[Federal Register: April 30, 2010 (Volume 75, Number 83)]
[Notices]
[Page 22832-22835]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr30ap10-112]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[FWS-R4-R-2009-N284; 40136-1265-0000-S3]
Lake Wales Ridge National Wildlife Refuge, Highlands and Polk
Counties, FL
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability: Draft comprehensive conservation plan
and environmental assessment; 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
environmental assessment (Draft CCP/EA) for Lake Wales Ridge National
Wildlife Refuge (NWR) for public review and comment. In this Draft CCP/
EA, we describe the alternative we propose to use to manage this refuge
for the 15 years following approval of the final CCP.
DATES: To ensure consideration, we must receive your written comments
by June 1, 2010.
ADDRESSES: You may obtain a copy of the Draft CCP/EA by writing to: Mr.
Bill Miller, Lake Wales Ridge NWR, Pelican Island National Wildlife
Refuge Complex, 1339 20th Street, Vero Beach, FL 32960; telephone: 561/
715-0023. You may also access and download the document from the
Service's Web site at http://southeast.fws.gov/planning under ``Draft
Documents.''
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Bill Miller, Lake Wales Ridge NWR,
Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuge Complex; telephone: 561/715-
0023.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Introduction
With this notice, we continue the CCP process for Lake Wales Ridge
NWR. We started the process through a notice in the Federal Register on
June 20, 2008 (73 FR 35149). For more about the refuge and our CCP
process, please see that notice.
Lake Wales Ridge NWR is a unit of the Merritt Island National
Wildlife Refuge Complex (NWR Complex) and is administered by and co-
managed with Pelican Island and Archie Carr National Wildlife Refuges,
colloquially termed the Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuge Complex
(NWR Complex).
Background
The CCP Process
The National Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act of 1966 (16
U.S.C. 668dd-668ee), 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 strategy 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
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every 15 years in accordance with the Administration Act.
CCP Alternatives, Including Our Proposed Alternative
We developed three alternatives for managing the refuge and chose
``Alternative B'' as the proposed alternative. A full description of
each alternative is in the Draft CCP/EA. We summarize each alternative
below.
Alternative A--Current Management (No Action)
Alternative A would continue present management activities and
programs. Management emphasis would continue to focus on maintaining
existing habitats for rare, threatened, and endangered species through
partnerships and management agreements. Primary management activities
would continue to include providing infrequent and limited habitat
management through: (1) Application of prescribed fire (Merritt Island
NWR Complex provides fire program staff); (2) rare, threatened, and
endangered species monitoring, utilizing partnerships; (3) litter and
debris control; and (4) exotic, invasive, and nuisance species'
control. Alternative A represents the anticipated conditions of the
refuge for the next 15 years, assuming current funding, staffing,
policies, programs, and activities continue.
This alternative would reflect actions that include managing
habitats for rare, threatened, and endangered species. Both Federal-
and State-listed species are found on the refuge. Habitat management
actions are intended to benefit rare, threatened, and endangered
species, but there is limited active management of other species and
habitats due to the current level of resources. As a result, the refuge
would continue to rely almost entirely on the actions and assistance of
partners and volunteers who conduct a wide array of resource management
activities, including monitoring of key refuge resources.
Management coordination would occur primarily between the refuge
and the Lake Wales Ridge Ecosystem Working Group (LWREWG)--a consortium
of Federal, State, local, and non-governmental land management
organizations. The LWREWG shares natural area management information in
an effort to increase the understanding and awareness of the Lake Wales
Ridge ecosystem.
Land acquisition would continue based on the availability of
willing sellers within the refuge's approved acquisition boundary, and
where opportunities arise, through the LWREWG, or other initiatives on
a case-by-case basis. Since the refuge is neither staffed nor funded,
management agreements with partner agencies/organizations would be a
primary focus.
The refuge would remain closed, and access for management purposes
would be conducted solely through the refuge's special use permit
process. On a case-by-case basis, extremely limited access for
environmental education and interpretation opportunities might occur.
The refuge would actively support key Lake Wales Ridge ecosystem
partner-managed lands that are open to public use by identifying and
updating links to partner Web sites on the refuge's official Web site.
The refuge would remain unstaffed and administered through the
Pelican Island NWR Complex. Volunteer activities would continue to be
supported through the Merritt Island Wildlife Association and the
Pelican Island NWR Complex staff. Partnerships through the LWREWG and
the Service's North and South Florida Ecological Services field offices
would continue. The refuge would continue to opportunistically seek
funding for habitat management, monitoring, and other program areas
through alternative sources.
Alternative B--Rare, Threatened, and Endangered Species (Proposed
Action)
This alternative expands the actions under Alternative A with a
greater amount of habitat management focusing primarily on restoring
and enhancing habitats to benefit the needs of rare, threatened, and
endangered species. A total of 17 plants and 6 animals are federally
listed species on the 1,842-acre refuge; 1 federal candidate species is
known to occur on the refuge. Some of these species are protected
nowhere else but on refuge lands. In addition, this endemic-rich refuge
is home to at least 33 State-listed species, including 5 plant and 6
animal species that are not listed federally.
One key to this alternative is a focused effort to expand
management activities through the implementation of a frequent, routine
prescribed fire program to restore pyrogenic habitats to pre-fire
exclusion conditions. This focused approach would provide for the
restoration of a mosaic of suitable habitats, including xeric scrub
lands, sandhills, open sand patches, and ephemeral wetlands necessary
to maintain and expand populations of the refuge's rare, threatened,
and endangered species. This restorative process may exceed the 15-year
life of the CCP for some habitats. Once pre-fire exclusion conditions
are attained, fire return intervals would be adapted based on rare,
threatened, and endangered species and habitat responses provided
through fire effects monitoring. As habitats are restored, the refuge
would investigate potential expansion of rare, threatened, or
endangered species introduction/reintroduction projects, coordinating
and collaborating with partners through the LWREWG to identify best
management opportunities.
This alternative would expand the monitoring efforts under
Alternative A to provide additional active efforts to monitor rare,
threatened, and endangered species. Monitoring efforts would be
increased by the assistance of additional staff and trained volunteers,
and through academic research. Greater effort would be made to recruit
academic researchers to study and monitor rare, threatened, and
endangered species. Under this alternative, we would increase efforts
to control invasive and nuisance species; increase coordination with
researchers and partners to investigate rare, threatened, and
endangered species' response to changing patterns of suitable habitats;
and assume a leadership role in identifying the impacts of climate
change on rare, threatened, and endangered species.
This alternative would continue pursuing completion of the
acquisition boundary, based on the availability of willing sellers, and
prioritizing acquisition efforts on unprotected, undeveloped inholdings
where threats of habitat loss and constraints to habitat management are
greatest. We would evaluate a variety of land protection and
conservation measures, including land swaps, to protect high-quality
properties.
Expanding public awareness and support for the refuge and partner-
managed lands of the Lake Wales Ridge ecosystem would be an important
component of this alternative. Even though the refuge would remain
closed to visitor use, we would implement a range of visitor service
opportunities (e.g., environmental education and interpretation, and
wildlife observation and photography), which would be controlled
through an approval process. We would implement guided tours provided
by Service staff or Service partners on a case-by-case basis and
permitted through our special use permit process. In addition, we would
develop and conduct an annual refuge day where guided tours,
information, and refuge awareness through community outreach would be
provided. Updated messages on both the refuge's Web site and brochure
would be provided, focusing on the needs of
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rare, threatened, and endangered species. Further, we would work with
partners to incorporate these messages in information distributed by
them.
We would increase involvement with governmental and non-
governmental partners through the LWREWG and would be positioned to
increase Service presence with other partner organizations when
opportunities arise. Coordination with both the North and South Florida
Ecological Services field offices for funding and recovery direction
would be expanded to optimize listed species management. Opportunities
to build additional support through the Merritt Island Wildlife
Association, Pelican Island Preservation Society, and Friends of the
Carr Refuge would increase.
The refuge would gain staff to fulfill the goals, objectives, and
strategies identified in the CCP, and staff would be situated to manage
all day-to-day operations. The Lake Wales Ridge NWR is presently
administered remotely and has no dedicated staff or budget. The refuge
is approximately 130 miles from fire management support (Merritt Island
NWR Complex) and approximately 100 miles from its Pelican Island NWR
Complex management team. This situation considerably challenges all
day-to-day operations and management necessary to provide for the needs
of rare, threatened, and endangered species and the habitats they
occupy.
This alternative would propose a 5-member staff, including a
wildlife refuge specialist (assistant refuge manager), a private lands
biologist, a botanist/biologist, a biological science technician, and a
fire/forestry technician to manage refuge programs and provide a
Service presence currently lacking in the Lake Wales Ridge system of
naturally managed lands. The proposed staff would be in close proximity
to refuge lands in order to manage day-to-day operations. To support
operations and maintenance, we would enter into memoranda of
understanding or other agreements with partners and/or secure
independent spaces for equipment storage, operational functions, and
administrative needs. This alternative would bolster management by
investigating opportunities to enter into management agreements and
other options with partner land management agencies and organizations,
enabling partner management of Service properties in accordance with
the CCP, subsequent step-down plans, and Service policies. We would
continue to share facilities, equipment, utilities, and staff with
Pelican Island and Archie Carr National Wildlife Refuges. The Merritt
Island NWR Complex would continue to provide fire program staff.
Alternative C--Wildlife and Habitat Diversity
This alternative would serve the needs of key rare, threatened, and
endangered species on the refuge, but within the larger context of
wildlife and habitat diversity. Under this alternative, focused efforts
utilizing prescribed fire to restore habitats to pre-fire exclusion
conditions would be proposed, targeting the needs of a wide array of
native wildlife and habitats to benefit the larger Lake Wales Ridge and
central Florida landscape. We would continue to support recovery
efforts of key listed species and expand efforts to provide
opportunities targeting the needs of neotropical migratory birds,
resident birds, wading and water birds, shorebirds, raptors, cavity-
dependent species, and other resident species. Habitats where pines
dominate the overstory would be managed to provide more pine stems per
acre to promote habitat for cavity-dependent birds. Understory, shrub,
and canopy vegetation would be managed to provide for a diversity of
wildlife, and snag development would be encouraged to provide cavities
and perch sites and to promote insect development. Where appropriate,
burn frequencies would be reduced to provide for the production of saw
palmetto for use as forage by wildlife, including the Florida black
bear. We would investigate management opportunities with the Atlantic
Coast Joint Venture and would support management of migratory birds.
Through partnerships, we would conduct wading and water bird surveys to
better understand our management role at the landscape level.
Management to protect important habitat and wildlife corridors would
increase under this alternative and invasive and nuisance species
control efforts would expand.
This alternative would expand the monitoring efforts under
Alternative A. Monitoring of neotropical migratory and resident birds
in addition to other resident species would occur. Monitoring efforts
would be increased by the assistance of additional staff and trained
volunteers, and through academic research. We would take a leadership
role in identifying the impacts of climate change on refuge resources,
coordinating with researchers and partners to investigate species
response to changing patterns of suitable habitats.
Under this alternative, the refuge would remain closed to visitor
use except for limited and guided environmental education and
interpretation and wildlife observation and photography opportunities
by Service staff or volunteers and partners. Education, interpretation,
and outreach messages would focus on the importance of the refuge in
the landscape, and would include listed species as key topics. Further,
we would work with the partners to incorporate applicable messages into
their visitor activities and signage. We would develop and conduct an
annual refuge day to promote refuge awareness. This alternative would
seek to expand partnerships and would work with the partners, including
the LWREWG environmental education subcommittee, to expand
environmental education and interpretation opportunities on refuge
lands.
As under Alternative B, we would gain staff to be located locally
to manage all day-to-day operations of the refuge. This alternative
would propose a 4-member staff, including a wildlife refuge specialist
(assistant refuge manager), a private lands biologist, a botanist/
biologist, and a fire/forestry technician. To support operations and
maintenance, we would enter into memoranda of understanding or other
agreements with the partners and/or secure independent spaces for
equipment storage, operational functions, and refuge administrative
needs. This alternative also would bolster management by investigating
opportunities to enter into management agreements and other options
with partner land management agencies and organizations, enabling
partner management of Service properties in accordance with the CCP,
subsequent step-down plans, and Service policies. We would continue to
share facilities, equipment, utilities, and staff with Pelican Island
and Archie Carr National Wildlife Refuges. The Merritt Island NWR
Complex would continue to provide fire program staff.
Next Step
After the comment period ends, we will analyze the comments and
address them.
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.
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Authority
This notice is published under the authority of the National
Wildlife Refuge System Improvement Act of 1997, Public Law 105-57.
Dated: February 18, 2010.
Jon Andrew,
Acting Regional Director.
[FR Doc. 2010-10117 Filed 4-29-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-55-P