to the
north and Altamaha Sound to the south. Tucked into the mouth of
Altamaha Sound and directly south of Wolf Island are Egg and Little Egg
Islands. They consist of 593 and 14 acres in size, respectively, with
extensive salt marsh and only 70 acres of upland.
Wolf Island is one of seven refuges administered by the Savannah
Coastal Refuges' Complex. This chain of national wildlife refuges
extends from Pinckney Island NWR near Hilton Head Island, South
Carolina, to Wolf Island NWR near Darien, Georgia. Between these lie
Savannah National Wildlife Refuge, the largest unit in the complex, and
the Wassaw, Tybee, Harris Neck, and Blackbeard Island National Wildlife
Refuges. Together they span a 100-mile coastline that encompasses a
total of more than 56,000 acres. The Savannah Coastal Refuges' Complex
is administered from a headquarters office in Savannah, Georgia.
We announce our decision and the availability of the final CCP and
FONSI for Wolf Island NWR in accordance with the National Environmental
Policy Act (NEPA) [40 CFR 1506.6(b)] requirements. We completed a
thorough analysis of impacts on the human environment, which we
included in the draft comprehensive conservation plan and environmental
assessment.
The compatibility determinations for (1) Hunting; (2) fishing; (3)
wildlife observation and photography; (4) environmental education and
interpretation; and (5) research are also available within the CCP.
Background
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 for
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. Currently,
access to the refuge is limited and there is no public access allowed.
This restriction limits the above activities to the waters near the
refuge. We will review and update the CCP at least every15 years in
accordance with the Improvement Act.
Comments
Approximately 200 copies of the Draft CCP/EA were made available
for a 30-day public review period as announced in the Federal Register
on June 12, 2008 (73 FR 33451). Two written comments were received, one
from a private citizen and one from a non-governmental organization.
Both commenters supported the Service's management direction.
Selected Alternative
After considering the comments we received and based on the sound
professional judgment of the core planning team, we have selected
Alternative C for implementation. This alternative is judged to be the
most effective management action for meeting the purposes of the refuge
by optimizing ecosystem management throughout the refuge. Under
Alternative C, the refuge will practice ecosystem management,
recognizing the ecological role of Wolf Island NWR within the
interrelated Altamaha River Basin and coastal barrier island ecosystem.
Human activities and natural processes within these ecosystems
influence Wolf Island NWR 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.
Under Alternative C, the refuge will strive to optimize its
biological program, recognizing that there may be tradeoffs and
opportunity costs between the various elements of the biological
programs envisioned (it might not be possible to equally pursue and
achieve all objectives simultaneously because of budgeting and staffing
constraints or because of intrinsic conflicts between certain
objectives). However, Alternative C emphasizes a broader ecosystem
approach than the optional alternatives, which narrowly focused on the
refuge.
The refuge will 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.
Resource protection within the ecosystem will be intensified. Control
of invasive species will commence and efforts will be made to reduce
beach erosion. Service staff will work with partners to manage and
improve habitats within the ecosystem.
Authority: This notice is published under the authority of the
National Wildlife Refuge System Improvement Act of 1997, Public Law
105-57.
Dated: September 12, 2008.
Cynthia K. Dohner,
Acting Regional Director.
[FR Doc. E8-26370 Filed 11-4-08; 8:45 am]
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