[Federal Register: September 13, 2010 (Volume 75, Number 176)]
[Notices]
[Page 55599-55600]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr13se10-62]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[FWS-R2-R-2010-N158; 20131-1265-2CCP S3]
Little River National Wildlife Refuge, McCurtain County, OK;
Revised Comprehensive Conservation Plan and Environmental Assessment
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of intent; request for comments.
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SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), intend to
prepare a revised comprehensive conservation plan (CCP) and
environmental assessment (EA) for Little River National Wildlife
Refuge, located in McCurtain County, Oklahoma. We provide this notice
in compliance with our CCP policy to advise other Federal and State
agencies, Tribes, and the public of our intentions, and to obtain
suggestions and information on the scope of issues to consider in the
planning process.
DATES: To ensure consideration, please send your written comments by
March 14, 2011. We will announce opportunities for public input in
local news media throughout the CCP process.
ADDRESSES: Send your comments or requests for more information by any
of the following methods.
E-mail: rob_campellone@fws.gov. Include ``Little River National
Wildlife Refuge CCP NOI'' in the subject line of the message.
Fax: Attn: Rob Campellone, Chief, Division of Planning, 505-248-
6803.
U.S. Mail: Rob Campellone, Chief, Division of Planning, P.O. Box
1306, Albuquerque, NM 87103-1306.
In-Person Drop-off: You may drop off comments during regular
business hours at the Refuge Headquarters located at 635 South Park
Drive, Broken Bow, OK 74728.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Rob Campellone, Chief, Division of
Planning, Telephone: 505-248-6631; Fax: 505-248-6803; e-mail: rob_
campellone@fws.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Introduction
With this notice, we initiate our process for developing a revised
CCP for Little River NWR (Refuge), located in McCurtain County, OK.
This notice complies with our CCP policy to (1) Advise other Federal
and State agencies, Tribes, and the public of our intention to conduct
detailed planning on this Refuge, and (2) obtain suggestions and
information on the scope of issues to consider in the environmental
document and during development of the CCP.
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, as amended.
Each unit of the National Wildlife Refuge System was established
for specific purposes. We use these purposes as the foundation for
developing and prioritizing the management goals and objectives for
each refuge within the National Wildlife Refuge System mission, and to
determine how the public can use each refuge. The planning process is a
way for us and the public to evaluate management goals and objectives
that will ensure the best possible approach to wildlife, plant, and
habitat conservation, while providing for wildlife-dependent recreation
opportunities that are compatible with each refuge's establishing
purposes and the mission of the National Wildlife Refuge System.
Our CCP process provides participation opportunities for Tribal,
State, and local governments; agencies; organizations; and the public.
At this time we encourage input in the form of issues, concerns, ideas,
and suggestions for the future management of Little River NWR.
We will conduct the environmental review of this project and
develop an EA in accordance with the requirements of the National
Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended (NEPA) (42 U.S.C. 4321 et
seq.); NEPA regulations (40 CFR parts 1500-1508); other appropriate
Federal laws and regulations; and our policies and procedures for
compliance with those laws and regulations.
Little River National Wildlife Refuge
Little River National Wildlife Refuge is located in McCurtain
County, Oklahoma, and encompasses 13,660 acres of bottomland hardwood
forests. The Refuge is approximately 96 percent forested with small
areas of open water, shrub swamps, beaver ponds, and roads. The plant
communities are complex and reflect small elevation changes, complex
soils and hydrologic regimes, and other ecosystem processes that have
created and maintained a highly diverse plant community across the
Refuge. The forested matrix contains mostly natural second- and third-
growth bottomland hardwood forests, with inclusions of loblolly pine
components on high terraces and stringers of riparian forests along the
rivers, cypress swamps and cypress-lined oxbow lakes, and buttonbush
shrub swamps. The canopy trees are roughly 50-70 years old with
scattered patches of much older trees where topography and drainage
patterns precluded timber harvest prior to the Refuge's establishment.
Scoping: Preliminary Issues, Concerns, and Opportunities
We have identified preliminary issues, concerns, and opportunities
that we may address in the CCP. We have briefly summarized these issues
below. During public scoping, we may identify additional issues.
Habitat Issues--Habitat alteration, fragmentation, and loss of the
bottomland hardwood forest and freshwater ecosystems.
The bottomland hardwood forest ecosystem habitat located in the
Upper West Gulf Coastal Plain has been influenced through human
disturbances (development and/or exploitation) and faces rapid
alterations and disturbances as a consequence of climate change. These
impacts are expected to stress and alter the bottomland hardwood forest
ecosystem utilized by trust wildlife resources. Long-term unmitigated
impacts are expected to create population and habitat shifts, increase
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invasive species, and change forest productivity.
Human activities causing pollution and water quantity and quality
degradation, along with habitat fragmentation and loss, have caused
environmental changes in freshwater systems. The Little River drains a
watershed of approximately 2,225 square miles and provides habitat for
the Federally listed Ouachita rock pocketbook mussel (Arkanasii
wheeleri), Scaleshell mussel (Leptodea leptodon), and Winged mapleleaf
mussel (Quadrula fragosa), along with a host of other imperiled
freshwater species. Human-created stressors, along with climate change
stressors, can negatively affect the biodiversity of freshwater
ecosystems. These impacts are expected to alter the freshwater
ecosystem utilized by USFWS trust resources and the human population.
Wildlife Issues--Feral hog management and migratory birds.
The presence of feral hogs (Sus scrofa) results in substantial
damages to the natural resources on the refuge. The detrimental effects
of free-ranging feral hogs can be found throughout the entire refuge,
as population numbers have increased without a control mechanism. Feral
hogs are highly adaptable, have high reproductive capabilities, and can
be found in a wide range of habitat types. Feral hogs cause widespread
impacts to the refuge habitat, compete with native wildlife species for
food resources, and can transmit infectious diseases to humans,
domestic livestock, and native wildlife species.
Trust migratory bird species that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service is mandated to protect are under pressure and at risk from a
number of stressors (e.g., habitat loss and degradation, development,
pollution, and invasive species), in addition to climate change.
Evidence suggests that climate change is affecting the distribution,
abundance, and population dynamics of a wide range of migratory bird
species (forest dwelling and waterfowl) that rely on a bottomland
hardwood forest ecosystem to provide essential habitat for survival.
Public Use Opportunities and Access--Enhancing Wildlife Dependent
Recreation Opportunities.
The bottomland hardwood forest protected by the Little River NWR
provides the public with quality recreational opportunities to learn
about and enjoy the ecological diversity and history of the refuge in a
largely natural setting. Improving opportunities for wildlife-dependent
recreational uses (six priority public uses) that are compatible with
the purpose of the refuge will promote broader community support and
understanding of the value and need for wildlife conservation and
protection.
Facilities--Public Contact Station.
The refuge receives over 10,000 visitors annually, and visitor use
continues to rise as the public becomes more aware of the wide variety
of wildlife-dependent recreational opportunities provided by the
refuge. A public contact station is needed to provide facilities to
enhance the public's experience of nature and the great outdoors and to
educate the public about the mission of the National Wildlife Refuge
System and the role of Little River NWR in achieving it.
Public Meetings
We will give the public an opportunity to provide input at one or
more public meetings. You may obtain the schedule from the planning
team leader or project leader (see addresses). You may also send
comments anytime during the planning process by mail, e-mail, or fax
(see ADDRESSES). There will be additional opportunities to provide
public input once we have prepared a draft 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: August 11, 2010.
Joy E. Nicholopoulos,
Regional Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife, Region 2.
[FR Doc. 2010-22732 Filed 9-10-10; 8:45 am]
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