[Federal Register: September 15, 2010 (Volume 75, Number 178)]
[Notices]
[Page 56130-56131]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr15se10-105]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[FWS-R1-R-2010-N160; 1265-0000-10137-S3]
Pearl Harbor National Wildlife Refuge, Honolulu County, HI;
Comprehensive Conservation Plan and Environmental Assessment
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability; request for comments.
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SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce the
availability of our draft comprehensive conservation plan and
environmental assessment (Draft CCP/EA) for the Pearl Harbor National
Wildlife Refuge (refuge) for public review and comment. The Draft CCP/
EA describes our proposal for managing the refuge for the next 15
years.
DATES: To ensure consideration, we must receive your written comments
by September 28, 2010.
ADDRESSES: Address comments, questions, and requests for further
information to David Ellis, Project Leader, O`ahu National Wildlife
Refuge Complex, 66-590 Kamehameha Highway, Room 2C, Hale`iwa, HI 96712.
Alternatively, you may fax comments to the refuge at (808) 637-3578, or
e-mail them to FW1PlanningComments@fws.gov (include ``Pearl Harbor
Refuge CCP'' in the subject line of the message). Additional
information concerning the refuge is available on the Internet at
http://www.fws.gov/pearlharbor/. You may request the CCP/EA for review
by any of the above contact methods, or you may view or download it at
http://www.fws.gov/pacific/planning.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: David Ellis, Project Leader, (808)
637-6330.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Introduction
With this notice, we continue the CCP process for the Pearl Harbor
National Wildlife Refuge. We started this process by publishing a
notice of intent in the Federal Register on December 1, 2008 (73 FR
72826).
Pearl Harbor Refuge is located on the southern coast of the island
of O`ahu and is comprised of three units: Honouliuli, Waiawa, and
Kalaeloa. The Honouliuli Unit and Waiawa Unit are wetland units located
on the shores of Pearl Harbor. The 37-acre Honouliuli Unit and the 25-
acre Waiawa Unit were established in 1972 to protect and enhance
habitat for endangered Hawaiian waterbirds. Habitats found on these
units include open water, freshwater marsh, mudflat, grassland, and
shrubland. The units provide important breeding, feeding, and resting
areas for endangered waterbirds, a variety of migratory waterfowl,
shorebirds, and other wetland birds. Common migrants include Northern
pintail and Pacific golden plover. Neither unit is open to the general
public; however, a grade school wetland education program is
administered under a special use permit at the Honouliuli Unit.
The 38-acre Kalaeloa Unit is a coastal upland unit on O`ahu's
southwestern point, and was once part of the Naval Air Station Barbers
Point (NAS). When the NAS closed in 2001, the unit was established to
protect and enhance habitat for the endangered `Ewa hinahina plant. The
unit contains the largest remnant stand of `Ewa hinahina and a
reintroduced population of `akoko, another endangered plant. We
supplement these plant populations with nursery plantings and exotic
plant control. The unit is located within the arid `Ewa Plains, and
encompasses exposed coral shelf, rocky shoreline, and sparse
vegetation. The unit includes a unique microhabitat called anchialine
pools. These salt water pools are in the raised limestone coral reef,
and are connected to the ocean via tiny subterranean cracks and
crevices within the coralline substrate. The anchialine pools support
unique insects, plants, and animals, including two imperiled
[[Page 56131]]
species of native shrimp. The refuge's volunteer program administers
college-level educational programs and habitat restoration activities
on the unit. The unit is closed to the general public.
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, 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.
Public Outreach
We began the public scoping phase of the CCP planning process by
publishing a Notice of Intent (NOI) in the Federal Register on December
1, 2008 (73 FR 72826), announcing our intention to complete a CCP/EA
for the James Campbell and Pearl Harbor National Wildlife Refuges.
Simultaneously, we released Planning Update 1. We invited the public to
two open house meetings and requested public comments in the NOI and in
Planning Update 1. We held the public open house meetings, in Pearl
City, Hawai`i, on December 9, 2008, and in Kahuku, Hawai`i, on January
8, 2009. In Planning Update 2, distributed in June 2009, we provided a
summary of the comments we received and described refuge resources. We
considered all of the public comments we received to date during
development of the Draft CCP/EA. We will announce the public comment
period for the James Campbell National Wildlife Refuge Draft CCP/EA in
fall 2010.
Draft CCP Alternatives We Are Considering
We drafted two alternatives for managing the Pearl Harbor Refuge.
Under both alternatives entry into the fenced portions of the refuge
units will continue by special use permit. The Betty Bliss Memorial
Overlook will be constructed outside the Honouliuli Unit's fence, to
provide year-round interpretation, wildlife viewing, and photography
opportunities. The coastal foot trail outside the Kalaeloa Unit's fence
will remain open to the public for shoreline fishing. Both alternatives
would protect threatened and endangered species and cultural resources.
Brief descriptions of the alternatives follow.
Alternative A
Under Alternative A, we would continue the current level of
management. On the wetlands of the Honouliuli and Waiawa Units, we
would continue to control predators and manage and protect habitat for
endangered Hawaiian waterbirds, as part of the Statewide effort to
implement the Hawaiian Waterbird Recovery Plan. Under Alternative A,
control of invasive plant species would be modest, and intensive
predator control would continue. On the Kalaeloa Unit, we would
continue to restore and manage endangered plants and control invasive
plants at the current level. Protection would continue for 14 existing
anchialine pools on the Kalaeloa Unit, but no additional pools would be
restored. We would continue to cooperate with the Bishop Museum's
effort to catalog avian and other fossil remains from the pools.
Alternative B
Under Alternative B, our preferred alternative, we would focus
management efforts at the Kalaeloa Unit on increasing the restoration
of native and rare coralline plain habitat. We would increase the
existing 25-acre restoration area to 37 acres. Controlling and reducing
invasive plants, and establishing native plants, including the `akoko
and `Ewa hinahina, would be emphasized. We would develop a foot trail
system, protect 14 existing anchialine pools, identify up to 30
additional pool sites for potential restoration, and continue with
experimental translocation of endangered damselflies (pinapinao) to
suitable habitat in the anchialine pools. We would also expand
volunteer, research, and environmental education opportunities,
including working with the Bishop Museum and the Smithsonian Institute
to pursue an in-depth paleontological study of the entire unit.
On the Honouliuli and Waiawa Units, our focus would be on an
increased level of wetland management to improve the units' overall
capacity to support endangered waterbirds. Under this Alternative B,
water level and vegetation management, invasive species control,
including predator control, would be improved or increased as part of
the Statewide effort to implement the Hawaiian Waterbird Recovery Plan.
On the Honouliuli Unit, we would remove mangrove on 5 acres to improve
and maintain intertidal mudflat habitat, and determine the feasibility
of installing a predator-proof fence. On the Waiawa Unit, we would work
with partners and neighbors to determine the feasibility of developing
an additional refuge overlook.
Public Availability of Documents
We encourage you to stay involved in the CCP planning process by
reviewing and commenting on the proposals we have developed in the
Draft CCP/EA. Copies of the Draft CCP/EA are available by request from
David Ellis or via the Internet (see ADDRESSES).
Next Steps
After this comment period ends, we will analyze the comments and
address them in the final CCP/EA.
Public Availability of Comments
Before including your address, telephone 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.
Dated: September 10, 2010.
David Patte,
Acting Regional Director, Region 1, Portland, Oregon.
[FR Doc. 2010-23102 Filed 9-14-10; 8:45 am]
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