[Federal Register: December 11, 2009 (Volume 74, Number 237)]
[Notices]
[Page 65786-65787]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr11de09-62]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[FWS-R4-R-2009-N122; 40136-1265-0000-S3]
Tensas River National Wildlife Refuge, Franklin, Madison, and
Tensas Parishes, 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 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 Tensas River National Wildlife Refuge (NWR). In the
final CCP, we describe how we will manage this refuge for the next 15
years.
ADDRESSES: You may obtain a copy of the CCP by writing to: Ms. Kelly
Purkey, Tensas River National Wildlife Refuge, 2312 Quebec Road,
Tallulah, LA 71282. You may also access and download the document from
the Service's Web site: http://southeast.fws.gov/planning.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Kelly Purkey; telephone: 318/574-
2664; fax: 318/574-1624; e-mail: kelly_purkey@fws.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION
Introduction
With this notice, we finalize the CCP process for Tensas River NWR.
We started this process through a notice in the Federal Register on
September 8, 2006 (71 FR 53131). For more about the process, see that
notice.
Tensas River NWR consists of 74,622 acres in fee title and 195
acres in easement. It is located in the Tensas River Basin in northeast
Louisiana, approximately 60 miles southeast of Monroe, Louisiana, and
25 miles southwest of Vicksburg, Mississippi. The refuge area
encompasses portions of Madison, Tensas, and Franklin Parishes. The
office/visitor center and maintenance facilities on the refuge are
approximately 12 miles southwest of Tallulah, Louisiana.
In an effort to conserve the largest privately owned tract of
bottomland hardwoods remaining in the Mississippi Delta, Congress
authorized the Secretary of the Interior to establish the Tensas River
NWR by Public Law 96-285 on June 28, 1980. Tensas River NWR was
established for various purposes, including:
``For the preservation and development of the environmental
resources * * * to conserve the diversity of fish and wildlife and
their habitat * * * for the conservation and development of wildlife
and natural resources, the development of outdoor recreation
opportunities, and interpretative education,'' and ``to give special
consideration to management of the timber on the refuge to ensure
continued commercial production and harvest compatible with the
purposes for which the refuge is established and the needs of fish
and wildlife which depend upon the dynamic and diversified hardwood
forest'' (94 Stat. 595, dated June 28, 1980);
``For the development, advancement, management, conservation,
and protection of fish and wildlife resources'' [16 U.S.C.
742f(a)(4)] ``for the benefit of the United States Fish and Wildlife
Service, in performing its activities and services. Such acceptance
may be subject to the terms of any restrictive or affirmative
covenant, or condition of servitude'' [16 U.S.C. 742f(b)(1) (Fish
and Wildlife Act of 1956)];
``For conservation purposes'' [7 U.S.C. 2002 (Consolidated Farm
and Rural Development Act)];
``To conserve (A) fish or wildlife which are listed as
endangered species or threatened species * * * or (B) plants'' [16
U.S.C. 1534 (Endangered Species Act of 1973)].
We announce our decision and the availability of the final CCP and
FONSI for Tensas River NWR in accordance with the National
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) [40 CFR 1506.6(b)] requirements. We
completed a thorough
[[Page 65787]]
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
Tensas River NWR for the next 15 years. Alternative C is the foundation
for the CCP.
The compatibility determinations for wildlife observation and
photography, environmental education and interpretation, fishing, field
trials, boating, bottomland hardwood forest management, trapping, all-
terrain vehicle use, cooperative farming, research studies, horse/mule
special use, and fire management are available in 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
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 February 4, 2009 (74 FR 6053). Ten respondents, consisting of the
Service, the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, the
Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality, 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 C
to implement the CCP. The primary focus of the CCP is to optimize the
biological potential of historical habitats by utilizing management
actions which emphasize natural ecological processes to foster habitat
functions and wildlife populations. We will enhance the biological
program by inventorying and monitoring so that adaptive management can
be implemented primarily for migratory birds, but other species of
wildlife will benefit as well.
We will manage bottomland hardwood forests based on an inventory
that defines current conditions and that can be conducted in a logical
and feasible manner. Bottomlands will be managed to increase opening of
the canopy cover and to increase structural and vegetation diversity.
Water control structures and pumping capability will be improved to
enhance moist-soil and cropland management for the benefit of wintering
waterfowl. Invasive species of plants will be mapped and protocols for
control will be established with the addition of a forester.
Partnerships will continue to be fostered for several biological
programs, hunting regulations, law enforcement issues, and research
projects.
Forest management, reforestation, and resource protection at Tensas
River NWR will be intensified. We will provide a full-time law
enforcement officer, an equipment operator, a maintenance mechanic, and
a wildlife technician. We will develop and begin to implement a
Cultural Resources Management Plan.
Within 3 years, we will develop a Visitor Services Plan to be used
in expanding public use facilities and opportunities on the refuge.
This step-down management plan will provide overall long-term direction
and guidance in developing and running a larger public use program on
the refuge. We will increase opportunities for visitors by improving
and/or adding facilities, such as photo blinds, observation sites, and
trails, as well as improving access and roads.
The CCP will increase bottomland hardwood forest habitat
restoration and management, improve general refuge and visitor center
access, meet the recovery goals of the threatened Louisiana black bear,
integrate management with regional watershed/ecosystem plans, improve
resident and migratory wildlife species quality and abundance, and
improve opportunities for wildlife-dependent public use.
Authority
This notice is published under the authority of the National
Wildlife Refuge System Improvement Act of 1997, Public Law 105-57.
Dated: July 20, 2009.
Cynthia K. Dohner,
Acting Regional Director.
[FR Doc. E9-29530 Filed 12-10-09; 8:45 am]
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