[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 174 (Monday, September 11, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 62387-62389]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-19485]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[FWS-R8-NWRS-2023-N050; FXRS12610800000-234-FF08R04000]
San Luis and Merced National Wildlife Refuges and Grasslands
Wildlife Management Area, CA; Draft Comprehensive Conservation Plan/
Environmental Assessment
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability; request for comments.
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SUMMARY: We, the Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce the
availability of a draft comprehensive conservation plan (CCP) and draft
environmental assessment (EA) for San Luis and Merced National Wildlife
Refuges and the Grasslands Wildlife Management Area (collectively, the
refuges) for review and comment. The draft CCP/EA, prepared under the
National Wildlife Refuge Improvement Act of 1997, and in accordance
with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, describes how the
Service proposes to manage the refuges for the next 15 years. Draft
compatibility determinations for multiple existing and
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proposed uses, a revised hunt plan, and a visitor services plan are
also available for review and public comment. We invite comment from
the public and local, State, Tribal, and Federal agencies.
DATES: To ensure consideration, we must receive your written comments
by October 26, 2023.
ADDRESSES: Accessing Documents: You may obtain electronic copies of the
draft CCP/EA, the revised hunt plan, the visitor services plan, and the
draft compatibility determinations on San Luis Refuge's website, at
https://www.fws.gov/refuge/san-luis/what-we-do. Hard copies of the
draft CCP/EA may be viewed in person during regular business hours, 8
a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, at San Luis NWR Complex
Headquarters, 7376 S Wolfsen Road, Los Banos, CA 93635.
Submitting Comments: Please submit comments by only one of the
following methods.
Email: Address comments to [email protected].
Include ``San Luis CCP'' in the subject line of the message.
In-Person Drop off: You may drop off comments during
regular business hours at San Luis NWR Complex Headquarters (address
above).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: John Kurtz, Conservation Planner, via
email at [email protected], or Chris Harper, San Luis NWRC Project
Leader, via email at [email protected], or by phone at (209) 826-
3508.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The National Wildlife Refuge System
Improvement Act of 1997 (16 U.S.C. 668dd-668ee), which amended the
National Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act of 1966, requires
the Service to develop a CCP for each national wildlife refuge. The
purpose in 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 Improvement Act.
Introduction
With this notice, we continue the CCP process for San Luis National
Wildlife Refuge, Merced National Wildlife Refuge, and Grasslands
Wildlife Management Area (collectively, ``the refuges''), which we
began by publishing a notice of intent in the Federal Register on
September 8, 2008 (73 FR 52063). We hosted three public scoping
meetings, two in Los Banos on September 24, 2008, and one in Merced, on
September 25, 2008. In addition to the Federal Register notice of
intent, our outreach included two planning updates, two initial public
scoping meetings, and a CCP web page. The scoping comment period ended
on October 23, 2008. Over 100 comments were received at the meetings,
via email, and by postal mail. For more about the initial process and
the history of the Refuge, see the September 8, 2008, notice.
Background
The San Luis and Merced National Wildlife Refuges (NWRs) and
Grasslands Wildlife Management Area (WMA) are in Merced County,
California, adjacent to the communities of Los Banos and Merced. They
are situated within the San Joaquin River watershed in the San Joaquin
Valley. Along with San Joaquin River National Wildlife Refuge, they
make up the San Luis National Wildlife Refuge Complex; however, San
Joaquin River National Wildlife Refuge is covered under a separate CCP
(2006).
Collectively, San Luis, Merced, and Grasslands contain one of the
largest remaining contiguous freshwater wetlands remaining in
California, which provides important winter habitat for millions of
migratory birds, as well as assemblages of other native wetland- and
grassland-dependent wildlife.
The Merced NWR was established in 1951 and consists of 10,262 acres
(ac). The San Luis NWR was established in 1967 and consists of 26,878
ac. The Grasslands WMA was established in 1979 and contains more than
190 privately owned parcels under Service conservation easements,
totaling approximately 90,000 ac, within an approved acquisition
boundary of 230,000 ac. All three areas are part of the Grasslands
Ecological Area, which is a 160,000-ac mosaic of Central Valley floor
habitats located primarily within Merced County between I-5 and I-99 in
the northern San Joaquin Valley, west of a line between Modesto and
Fresno.
Additional Information
The draft CCP/EA, revised hunt plan, visitor services plan and
draft compatibility determinations can be found at https://www.fws.gov/refuge/san-luis/what-we-do. The draft CCP includes detailed information
about the planning process, history of the refuges, management issues,
ecological context, and management opportunities.
National Environmental Policy Act Compliance
The draft EA was prepared in accordance with the National
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA; 43 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.). The draft EA
identifies and evaluates three alternatives for managing the refuges
for the next 15 years. The alternative that appears to best meet the
refuges' purposes is identified as the proposed action. The proposed
action is identified based on the analysis presented in the draft CCP/
EA, which may be modified following the completion of the public
comment period, based on comments received from other agencies, Tribal
governments, nongovernmental organizations, or individuals.
Under Alternative A (no action alternative), the current management
actions, including habitat management, wildlife management, wildlife-
oriented recreation opportunities, and environmental education, would
be continued on Merced and San Luis NWRs. Habitat and wildlife
management activities would include habitat management, with a focus on
wetlands for migratory bird use, habitat restoration projects, vernal
pool management, grassland management, invasive plant management,
wildlife and habitat surveys, and ungulate management. We would
continue to offer a wide variety of wildlife-oriented recreation
opportunities to the public, including several auto-tour routes;
numerous nature trails, and a large recreational waterfowl hunt
program, as well as environmental education activities for schools.
Existing restoration and management plans would continue to be
implemented. For the remaining available acquisition authority in the
Grasslands WMA, the Service would seek to acquire additional wildlife
conservation easements from willing sellers within the approved
acquisition boundary.
Alternative B, which has a wetland wildlife focus, also includes
those actions in Alternative A. In addition to those activities
occurring in Alternative A, we would seek 28,000 ac-feet of additional
water to manage existing and additional wetlands on San Luis and Merced
NWRs. The Service would also restore 600 ac of seasonal wetlands and
increase the value of these habitats to migratory birds. Under
Alternative B,
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we would also restore 100 ac of riparian woodlands and 1,700 ac of
vernal pool habitat on the Snobird unit of the Merced NWR.
Under Alternative C (proposed action), the Service would manage
with a biodiversity focus that would include both wetland and upland
habitats for wildlife. We would manage wetland-dependent wildlife and
wetland habitats on San Luis and Merced NWRs essentially the same as
under Alternative B, except moist soil wetlands (the most common
wetland habitat at the Complex) would continue to be managed under an
8-year disturbance cycle. Grassland management activities would
increase at the San Luis and Merced NWRs, to focus on providing nesting
habitat for migratory birds and other wildlife and suitable grazing/
foraging habitat for migratory birds, including geese, cranes and
curlew, and on restoring native plants and natural processes to
grasslands. Inventory, monitoring, and research programs of natural
resources would be expanded. We would shift some of the wildlife
easement acquisition authority to fee-title acquisition authority
within the Grasslands Wildlife Management Area acquisition boundary to
allow greater flexibility for conserving important wildlife habitat
(i.e., wetlands, vernal pools). We would expand wildlife observation
opportunities by adding an additional riparian focused nature trail, a
children's interactive nature exploration area, and an additional
boardwalk section. We would also host visitor workshops on wildlife
identification/observation and photography. Interpretation and
environmental education opportunities would also be improved and
expanded.
Public Meetings
The locations, dates, and times of public meetings will be listed
in a public communications release distributed to the project mailing
list and posted on the refuge website at https://www.fws.gov/refuge/san-luis.
Review and Comment
At the end of the review and comment period for the draft CCP/EA,
comments will be analyzed by the Service and addressed in the final
CCP/EA. 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 view, we cannot guarantee that we will be able
to do so.
Kaylee Allen,
Acting Regional Director, Pacific Southwest Region, Sacramento,
California.
[FR Doc. 2023-19485 Filed 9-8-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4333-15-P