[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 213 (Monday, November 4, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 66056-66058]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-26365]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[FWS-R5-R-2013-N146; BAC-4311-K9]
Sunkhaze Meadows National Wildlife Refuge and Carlton Pond
Waterfowl Production Area, Penobscot, Kennebec, and Waldo Counties, ME;
Final Comprehensive Conservation Plan
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability.
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SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce the
availability of a final comprehensive conservation plan (CCP) and
finding of no significant impact (FONSI) for the environmental
assessment (EA) for Sunkhaze Meadows National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) and
Carlton Pond Waterfowl Production Area (WPA), located in Penobscot,
Kennebec, and Waldo Counties, Maine. The CCP describes how we will
manage the refuge and WPA for the next 15 years.
ADDRESSES: You may view or obtain copies of the CCP by any of the
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following methods. You may request hard copies or a CD-ROM of the
documents.
Agency Web site: Download a copy of the document at http://www.fws.gov/northeast/planning/Sunkhaze%20Meadows/ccphome.html.
Email: Send requests to northeastplanning@fws.gov. Please include
``Sunkhaze Meadows NWR and Carlton Pond WPA Final CCP'' in the subject
line of the message.
U.S. Mail: Lia McLaughlin, Natural Resource Planner, U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service, 300 Westgate Center Drive, Hadley, MA 01035.
Fax: Attn: Lia McLaughlin, 413-253-8468.
In-Person Drop-off, Viewing, or Pickup: Call 207-594-0600 to make
an appointment (necessary for view/pickup only) during regular business
hours at Maine Coastal Islands NWR, 9 Water Street, Rockland, ME 04841.
For more information on locations for viewing or obtaining documents,
see ``Public Availability of Documents'' under SUPPLEMENTARY
INFORMATION.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Beth Goettel, Refuge Manager, 207-594-
0600 (phone), or Lia McLaughlin, Planning Team Leader, 413-253-8575
(phone); northeastplanning@fws.gov (email).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Introduction
With this notice, we finalize the CCP process for Sunkhaze Meadows
NWR and Carlton Pond WPA. We started this process through a notice in
the Federal Register (76 FR 14984; March 18, 2011). We released the
draft CCP and EA to the public on April 23, 2013, announcing and
requesting comments in a notice of availability in the Federal Register
(78 FR 23949).
Currently, Sunkhaze Meadows NWR is comprised of three units: the
Sunkhaze Meadows Unit, the Benton Unit, and the Sandy Stream Unit. The
Sunkhaze Meadows Unit is the largest of the three, at 11,485 acres,
located in the town of Milford, Penobscot County. The Benton Unit is a
334-acre former dairy farm in the town of Benton in Kennebec County.
The Sandy Stream Unit is a 58-acre parcel in the town of Unity in Waldo
County. Sunkhaze Meadows NWR was established in 1988 to preserve the
Sunkhaze Meadows peat bog (now the Sunkhaze Meadows Unit) and to ensure
public access to this unique environment. Sunkhaze Meadows NWR includes
more than 3,450 acres of freshwater wetland-peatland that provides
breeding and migrating habitat for waterfowl and other wetland species.
Carlton Pond WPA is 1,068 acres, including about 784 acres of
managed emergent marsh and open water habitats. It is located in the
town of Troy in Waldo County. The area was acquired by the Service in
1966 to protect the waterfowl and other wildlife associated with this
area in central Maine. Carlton Pond WPA has historically provided good
nesting habitat for waterfowl and other birds. It is also one of the
few areas in Maine that provides nesting habitat for the black tern,
which is State-listed as endangered. Many other bird species that use
Carlton Pond WPA have been listed by the Partners in Flight
organization as species that are declining.
Sunkhaze NWR and Carlton Pond WPA offer an abundance of wildlife
observation and photography opportunities and environmental education
and interpretation programs. Visitors to the refuge and WPA also
participate in outdoor recreation activities such as hiking, hunting,
and fishing.
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 (NWRS), 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.
CCP Alternatives, Including the Selected Alternative
During the public scoping process, we, the Maine Department of
Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, the Penobscot Indian Nation, the town of
Milford, other partners, and the public raised several issues. To
address these issues, we developed and evaluated three alternatives in
the draft CCP and EA. Here we present a brief summary of each of the
alternatives; a full description of each alternative is in the draft
CCP and EA. All alternatives include measures to control invasive
species, monitor and abate diseases affecting wildlife and plant
health, and protect cultural resources. Because portions of Sunkhaze
Stream and its tributaries have been found eligible for listing under
the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act, all of the alternatives also include
completing a Wild and Scenic River Study. In addition, there are
several actions that are common to both alternatives B and C. These
include establishing climate change monitoring, expanding partnerships,
and expanding cultural resource protection and interpretation.
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 describes our existing management priorities and
activities, and serves as a baseline for comparing and contrasting
alternatives B and C. It would maintain our present levels of approved
refuge and WPA staffing and the biological and visitor programs now in
place. We would continue to focus on preserving the freshwater wetland-
peatland complex on the Sunkhaze Meadows Unit, which provides habitat
for breeding waterfowl. We would also continue to maintain the open
water and emergent marsh habitat at Carlton Pond WPA, the grassland
habitat at the Benton Unit, and the shrubland and riparian habitat at
the Sandy Stream Unit. Public use activities, such as wildlife
observation, photography, hiking, snowmobiling, and hunting, would
continue to be allowed. We would continue to rely on volunteers to lead
environmental education and interpretation programs.
Alternative B (Service-Preferred Alternative)
This alternative combines the actions we believe would most
effectively achieve refuge and WPA purposes, vision, and goals; the
NWRS mission; and respond to issues raised during public scoping. Under
alternative B, we would focus on the preservation of the wetland-
peatland complex and mature forest within the Sunkhaze Meadow Unit. In
contrast to alternative A, this alternative includes more inventory and
monitoring, as well as research and active management (if warranted) to
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benefit rare habitats on the refuge. We would continue shrubland
habitat management at the Sandy Stream Unit and would expand grassland
management at the Benton Unit if feasible. Management of Carlton Pond
WPA would remain unchanged, focusing on providing habitat for breeding
black terns and waterfowl. We would work to enhance public use
activities, such as providing additional parking areas and improving
maintenance of some existing public trails. Our environmental education
and interpretation program would be improved by providing Service-led
environmental education programs, in addition to programming conducted
by partners and the Friends of Sunkhaze Meadows.
Alternative C (Increased Shrubland Young Forest Habitat and Increased
Public Use)
Under alternative C, we would continue to focus on the preservation
of the peatland-wetland complex at the Sunkhaze Meadows Unit. However,
in contrast to alternatives A and B, this alternative includes shifting
management of some mature forest and grasslands to shrubland and young
forest habitat within the Sunkhaze Meadow Unit and Benton Unit to
benefit species that rely on these habitats. Management of the Sandy
Stream Unit and Carlton Pond WPA would be similar to alternative B.
Under alternative C, we would also work closely with partners to
increase and enhance authorized public uses, such as expanding the
trails at the Benton Unit and providing more environmental education
and interpretation programming.
Comments
We solicited comments on the draft CCP and EA for Sunkhaze Meadows
NWR and Carlton Pond WPA from April 23 to May 31, 2013 (78 FR 23949).
During the comment period, we received 17 sets of responses including
comments from public meetings, faxes, email, and letters. We evaluated
all of the substantive comments we received and include a summary of
those comments, and our responses to them, as appendix G in the final
CCP.
Selected Alternative
We have selected alternative B for implementation, with the
following modifications:
Under objective 4.1, we agreed to maintain the Spur Trail
off of the Johnson Brook Trail in the Sunkhaze Meadows Unit.
We clarified that we will provide wood duck nesting boxes
from existing supplies upon request, as long as volunteers continue to
clean, maintain, and monitor use of the boxes. After the existing
supply of boxes is depleted, we will phase out artificial wood duck
nesting boxes as they deteriorate, or will remove the boxes if
volunteers are no longer able to maintain them (see strategies under
objective 2.1).
We added a strategy under objective 6.1 that we will
explore the feasibility of, and interest in, including the Benton Unit
in a regional trail system upon request.
We modified a strategy under objective 7.2 to include
specific reference to working with universities, as well as other
partners, to identify research and monitoring projects and needs at
each refuge unit to foster partnerships.
We modified language in the boating compatibility
determination for Carlton Pond WPA to include monitoring for potential
conflicts with other authorized public uses on the WPA (e.g., hunting),
and will modify this and other compatibility determinations if
warranted.
We have selected alternative B to implement for Sunkhaze Meadows
NWR and Carlton Pond WPA, with these minor changes, for several
reasons. Alternative B incorporates a combination of actions that, in
our professional judgment, work best towards achieving the refuge's and
WPA's purposes, vision, and goals; Service policies; and the goals of
other State and regional conservation plans. We also believe that
alternative B most effectively addresses key issues raised during the
planning process. The basis of our decision is detailed in the FONSI
(appendix H in the final CCP).
Public Availability of Documents
In addition to any methods in ADDRESSES, you can view or obtain
documents at the following location:
Public Libraries: The Old Town Public Library, located at
46 Middle Street, Old Town, ME 04468, and the Dorothy Webb Quimby
Library, located at Unity College, 90 Quaker Hill Road, Unity, ME 04988
during regular library hours.
Dated: September 27, 2013.
Wendi Weber,
Regional Director, Northeast Region.
[FR Doc. 2013-26365 Filed 11-1-13; 8:45 am]
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