[Federal Register: September 16, 2009 (Volume 74, Number 178)]
[Notices]
[Page 47614-47616]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr16se09-79]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[FWS-R4-R-2009-N139; 40136-1265-0000-S3]
Bayou Sauvage National Wildlife Refuge, Orleans Parish, LA
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 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce the
availability of our final comprehensive conservation plan (CCP) and
finding of no significant impact (FONSI) for the environmental
assessment for Bayou Sauvage 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. Pon
Dixson, Deputy Project Leader, Southeast Louisiana National Wildlife
Refuge Complex, 61389 Highway 434, Lacombe, LA 70445. The CCP may also
be accessed and downloaded from the Service's Web site: http://
southeast.fws.gov/planning/.
[[Page 47615]]
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Pon Dixson; telephone: 985/882-
2014; fax: 985/882-9133; e-mail: pon_dixson@fws.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Introduction
With this notice, we finalize the CCP process for Bayou Sauvage
NWR. We started this process through a notice in the Federal Register
on May 16, 2007 (72 FR 27585). For more about the process, see that
notice.
Bayou Sauvage NWR is located in eastern Orleans Parish, Louisiana,
and is entirely situated within the corporate limits of the city of New
Orleans. It is the largest national wildlife refuge located in an urban
area and is one of the last remaining marsh areas adjacent to the south
shores of Lakes Pontchartrain and Borgne. The refuge consists of 24,000
acres of wetlands and is bordered on three sides by water: Lake
Pontchartrain to the north, Chef Menteur Pass to the east, and Lake
Borgne to the south. The western side of the refuge is bordered by the
Maxent Canal, and lands consisting of bottomland hardwood habitats and
exotic species, such as Chinese tallow and china berry. Un-leveed
portions of the refuge consist of estuarine tidal marshes and shallow
water. The Hurricane Protection Levee System, along with roadbeds,
created freshwater impoundments, which altered the plant communities as
well as the fish communities within these impoundments. Small forested
areas exist on the low, natural ridges formed along natural drainages
and along manmade canals.
We announce our decision and the availability of the CCP and FONSI
for Bayou Sauvage NWR in accordance with 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
(Draft CCP/EA). The CCP will guide us in managing and administering
Bayou Sauvage NWR for the next 15 years. Alternative B is the
foundation for the CCP.
Background
The National Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act of 1966 (16
U.S.C. 668dd-668ee) (Administration Act), as amended by the National
Wildlife Refuge System Improvement Act of 1997, 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. We will review and update
the CCP at least every 15 years in accordance with the Administration
Act.
Comments
We solicited comments on the Draft CCP/EA for Bayou Sauvage NWR as
announced in the Federal Register on April 24, 2009 (72 FR 18742). Ten
respondents, consisting of the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and
Fisheries, the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality, local and
national non-profit organizations, and local citizens, submitted
written comments by mail or e-mail.
Selected Alternative
After considering the comments we received and based on the
professional judgment of the planning team, we selected Alternative B
to implement the CCP. The primary focus of the CCP will be to restore
and improve refuge resources needed for wildlife and habitat management
and to provide additional public use opportunities. Implementing the
CCP will allow us to provide law enforcement protection that adequately
meets the demands of an urban environment.
We will focus on augmenting wildlife and habitat management to
identify, conserve, and restore populations of native fish and wildlife
species, with an emphasis on migratory birds and threatened and
endangered species. This will partially be accomplished by increased
monitoring of waterfowl, other migratory birds, and endemic species in
order to assess and adapt management strategies and actions. The
restoration of fresh and brackish marsh systems and hardwood forests
will be crucial to ensuring healthy and viable ecological communities
as the area recovers from the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. This
restoration will require increased wetland vegetation and tree
plantings, and the use of beneficial dredge, breakwater structures, and
organic materials to promote reestablishment of emergent marsh and to
reduce wave energy erosion along Lakes Pontchartrain and Borgne.
Improving and monitoring water quality and managing moist soil will
assist in reestablishing freshwater marsh habitat.
We will more aggressively control and, where possible, eliminate
invasive plant species. The control of the Chinese tallow trees and
cogon grass along the hardwood ridge will be a focal point. The control
of nuisance wildlife will increase to include yearly population
evaluations and more aggressive trapping programs for feral hogs and
nutria.
Visitor services will be enhanced by: (1) Improving and providing
additional fishing opportunities; (2) considering limited hunting
opportunities on the refuge; (3) providing environmental education that
emphasizes refuge restoration activities, coastal conservation issues,
and the diversity of water management regimes in the aftermath of
Hurricane Katrina; (4) establishing a visitor center or contact
station; (5) developing and implementing a visitor services management
plan; and (6) enhancing personal interpretive opportunities. Volunteer
programs and friends groups also will be expanded to enhance all
aspects of refuge management and to increase resource availability.
Land acquisitions within the approved acquisition boundary will be
based on importance of the habitat for target management species and
public use value. The refuge headquarters will not only house
administrative offices, but will offer interpretation of wildlife and
habitats. We will demonstrate habitat improvements for individual
landowners. The headquarters facility will be developed as an urban
public use area with trails; buildings presently not being used and
landscaping will be refurbished for visitor and community outreach.
We will enforce all Federal and State laws applicable to the refuge
in order to protect archaeological and historical sites. We will
develop a plan to protect all known sites. The allocation of a law
enforcement officer will not only provide security for these resources,
but will also ensure visitor safety and public compliance with refuge
regulations.
Authority
This notice is published under the authority of the National
Wildlife Refuge System Improvement Act of 1997, Public Law 105-57.
[[Page 47616]]
Dated: July 31, 2009.
Jeffrey Fleming,
Acting Regional Director.
[FR Doc. E9-22303 Filed 9-15-09; 8:45 am]
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