[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 60 (Thursday, March 28, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 19000-19002]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-07237]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[FWS-R5-R-2012-N170; BAC-4311-K9-S3]
Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge, Cayuga, Seneca, and Wayne
Counties, NY; Final Comprehensive Conservation Plan and Finding of No
Significant Impact for Environmental Assessment
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 Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge (NWR), located
in Cayuga, Seneca, and Wayne Counties, New York. In this final CCP, we
describe how we will manage the refuge for the next 15 years.
ADDRESSES: You may view or obtain copies by any of the following
methods. You may request a hard copy or a CD-ROM of the document.
Agency Web site: Download a copy of the document at http://www.fws.gov/northeast/planning/Montezuma/ccphome.html.
Email: Send requests to northeastplanning@fws.gov. Please include
``Montezuma NWR Final CCP'' in the subject line of the message.
Mail: Lia McLaughlin, Natural Resource Planner, U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service, 300 Westgate Center Drive, Hadley, MA 01035.
Fax: Attention: Lia McLaughlin, 413-253-8468.
In-Person Viewing or Pickup: Call 315-568-5987 to make an
appointment (necessary for view/pickup only) during regular business
hours at 3395 Route 5/20 East, Seneca Falls, NY 13148-9778.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Tom Jasikoff, Refuge Manager, 315-568-
5987 (phone), or Lia McLaughlin, Planning Team Leader, 413-253-8575
(phone); email: northeastplanning@fws.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Introduction
With this notice, we finalize the CCP process for Montezuma NWR. We
started this process through a notice in the Federal Register (75 FR
25286; May 7, 2010). We released the draft CCP and EA to the public,
announcing and requesting comments in a notice of availability in the
Federal Register (75 FR 25286; May 22, 2012).
Montezuma NWR was established in 1938 to provide nesting, feeding,
and resting habitat for waterfowl and other migratory birds. Situated
in Seneca, Wayne, and Cayuga Counties, the refuge currently encompasses
9,809 acres. Refuge habitats include emergent marshes and shallow water
mudflats, open water, bottomland floodplain forest, old fields,
shrublands, croplands, grassland, and successional forest. The refuge
is part of the Montezuma Wetlands Complex, an area identified by the
Service, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
(NYSDEC), and other partners for its role in the conservation of
migratory birds, particularly waterfowl. The refuge's public use
program provides wildlife-oriented
[[Page 19001]]
educational and recreational opportunities compatible with refuge
management objectives. Public use facilities and programs include
several trails, a visitor center, observation towers and platforms,
fishing access sites, a hunting program, educational programs and
materials, guided tours, and other special programs.
We announce our decision and the availability of the FONSI for the
final CCP for Montezuma NWR in accordance with National Environmental
Policy Act (NEPA) (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) requirements. We completed a
thorough analysis of impacts on the human environment, which we
included in the draft CCP and EA.
The CCP will guide us in managing and administering Montezuma NWR
for the next 15 years. Alternative B, as described in the refuge's
draft CCP and EA, and with the modifications described below, is the
foundation for the final CCP.
Background
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.
CCP Alternatives, Including the Selected Alternative
During the public scoping process, we, the NYSDEC, other
governmental 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.
Management Alternatives
Alternative A (Current Management)
Alternative A satisfies the NEPA 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 staffing and the
biological and visitor programs now in place. We would continue to
focus on managing impoundments to provide emergent marsh and open water
habitats for migrating and nesting wading birds, marshbirds, waterfowl,
shorebirds, and other wildlife. We would also continue to actively
control invasive species, manage grassland habitats, and improve
riparian and other forested habitats. We would continue to provide
opportunities for all six priority public uses: hunting, fishing,
wildlife observation, photography, environmental education, and
interpretation.
Alternative B (Service-preferred Alternative)
This alternative is the Service-preferred alternative. It combines
the actions we believe would most effectively achieve the refuge's
purposes, vision, and goals, and respond to the issues raised during
the scoping period. Under alternative B, emergent marsh management
would remain a priority on the refuge. We would focus efforts on
improving existing emergent wetland habitat and restoring additional
acres, and re-establishing wetland and riparian forests, where
feasible. More upland forest would be promoted through succession or
planting native species. Additionally, we would continue to manage
about 400 acres of shrublands, and grassland management would focus on
creating larger patches with less edge, resulting in fewer grassland
acres overall. Opportunities for visitors to participate in priority
public uses would increase. Added trails, viewing areas, and
photography blinds would support additional opportunities for wildlife
observation and photography. We would develop a formal, curriculum-
based environmental education program. Environmental interpretation
would be enhanced through updated interpretive displays and associated
services. The refuge would be opened to new hunting opportunities, and
we would provide more accessible sites. Fishing opportunities would be
increased by providing additional access to canal waters for anglers.
Alternative C (Less Active Habitat Management)
Under alternative C, most emergent marsh habitat on the refuge
would be allowed to convert to bottomland floodplain forest. Only the
Main Pool, Tschache Pool, and Visitor Center Wetland impoundments would
be maintained. Newly acquired lands would not be converted to
impoundments. Natural succession would play a larger role in shaping
vegetative communities on the refuge compared to alternatives A and B.
We would allow most early successional habitats in the uplands to
revert to forests. Compared to alternative A, opportunities for
visitors to participate in priority public uses would increase under
this alternative, but not to the extent proposed under alternative B.
We would develop a few additional sites to support wildlife observation
and photography. Interpretation would be somewhat increased with the
expansion of the visitor contact station. Interpretive messages would
be changed, reflecting the different focus of refuge management.
Hunting opportunities would increase, similar to alternative B;
however, waterfowl hunting would remain unchanged. Fishing
opportunities would be the same as alternative B.
Comments
We solicited comments on the draft CCP and EA for Montezuma NWR
from May 22 to June 21, 2012 (77 FR 25286). During the comment period,
we received 36 sets of responses, including comments from public
meetings, a phone call, 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 K in the final CCP.
Selected Alternative
We have selected alternative B for implementation, with the
following modifications:
We increased the amount of shrubland we intend to maintain
to 396 acres (similar to alternative A), which is about 100 acres more
than originally proposed under alternative B of the draft CCP and EA.
We included additional information in chapter 4, under
``Protecting Land and Proposed Land Expansion,'' to explain that we
will evaluate newly acquired lands for their potential for habitat
restoration (i.e., emergent marsh, forest, shrubland, grassland).
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We have added estimates of hazard abatement surveys to
table 4.1, and have revised the cost estimates for demolition.
We added a section titled ``Alternatives Considered but
not Fully Developed'' to the final hunt program EA (appendix E), which
includes a discussion on closing the refuge to hunting.
We modified the land protection plan (appendix F) to
incorporate climate change information from the CCP and estimated
numbers of migratory birds and breeding marshbirds that could use
emergent marsh habitats, once lands have been acquired and restored. We
also revised the land protection plan and final CCP to clarify which
parcels are existing refuge lands, which have been previously added to
the refuge's approved acquisition boundary but not purchased, and which
would be included in the refuge expansion.
We corrected the final fire management plan EA to show
that alternative B is both the current management (the no action
alternative) and the preferred-alternative.
We have selected alternative B to implement for Montezuma NWR, 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 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 L in the final CCP).
Public Availability of Documents
You can view or obtain the final CCP, including the FONSI, as
indicated under ADDRESSES, and at the following location:
Public Library: the Seneca Falls Library, located at 47
Cayuga Street, Seneca Falls, NY 13148, during regular library hours.
Dated: February 21, 2013.
Deborah Rocque,
Acting Regional Director, Northeast Region.
[FR Doc. 2013-07237 Filed 3-27-13; 8:45 am]
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