[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 105 (Thursday, May 31, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 32131-32132]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-13074]
[[Page 32131]]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[FWS-R5-R-2012-N061; BAC-4311-K9-S3]
Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge, Sussex County, DE; Draft
Comprehensive Conservation Plan and Environmental Impact Statement
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability; 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 and draft
environmental impact statement (draft CCP/EIS) for Prime Hook National
Wildlife Refuge (NWR), located in Sussex County, Delaware, for public
review and comment. The draft CCP/EIS describes our proposal for
managing the refuge for the next 15 years following the approval of the
final CCP. Also available for public review and comment are: (1) The
draft findings of appropriateness and draft compatibility
determinations for uses to be allowed upon initial completion of the
plan if Service-preferred alternative B is selected, (2) the draft
habitat management plan, and (3) the draft hunting plan. These are
included as appendix E, appendix B, and appendix C, respectively, in
the draft CCP/EIS.
DATES: To ensure consideration, please send your comments no later than
August 6, 2012. We will announce upcoming public meetings in local news
media, via our project mailing list, and on our regional planning Web
site: http://www.fws.gov/northeast/planning/Prime%20Hook/ccphome.html.
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.
Email: northeastplanning@fws.gov. Please include ``Prime Hook NWR
Draft CCP'' in the subject line of the message.
Fax: Attn: Thomas Bonetti, 413-253-8468.
U.S. Mail: Thomas Bonetti, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 300
Westgate Center Drive, Hadley, MA 01035.
In-Person Drop-off, Viewing, or Pickup: Call 302-684-8419 to make
an appointment (necessary for view/pickup only) during regular business
hours at 11978 Turkle Pond Road, Milton, DE 19968. For more information
on locations for viewing or obtaining documents, see ``Public
Availability of Documents'' under SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Michael Stroeh, Project Leader, 302-
653-9345, or Tom Bonetti, Planning Team Leader, 413-253-8307 (phone);
northeastplanning@fws.gov (email).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Introduction
With this notice, we continue the CCP process for Prime Hook NWR.
We started this process through a notice in the Federal Register (70 FR
60365; October 17, 2005) announcing that we were preparing a CCP and
environmental assessment (EA). On May 9, 2011, we issued a second
notice in the Federal Register (76 FR 26751) announcing we were
preparing an EIS in conjunction with the CCP.
In 1963, Prime Hook NWR was established under the authority of the
Migratory Bird Conservation Act (16 U.S.C. 715-715r) for use as an
inviolate sanctuary, or any other management purpose, expressly for
migratory birds. Farms and residences were once present on portions of
what is now the refuge. Established primarily to preserve coastal
wetlands as wintering and breeding habitat for migratory waterfowl,
Prime Hook NWR's 10,133 acres stretch along the west shore of Delaware
Bay, 22 miles southeast of Dover, Delaware. Eighty percent of the
refuge's vegetation cover types is characterized by tidal and
freshwater creek drainages that discharge into the Delaware Bay and
associated coastal marshes. The remaining 20 percent is composed of
upland habitats. The land uses near the refuge are intensive
agricultural and developed residential.
Background
The CCP Process
The National Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act of 1966 (16
U.S.C. 668dd-668ee) (Refuge 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 Refuge Administration Act.
Public Outreach
We started pre-planning for the Prime Hook NWR CCP in September
2004. In June 2005, we distributed our first newsletter and press
release announcing our intent to prepare a CCP for the refuge. In
November 2005, we had a formal public scoping period. The purpose of
the public scoping period was to solicit comments from the community
and other interested parties on the issues and impacts that should be
evaluated in the draft CCP/EA. To help solicit public comments, we held
three public meetings in Milton, Dover, and Lewes, DE, which 110
members of the public attended. Throughout the rest of the planning
process, we have conducted additional outreach by participating in
community meetings, events, and other public forums, and by requesting
public input on managing the refuge and its programs.
CCP Alternatives We Are Considering
During the public scoping process, we, other governmental partners,
and the public, raised several issues. To address these issues, we
developed and evaluated three alternatives in the draft CCP/EIS. Here
we present a brief summary of each of the alternatives; a full
description of each alternative is in the draft CCP/EIS.
Alternative A (Current Management)
Alternative A (current management) satisfies the National
Environmental Policy Act (40 CFR 1506.6(b)) requirement of a ``No
Action'' alternative, which we define as ``continuing current
management.'' It primarily describes our existing management priorities
and activities, and involves no active management of wetlands due to
recent extensive changes along the refuge shoreline; it also involves
no active forest management and no agricultural management of upland
fields. It serves as a baseline for comparing and contrasting
alternatives B and C. It would maintain our current public use
programs. Under alternative A, our biological program would continue
its present priorities: Conserving and enhancing waterfowl and
shorebird habitats, maintaining habitat for the Delmarva fox squirrel,
cooperating with State partners in monitoring bald eagles and fox
squirrels, protecting bald eagle and osprey active nest sites from
human disturbance on refuge lands, using prescribed fire to reduce fuel
hazards
[[Page 32132]]
near beach communities, simulating natural fire processes on refuge
habitats, and conducting wildlife and habitat monitoring. We would
continue to offer hunting and fishing opportunities on refuge lands,
and respond to requests for interpretive and school programs.
Alternative B (Service-Preferred)
This alternative is the Service-preferred alternative. It combines
the actions we believe would most effectively achieve the refuge's
purposes, vision, and goals and responds to the issues raised during
the scoping period. Under alternative B, the refuge would actively
manage habitat to mimic natural processes and restore habitat quality.
At the same time, the refuge would strategically reduce management
actions that are contrary to the directions of the biological
integrity, diversity, and environmental health policy, such as
artificial maintenance of extensive freshwater wetlands that are
vulnerable to sea level rise. Alternative B would enhance visitor
services through a proposed expansion of the hunting program with
greater administrative efficiency, new hiking trails, and expanded
fishing opportunities and environmental education programs. Under
alternative B, we would not reinstate the cooperative farming program;
instead, we would propose to restore areas previously farmed to native
forest habitat.
Alternative C (Historic Habitat Management)
Alternative C emphasizes a return to habitat management programs
that were conducted on the refuge through most of its existence, but
were stopped in recent years for a variety of reasons. The historic
habitat management programs conducted for the benefit of migratory
birds include the use of cooperative farming in upland refuge fields
and management of freshwater wetland impoundments. Under this
alternative, we would conduct necessary infrastructure and duneline
enhancements to re-establish management of freshwater impoundments. In
contrast to alternatives A or B, alternative C less effectively
addresses the refuge's purposes, mission, and Service policies, as it
is less likely to be naturally sustainable, will require perpetual
intervention to sustain dunes in their former location, and will be
more vulnerable to coastal storm events that may overtop an
artificially maintained barrier and introduce salt water into a managed
freshwater marsh system. Upland fields previously enrolled in the
cooperative farming program would once again be managed through farming
practices with the cooperation of local farmers. Alternative C would
expand opportunities for hunting and have a greater emphasis on public
outreach and education. Compared to alternative B, however, alternative
C would decrease the amount of hunting areas and opportunities.
Fishing, wildlife observation, and wildlife photography would be
similar to those in alternative A. Under alternative C, we would
further enhance local community outreach and partnerships, continue to
support a friends group, and continue to provide valuable volunteer
experiences. We would also promote research and the development of
applied management practices through local universities to sustain and
enhance natural composition, patterns, and processes within their range
on the Delmarva Peninsula.
Public Availability of Documents
In addition to any methods in ADDRESSES, you can view or obtain
documents on the refuge Web site: http://www.fws.gov/northeast/planning/Prime%20Hook/ccphome.html.
Submitting Comments/Issues for Comment
We are seeking substantive comments, particularly on the following
issues:
Issue 1--Climate change, sea-level rise, and marshes;
Issue 2--Mosquito control;
Issue 3--Cooperative farming;
Issue 4--Hunting; and
Issue 5--Nuisance species
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 EIS;
Present reasonable alternatives other than those presented
in the EIS; and/or
Provide new or additional information relevant to the EIS.
Next Steps
After this comment period ends, we will analyze the comments and
address them in the form of a final CCP/EIS.
Public Availability of Comments
Before including your address, phone number, email 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: May 2, 2012.
Henry Chang,
Acting Regional Director, Northeast Region.
[FR Doc. 2012-13074 Filed 5-30-12; 8:45 am]
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