[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 67 (Friday, April 6, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 20840-20841]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-8292]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[FWS-R4-R-2011-N169; 40136-1265-0000-S3]
Bogue Chitto National Wildlife Refuge, LA and MS; Final
Comprehensive Conservation Plan and Finding of No Significant Impact
for Environmental Assessment
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability.
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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 Bogue Chitto National
Wildlife Refuge (NWR) in St. Tammany and Washington Parishes,
Louisiana, and Pearl River County, Mississippi. 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: Mr. Daniel
Breaux, Southeast Louisiana National Wildlife Refuge Complex, Bayou
Lacombe Centre, 61389 Highway 434, Lacombe, LA 70445. Alternatively,
you may download the document from our Internet Site at http://southeast.fws.gov/planning/ under ``Final Documents.''
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Daniel Breaux, at 985/882-2030
(telephone), 985/882-9133 (fax), or BogueChitto@fws.gov (email).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Introduction
With this notice, we finalize the CCP process for Bogue Chitto NWR.
We started this process through a notice in the Federal Register on
February 20, 2009 (74 FR 7913). Please see that notice for more about
the refuge.
We announce our decision and the availability of the final CCP and
FONSI for Bogue Chitto NWR in accordance with the National
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) (40 CFR 1506.6 (b)) requirements. We
completed a thorough analysis of impacts on the human environment,
which we included in the draft comprehensive conservation plan and
environmental assessment (Draft CCP/EA).
Compatibility determinations are also available in the CCP for: (1)
Wildlife observation/photography; (2) recreational fishing; (3)
recreational hunting; (4) environmental education and interpretation
activities; (5) walking, hiking, and jogging; (6) camping; (7) forest
management; (8) scientific research; (9) kayaking and canoeing; (10)
boating; (11) nuisance animal control; and (12) bicycling.
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, 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.
Established in 1980, Bogue Chitto NWR is one of eight refuges
managed as part of the Southeast Louisiana National Wildlife Refuge
Complex (Complex). The refuge headquarters is located about 9 miles
northeast of Slidell, Louisiana. The 36,502-acre refuge is bisected by
the Pearl River, with portions in St. Tammany and Washington Parishes,
Louisiana, and Pearl River County, Mississippi. On the Mississippi side
of the river, the refuge is bounded by Old River Wildlife Management
Area (15,400 acres) to the north and by the State of Louisiana's Pearl
River Wildlife Management Area (35,031 acres) to the south, thereby
forming nearly an 87,000-acre block of protected forested wetlands and
adjacent uplands within the Pearl River Basin.
The public has the opportunity to hunt white-tailed deer, squirrel,
turkey, waterfowl, and hog. Fishing is also available. Threatened and
endangered species found on the refuge are: Ringed map turtle
(Graptemys oculifera), gopher tortoise (Gopherus polyphemus), inflated
heelsplitter mussel (Potamilus inflatus), and gulf sturgeon (Acipenser
oxyrinchus desotoi). Access is primarily by boat on the Louisiana side,
with road access available on the Mississippi side. In 2002, the Holmes
Bayou walking trail was unveiled on the Louisiana side of the refuge.
This 3/4-mile walking trail offers a unique journey into the interior
of the refuge's majestic habitat. The Pearl River Turnaround area is
being developed as a site for education and interpretation, as well as
a site for the annual youth fishing rodeo.
Comments
We made copies of the Draft CCP/EA available for a 30-day public
review and comment period via a Federal Register notice on May 27, 2011
(76 FR 30959). A news release was sent out to four local, State, and
regional newspapers; six online media outlets; and two local radio
networks. Copies of the Draft CCP/EA were posted at refuge headquarters
and on the Service's Internet Web site and more than 100 copies were
distributed to local landowners; the general public; and local, State,
and Federal agencies. Respondents representing the Service, the
Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, and the National Park
Service, as well as local citizens, submitted written comments by mail
or email.
[[Page 20841]]
Selected Alternative
The Draft CCP/EA identified and evaluated three alternatives for
managing the refuge over the next 15 years. After considering the
comments we received and based on the professional judgment of the
planning team, we selected Alternative B for implementation.
Implementing Alternative B will be the most effective management
action for meeting the purposes of the refuge. Monitoring and surveying
will be conducted systematically after assessing which species should
be targeted, based on their population status and the staff's ability
to indicate health of important habitat. Restoration efforts, the fire
program, and forest management will reflect best management practices
determined after examination of historical regimes, soil types and
elevation, and the current hydrological system. Management actions will
be monitored for effectiveness and adapted to changing conditions,
knowledge, and technology. A Habitat Management Plan will be developed
for future habitat projects and to evaluate previous actions.
This alternative identifies Holmes Island as a proposed Wilderness
Study Area. We will maintain its wilderness character and within 10
years of the date of the CCP, will prepare a wilderness study report
and additional NEPA documentation on whether Holmes Island should be
formally designated by Congress as a unit of the National Wilderness
Preservation System.
Public use programs will be updated to educate visitors about the
reasons for management actions, and to provide quality experiences for
refuge visitors. The Complex headquarters in Lacombe, Louisiana, will
provide additional information about the refuge. Options and
opportunities will be explored to expand visitor contact areas on the
refuge. In an increasingly developing region, Alternative B will strive
to achieve a balanced program of wildlife-dependent recreational
activities and protection of wildlife resources.
This alternative also proposes to add six positions to current
staffing dedicated primarily to the refuge in order to continue to
protect resources, provide visitor services, and attain facility and
equipment maintenance goals.
Authority
This notice is published under the authority of the National
Wildlife Refuge System Improvement Act of 1997, Public Law 105-57.
Dated: September 27, 2011.
Mark J. Musaus,
Acting Regional Director.
[FR Doc. 2012-8292 Filed 4-5-12; 8:45 am]
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