[Federal Register: January 22, 2010 (Volume 75, Number 14)]
[Notices]
[Page 3753-3755]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr22ja10-74]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[FWS-R2-R-2009-N212; 20131-1265-2CCP-S3]
Tishomingo National Wildlife Refuge, Comprehensive Conservation
Plan, Johnston County, OK
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability: draft comprehensive conservation plan
and draft 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 (CCP) and
environmental assessment (EA) for Tishomingo National Wildlife Refuge
(Refuge, NWR) for public review and comment. In these documents, we
describe alternatives, including our preferred alternative, to manage
this Refuge for the 15 years following approval of the final CCP. Draft
compatibility determinations for several public uses are also available
for review and public comment in the Draft CCP/EA.
DATES: To ensure consideration, we must receive your written comments
by March 23, 2010. We will announce upcoming public meetings in local
news media.
ADDRESSES: You may request a hard copy or CD-ROM copy of the draft CCP
and EA by any of the following methods:
E-mail: joseph_lujan@fws.gov. Include ``Tishomingo NWR Draft CCP
and EA'' in the subject line of the e-mail.
Fax: Attn: Joseph Lujan, Natural Resource Planner, 505-248-6874.
[[Page 3754]]
U.S. Mail: Joseph Lujan, Natural Resource Planner, U.S. Fish &
Wildlife Service, Division of Planning, P.O. Box 1306, Albuquerque, NM
87103-1306.
In-Person Drop-off, Viewing, or Pickup: You may drop off comments
during regular business hours (8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.) at Tishomingo NWR
Headquarters, 1200 South Refuge Road, Tishomingo, OK 73625; at the
USFWS Regional Office, 500 Gold Avenue SW., 4th Floor, Room 4005,
Albuquerque, NM 87102; or local libraries.
Agency Web Site: http://www.fws.gov/southwest/refuges/Plan/
planindex.html.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Joseph R. Lujan, 505-248-7458;
joseph_lujan@fws.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Introduction
With this notice, we continue the CCP process for Tishomingo NWR,
which we started with a notice of intent to prepare a CCP that appeared
in the November 17, 1999, issue of the Federal Register (64 FR 62683).
For more about the initiation of this process see that notice. The
Tishomingo National Wildlife Refuge consists of 16,464 acres located in
south-central Oklahoma. On January 24, 1946, the Refuge was authorized
and established to preserve nesting grounds for migrating waterfowl, by
order of U.S. President Harry S. Truman under Public Land Order 312.
The Corps of Engineers (Corps) and the Service's cooperative agreement,
along with a cooperative agreement between the Service, Oklahoma
Department of Wildlife Conservation (ODWC), and the Corps, are the
foundation of Refuge management authority for the Service.
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 and photography, and
environmental education and interpretation. We will review and update
the CCP at least every 15 years in accordance with the Administration
Act.
Public Outreach
We started the CCP process for Tishomingo NWR in October 2007. At
that time and throughout the process, public comments were requested,
considered, and incorporated in numerous ways. Public outreach has
included a public scoping meeting, planning updates, a CCP Web page,
and Federal Register notices. Comments we received cover topics such as
wildlife, habitat, refuge management, invasive species management,
partnerships, and visitor services. We have considered and evaluated
all of these comments, with many incorporated into the various
alternatives addressed in the draft CCP and the EA.
CCP Alternatives We Are Considering
During the public scoping process with which we started work on
this draft CCP, we, other governmental partners, Tribes, and the public
raised several issues. Our draft CCP addresses them. A full description
of each alternative is in the EA. To address these issues, we developed
and evaluated the following alternatives, summarized below. The Draft
EA/CCP presents an evaluation of the environmental effects of three
alternatives for managing the Tishomingo Refuge for the next 15 years.
The Service proposes to implement Alternative B, as described in the
EA. Alternative B best achieves the Refuge's purposes, vision, and
goals; contributes to the Refuge System mission; addresses the
significant issues and relevant mandates; and is consistent with
principles of sound fish and wildlife management. This alternative is
described in more detail in the CCP.
There are many features of proposed Refuge management that are
common to all three alternatives. Features common to all alternatives
include invasive species management, habitat management and
restoration, implementation of hunting and fishing program, and
providing wildlife observation and photography, and environmental
education and interpretation opportunities. There are also many
features of each alternative that are distinct.
Alternative A, the no action alternative, assumes no change from
current management programs and is considered the baseline to compare
other alternatives against. Under Alternative A, the primary management
focus of the Refuge would continue to be providing for the enhancement
and restoration of grasslands habitat at the rate and degree equivalent
to existing restoration practices. Recreational opportunities would
continue to be limited to traditional programs under existing approved
hunting and fishing plans. The Cumberland Pool would continue to
provide public hunting and fishing and the primary Refuge hunt area
would remain the 3,170 acre Cooperative Wildlife Management Unit. Under
this alternative the current headquarter facilities would not be
improved or expanded to accommodate more visitors.
Current habitat management practices would continue including
keeping approximately 1,000 acres of Refuge lands under cultivation.
Total wetland acres would remain 156 acres unless increased by natural
flooding.
Under Alternative B, the Refuge would adopt and implement the
management efforts presented in the Tishomingo NWR CCP. The goals,
objectives, and strategies detailed in the CCP would provide for short
and long-term conservation and enhancement of Refuge resources and
values while improving the overall quality of visitor services and
addressing primary threats to the ecosystem. Under this alternative,
existing habitat management activities would be expanded, including the
improvement or creation of grassland habitats and moist soil units.
This alternative would also utilize the management efforts detailed in
the CCP to improve or expand visitor services programs and public use
facilities on the Refuge. Additionally, under this alternative the use
of adaptive management practices would contribute to ongoing monitoring
and modification of Refuge resources for years to come.
Under this alternative, increased adaptive management practices
would contribute to the completion of measurable objectives and further
contribute to overall improvement of Refuge resources and quality of
visitor services.
The Refuge habitat management program would continue to implement
active management practices to address ecosystem threats such as
mechanical removal of eastern red cedar, prescribed fire, and chemical
and mechanical control of weed species to accelerate restoration of
native plant species and enhance the quality of these habitats for
wildlife. However, under this alternative these programs would be
improved or expanded to more effectively utilize Refuge resources for
habitat improvement. An example of this may include ongoing efforts to
use
[[Page 3755]]
an integrated pest management approach, including prescribed fire,
mechanical removal, herbicides, and other methods, to control invasive
species.
The increased use of prescribed fire as a management tool would be
emphasized for invasive brush and tree control. The plan calls for
targeting and prioritizing problem areas for restoration using
herbicides and prescribed fire as management tools. Existing areas of
native bluestem and tall grass prairie, naturally occurring low water
areas, riparian, timber, floodplain, and hardwood forest as well as the
aquatic riverine habitats would be further protected and enhanced
through planned management strategies.
The Refuge's biological program would become more focused and
include comprehensive inventories of wildlife species and habitats,
thereby improving the Refuge's baseline biological information. This
would allow staff to better evaluate habitat management decisions in
the future and reevaluate the local and regional threats to the
ecosystem. Approximately 1,000 acres of Refuge lands optimal for crop
production would continue to be farmed to provide forage for migratory
birds and resident wildlife.
Under Alternative C, the Refuge would continue the expansion of
habitat management and restoration activities, combined with an
expanded public use development and an expanded farming program. This
alternative would incorporate the habitat and wildlife management
components called for in Alternative B; however, this alternative would
include more concentrated efforts in developing the Refuge's public use
programs and facilities beyond the existing program. The ODWC would
simultaneously expand the hunting program services, but only on the
ODWC-managed wildlife management unit, and would continue to comply
with all applicable State hunting and wildlife regulations.
This alternative would primarily expand visitor services by
developing extensive public use facilities including hiking, wildlife
observation and photography, and environmental interpretive systems.
Additionally, the existing farming program would be expanded to
produce increased hot foods sources for migrating waterfowl within the
Refuge. Local populations of Canada geese are reportedly occurring in
much fewer numbers than in previous years, largely due to the result of
decreased agricultural activities within the region. With fewer
supplemental food sources within the region, the Refuge is less capable
of supporting the historically larger populations of geese. However,
the expansion of the farming program would come at the expense of
native grassland prairie restoration, either through conversion of
grasslands to farm fields or by simply reducing the number of potential
agriculture to grassland restoration sites.
Management efforts to develop the Refuge's public use and farming
programs with this level of intensity would require a substantial
increase in annual operational funding and the addition of one or two
Visitor Services Park Rangers within 5 years. Additional miles in
hiking trails as well as motorized tour routes would fall under areas
of annual inundation and would require heavy maintenance and upkeep.
This alternative may or may not be feasible under the existing
budgetary constraints.
Public Availability of Documents
In addition to any methods in ADDRESSES, you can view or obtain
documents at the following locations:
Tishomingo National Wildlife Refuge, 12000 Refuge Road,
Tishomingo, OK 73625.
Our Web site: http://fws.gov/southwest/refuges/plan/
completeplans.html.
Public Library:--The Johnston County Library--Chikasaw
Library System, located at 116 W. Main Street Tishomingo, OK 73460,
during regular library hours.
Submitting Comments/Issues for Comment
We particularly seek comments on all issues.
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
environmental assessment;
Present reasonable alternatives other than those presented
in the draft EA; and/or
Provide new or additional information relevant to the
assessment.
Next Steps
After this comment period ends, we will analyze the comments and
address them in the form of a final CCP.
Dated: December 09, 2009.
Brian A. Millsap,
Acting Regional Director, Region 2.
[FR Doc. 2010-112 Filed 1-21-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-55-P