[Federal Register: December 14, 2009 (Volume 74, Number 238)]
[Notices]
[Page 66148-66150]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr14de09-80]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[FWS-R2-R-2009-N210; 20131-1265-2CCP-S3]
Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge, Cameron and Willacy
Counties, TX
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 (CCP) and
environmental assessment (EA) for the Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife
Refuge (Refuge, NWR) for public review and comment. In these documents,
we describe alternatives, including our preferred alternative, to
manage this Refuge for the 15 years following approval of the final
CCP.
DATES: To ensure consideration, please send your written comments by
February 12, 2010. We will announce upcoming public meetings in local
news media.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments or requests for copies or more
information by any of the following methods. You may request hard
copies or a CD-ROM of the documents.
E-mail: mark_sprick@fws.gov. Include ``Laguna Atascosa Draft CCP
and EA'' in the subject line of the e-mail.
Fax: Attn: Mark Sprick, Natural Resource Planner, 505-248-6874.
U.S. Mail: Mark Sprick, AICP, Natural Resource Planner, U.S. Fish &
Wildlife Service, Division of Planning, P.O. Box 1306, Albuquerque, NM
87103-1306.
In-Person Drop-off: You may drop off comments during regular
business hours (8:00 am to 4:30 pm) at 500 Gold Avenue, SW., 4th Floor,
Room 4005, Albuquerque, NM 87102.
Internet/Web site: http://www.fws.gov/southwest/refuges/Plan/
index.html.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sonny Perez, Wildlife Refuge Manager,
Laguna Atascosa NWR, CCP-Project, 22817 Ocelot Road, Los Fresnos, TX
78566, or by phone at 956-748-3607, or
[[Page 66149]]
fax at 956-748-3609; or Mark Sprick, AICP, Natural Resource Planner, by
phone at 505-248-7411.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Introduction
With this notice, we continue the CCP process for Laguna Atascosa
NWR. We started this process through a notice in the Federal Register
July 19, 2004 (69 FR 43010).
Laguna Atascosa NWR is located in Cameron and Willacy Counties,
Texas, and encompasses 97,007 acres of brush lands, coastal prairies,
freshwater and brackish pothole wetlands, estuarine wetlands, lomas
(clay ridges), wind tidal flats, and barrier island beaches and dunes.
Management efforts focus on protecting, enhancing, and restoring Refuge
habitats and water management for the benefit of important fish and
wildlife resources. The Refuge is a premiere birdwatching destination
with 415 recorded bird species, more than any other national wildlife
refuge. A total of nine federally listed endangered or threatened
species occur within the Refuge, including four species of sea turtles.
The largest United States population of endangered ocelot cats is
located on the Refuge, making it the center for ocelot conservation and
recovery.
Laguna Atascosa NWR was formally established by the Migratory Bird
Commission on October 31, 1945, and the first tract forming the Refuge
was acquired on March 29, 1946. The purposes of the Refuge are: ``[F]or
use as an inviolate sanctuary, or for any other management purpose, for
migratory birds'' (Migratory Bird Conservation Act of 1929 (16 U.S.C.
715d), as amended); ``for wildlife conservation purposes if the real
property has particular value in carrying out the national migratory
bird management program'' (Transfer of Certain Real Property for
Wildlife Conservation Purposes Act of 1948 (16 U.S.C. 667b-667d),
Public Law 80-537, as amended); ``for the development, advancement,
management, conservation and protection of fish and wildlife
resources'' (Fish and Wildlife Act of 1956 (16 U.S.C. 742(a)(4), as
amended); and ``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'' (Fish and Wildlife Act of 1956 (16 U.S.C.
742(b)(1), as amended).
Background
The CCP Process
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 and photography, and
environmental education and interpretation. We will review and update
the CCP at least every 15 years in accordance with the Administration
Act.
Public Outreach
To begin the CCP process, we opened a 60-day comment period on July
19, 2004 (69 FR 43010). We made draft documents and other relevant
information available for public review at the Refuge headquarters. In
February and June 2004, we held internal preplanning meetings at the
Refuge to discuss concerns, issues, and opportunities for the future of
the Refuge. We held four ``open-house'' public scoping meetings between
February 28 and March 8, 2005, at Raymondville, Brownsville, Harlingen,
and South Padre Island to solicit initial public input and involvement
during the early stages of CCP development. We also invited the Texas
Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) to participate as a partner in the
planning process. We have considered and evaluated all of these
comments received, and have incorporated many of them into the various
alternatives we addressed in the draft CCP and the EA.
CCP Alternatives We Are Considering
During the public scoping process with which we started work on
this draft CCP, we, other governmental partners, Tribes, and the public
raised several issues. Our draft CCP addresses them. A full description
of each alternative is in the EA. To address these issues, we developed
and evaluated the following alternatives, summarized below.
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B: Proposed C: Optimize
A: No-action action public-use
alternative alternative alternative
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Issue 1: Habitat Biological Integrated Same as No-
Management program and biological and Action
Activities. habitat habitat Alternative
management would management (Alternative
continue under efforts with A).
existing plans; landscape level
any expansions and ecosystem
would occur level plans;
opportunisticall emphasis on
y. protection and
monitoring of
Federal trust
species and
priority
species and
their habitats.
Issue 2: Limited to Improvement of Expand and
Improvements to current public priority public emphasize all
public use use under uses, priority public
opportunities. existing plans; particularly uses,
Any expansions hunting, particularly
would occur fishing and hunting and
opportunisticall wildlife fishing and
y. observation, to access to all
meet demand Refuge areas to
when compatible the maximum
with wildlife extent when
needs and compatible,
Refuge based on public
purposes; comments.
expansion of
research
efforts and
dynamic
partnerships.
[[Page 66150]]
Issue 3: Existing staffing Addition of 11 Base funding and
Staffing, (17 permanent staff to staffing would
Facilities, and positions) and existing base; increase by 4
Infrastructure. facilities; any addition of positions
additional staff over 6 miles of (Outdoor
and facility hike/bike Recreation
expansions would trails; one Planner and 3
occur auto tour Park Rangers);
opportunisticall route; 2 several
y. separate additional
parking areas; miles of auto
new visitor tour routes, 7
center at hike/bike
Laguna Atascosa trails and
Unit. Visitor associated
contact and parking areas;
research visitor contact
station at station; all
Bahia Grande. primarily at
Bahia Grande.
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Public Availability of Documents
In addition to any methods in ADDRESSES, you can view or obtain
documents at the following locations:
At the Laguna Atascosa NWR Headquarters Office, 22817
Ocelot Road, Los Fresnos, TX 78566, 18 miles east of Rio Hondo, on
Farm-to-Market Road 106, between the hours of 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m.,
Monday through Friday.
On our Web site: http://www.fws.gov/southwest/refuges/
Plan/index.html.
At the following public libraries:
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Library Address Phone number
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City of Brownsville Public 2600 Central Blvd., 956-548-1055
Library. Brownsville, TX 78520-
8824.
Harlingen Public Library...... 410 '76 Drive, 956-427-8841
Harlingen, TX 78550.
Laguna Vista Public Library... 1300 Palm Blvd., 956-943-7155
Laguna Vista, TX
78578.
Los Fresnos Public Library.... 402 W. Ocean, Los 956-233-5330
Fresnos, TX 78566.
Port Isabel Public Library.... 213 Yturria St., Port 956-943-2265
Isabel, TX 78578.
Willacy County/Reber Memorial 190 N. 4th. St., 956-689-2930
Library. Raymondville, TX
78580.
Rio Hondo Public Library...... 121 N. Arroyo Blvd., 956-748-3322
Rio Hondo, TX 78583.
San Benito Public Library..... 101 W. Rose St., San 956-361-3860
Benito, TX 78586.
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Submitting Comments/Issues for Comment
We consider comments substantive if they:
Question, with reasonable basis, the accuracy of the
information in the document;
Question, with reasonable basis, the adequacy of the EA;
Present reasonable alternatives other than those presented
in the EA; and/or
Provide new or additional information relevant to the EA.
Next Steps
After this comment period ends, we will analyze the comments and
address them in the form of a final CCP.
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.
Dated: November 4, 2009.
Brian A. Millsap,
Acting Regional Director, Region 2.
[FR Doc. E9-29637 Filed 12-11-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-55-P