[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 100 (Tuesday, May 24, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 30193-30194]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-12710]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[FWS-R9-SATD-2011-N079; FY10-90110-1420-0000]
National Fish, Wildlife, and Plants Climate Adaptation Strategy;
Notice of Intent: Request for Information and Comments
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of intent.
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SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), along with
the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA, Department
of Commerce) and other Federal, State, and tribal partners, announce
that we are seeking public comments and information necessary to
prepare a draft National Fish, Wildlife, and Plants Climate Adaptation
Strategy (Strategy). The Strategy will provide a unified approach--
reflecting shared principles and science-based practices--for reducing
the negative impacts of climate change on fish, wildlife, plants,
habitats, and our natural resource heritage. It will serve as a
valuable tool for Federal and State agencies, wildlife managers,
tribes, and private landowners as they continue to manage their lands
and natural resources in a changing environment.
DATES: To ensure that we are able to consider your comments and
information as we develop our draft strategy document, please submit
them on or before July 1, 2011 (see ADDRESSES).
We will release a draft Strategy in November 2011; at that time, we
will allow additional opportunity for the public to provide comments.
We expect to complete the final Strategy by May of 2012. Please visit
the Strategy Web site at http://www.wildlifeadaptationstrategy.gov for
announcements of upcoming public meetings and engagement opportunities,
as well as additional materials and information.
ADDRESSES: Submit comments electronically through our website at http://www.wildlifeadaptationstrategy.gov/contact-us.php. Alternatively, you
may send comments by U.S. mail to the Office of the Science Advisor,
Attn: National Fish, Wildlife, and Plants Climate Adaptation Strategy,
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 4401 N. Fairfax Drive, Suite 222,
Arlington, VA 22203.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mark Shaffer, Office of the Science
Advisor, at (703) 358-2603 (telephone),
wildlifeadaptationstrategy@fws.gov (e-mail), or via the Strategy Web
site at http://www.wildlifeadaptationstrategy.gov. If you use a
telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD), please call the Federal
Information Relay Service (FIRS) at (800) 877-8339.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In cooperation with NOAA and other Federal,
State, and tribal partners, we intend to gather information necessary
to prepare a National Fish, Wildlife, and Plants Climate Adaptation
Strategy (Strategy). We are seeking public comment and information as
we develop a draft Strategy.
The adverse impacts of climate change transcend political and
administrative boundaries. No single entity or level of government can
safeguard wildlife and society against the effects of climate change.
This Strategy will provide a unified approach--reflecting shared
principles and science-based practice--for reducing the negative
impacts of climate change on fish, wildlife, plants, habitats, and our
natural resource heritage. It will serve as a valuable tool for Federal
and State agencies, wildlife managers, tribes, and private landowners
as they continue to manage their lands and natural resources in a
changing environment.
I. Background
Climate change affects more than temperature. According to the U.S.
Global Change Research Program, impacts include shifts in rainfall and
storm patterns, increasing wildfires and water shortages, as well as
rising sea levels, loss of sea ice, ocean acidification, and coastal
flooding and erosion. These changes are already having significant
effects on fish, wildlife, and plants in the United States,
necessitating new resource management approaches for climate
adaptation.
Rapid warming may also begin to threaten the benefits that natural
systems provide to people and communities, creating new challenges for
human health, infrastructure, agriculture, transportation, and energy
supplies. At risk are clean air and water; flood and erosion control;
natural resource jobs and income; hunting, fishing, and wildlife-
related recreation; and, ultimately, our quality of life.
Most simply, climate adaptation means helping people and natural
systems prepare for and cope with the effects of a changing climate.
Climate adaptation is an essential complement to climate change
mitigation, or efforts to decrease the rate and extent of
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climate change through reducing greenhouse gas emissions or enhancing
carbon uptake and storage. Coordinated adaptation planning can help
limit the damage climate change causes to our natural resources and
communities, and will require new approaches, additional resources, and
a coordinated approach across Federal, State, and local partners.
II. Strategy Development
In response to increasing impacts of climate change and other
stressors on America's natural resources, the U.S. Congress has called
for the development of a national government-wide strategy to safeguard
fish, wildlife, plants, and the natural systems upon which they depend.
Language in the Conference Report for the Fiscal Year (FY) 2010
Interior, Environment and Related Agencies Appropriations Act (House
Report 111-316, pages 76-77) urged the Council of Environmental Quality
(CEQ) and the Department of the Interior (DOI) to ``develop a national,
government-wide strategy to address climate impacts on fish, wildlife,
plants, and associated ecological processes'' and ``provide that there
is integration, coordination, and public accountability to ensure
efficiency and avoid duplication.'' This national Strategy will set out
a unified approach to maintaining the key terrestrial, freshwater, and
marine ecosystems and species, as well as the services they provide, in
the face of accelerating climate change.
In the fall of 2010, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and CEQ
invited NOAA and State wildlife agencies (with the New York Division of
Fish, Wildlife and Marine Resources as the State agencies' lead
representative) to co-lead the development of the strategy. The
Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies is also providing support
through a Cooperative Agreement with the Service.
Initial public outreach during 2009 and 2010 contributed toward
developing the following set of key principles to help guide this
effort as it moves forward:
Endorse a national (not Federal) framework for cooperative
climate response;
Focus on national boundaries while recognizing the
international nature of natural resources;
Embrace a philosophy of collaboration and interdependence;
Adopt landscape-scale science and management approaches;
Integrate adaptation and mitigation efforts; and
Utilize an ecosystem-based management approach to sustain
biodiversity and ecosystem services.
A diverse group of Federal, State, and tribal agencies have been
asked to participate as members of an intergovernmental Steering
Committee, to provide advice and support for development of the
Strategy. The Steering Committee is being supported by a Management
Team composed of staff from the Fish and Wildlife Service, NOAA, the
Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, and tribal partners.
Five Technical Teams will take primary responsibility for
developing the content of the Strategy, based around five ecosystem
sections (marine, coastal, inland waters, forest, and grasslands/
shrublands/deserts). Each team is made up of Federal, State, and tribal
representatives. Key milestones are shown below:
Begin Outreach and Engagement Sessions--2009/2010
Form Steering Committee--December 2010
Hold first Steering Committee meeting--January 2011
Establish Technical Teams--February 2011
Hold first Technical Team meeting--March 2011
Complete Agency Review Draft--September 2011
Announce Public Review Draft--November 2011
Release Final Strategy--May 2012
Ultimately, the Strategy will be a blueprint for common action that
outlines needed scientific support, policy, and legal frameworks;
recommended management practices; processes for integration and
communication; and a framework for implementing these approaches. It
will enable national and international conservation communities to
harness collective expertise, authority, and skills in order to define
and prioritize a shared set of conservation goals and objectives.
III. Request for Public Comments
Public involvement is critical for the development of a robust and
relevant response to the impacts of climate change. Extremely valuable
to the effort are public guidance on priorities, recommendations for
approaches, and suggestions and contribution of issues based on local
knowledge and experience.
Initial outreach and planning for the Strategy began in 2009 and
early 2010, with a number of listening and engagement sessions, as well
as several Conservation Leadership Forums. More information about past
engagement efforts, as well as upcoming meetings and engagement
opportunities, is available at http://www.wildlifeadaptationstrategy.gov/participate.php.
We will be accepting initial public comments through our Web site
until the date specified in DATES. We will also accept written comments
at upcoming public meetings (dates and locations to be announced on our
Web site).
To ensure that any action will be as effective as possible, we
request that you send relevant information for our consideration. The
comments that are most useful are those that you support by
quantitative information or studies and those that include citations
and analyses of applicable laws and regulations. Please make your
comments as specific as possible and explain the bases for them. In
addition, please include sufficient information with your comments to
allow us to authenticate any scientific or commercial data you include.
You must submit your comments and materials by one of the methods
listed above in the ADDRESSES section. We will not accept comments sent
to an address not listed in ADDRESSES.
We are committed to transparency in developing and implementing the
National Fish, Wildlife, and Plants Climate Adaptation Strategy. The
Service, NOAA, and other partners will also actively engage interested
parties, including, as appropriate, State, Tribal, and local
authorities; regional governance structures; academic institutions;
nongovernmental organizations; recreational interests; and private
enterprise.
IV. 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.
Authority
Conference Report for the Interior, Environment and Related
Agencies Appropriations Act, 2010.
Dated: May 10, 2011.
Gabriela Chavarria,
Science Advisor to the Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. 2011-12710 Filed 5-23-11; 8:45 am]
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