[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 44 (Monday, March 7, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 11833-11834]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-04987]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[FWS-R5-R-2015-N238; FXRS85510553RGO-XXX-FF05R04000]
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Lands in the Northeast Region;
Draft Long Range Transportation Plan
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 a draft long-range transportation plan (LRTP) for
public review and comment. The draft LRTP outlines a strategy for
improving and maintaining transportation assets that provide access to
Service-managed lands in the Northeast Region (Maine, New Hampshire,
Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York,
Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and West
Virginia) over the next 20 years.
DATES: To ensure our consideration of your written comments, please
send them no later than April 6, 2016.
ADDRESSES: Send your comments or requests for copies of the draft LRTP
for Service lands in the Northeast Region by one of the following
methods.
Agency Web site: View or download the draft document on
the Web at http://www.fws.gov/northeast/refuges/roads/pdf/northeast-region-long-range-transportation-plan.pdf.
U.S. Mail: Carl Melberg, Acting Regional Transportation
Program Coordinator, Northeast Region, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,
300 Westgate Center Drive, Hadley, MA 01035.
Email: carl_melberg@fws.gov. Please put the words ``Draft
Long Range Transportation Plan'' in the subject line of your electronic
mail.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Carl Melberg, Acting Regional
Transportation Program Coordinator, phone: 413-253-8586; facsimile:
413-253-8468; or electronic mail: carl_melberg@fws.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Introduction
With this notice, we make the draft LRTP for the Northeast Region
of the Service available for public review and comment. When finalized,
the LRTP will apply to Service-managed lands in Maine, New Hampshire,
Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York,
Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and West
Virginia.
Background
The Fixing America's Surface Transportation Act (FAST Act) requires
all Federal land management agencies to conduct long-range
transportation planning in a manner that is consistent with
metropolitan planning organization and state Department of
Transportation planning. This LRTP was initiated within the Service to
achieve the following:
Establish a defensible structure for sound transportation
planning and decision-making.
Establish a vision, mission, goals, and objectives for
transportation planning in the Service's Northeast Region.
Implement coordinated and cooperative transportation
partnerships in an effort to improve the Service's transportation
infrastructure.
Integrate transportation planning and funding for wildlife
refuges and fish hatcheries into existing and future Service management
plans and strategies (e.g., comprehensive conservation plans and
comprehensive hatchery management plans).
Increase awareness of Alternative Transportation Systems
and associated benefits.
Develop best management practices for transportation
improvements on Service lands.
Serve as a pilot project for the implementation of a
Region-level transportation planning process within the Service.
LRTP Mission, Goals, and Objectives
Through a collaborative effort, the Service's National Wildlife
Refuge System (Refuge System) and Fish and Aquatic Conservation
program, in cooperation with the Division of Refuge Field Support
within the Service's Northeast Region, have contributed to defining the
mission, goals, and objectives presented in this document. The
resulting mission, goals, and objectives are intended to provide a
systematic approach to guide the process for evaluating and selecting
transportation improvement for the Service lands in the Northeast
Region. These guiding principles have shaped the development,
conclusions, and recommendations of this LRTP.
Mission
To support the Service's mission by connecting people to fish,
wildlife, and their habitats through strategic implementation of
transportation programs.
Goals and Objectives
This LRTP has six categories of goals: Coordinated Opportunities;
Asset Management; Safety; Environmental; Access, Mobility, and
Connectivity; and Visitor Experience. Under each goal, we present
distinct objectives that move us to the goal.
1. Coordinated Opportunities: The program will seek joint
transportation opportunities that support the Service mission, maximize
the utility of Service resources, and provide mutual benefits to the
Service and external partners.
Objectives:
Identify and increase key internal and external
partnerships at the national, regional, and unit levels.
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Maximize leveraged opportunities by identifying and
pursuing funding for projects of mutual interest and benefit.
Develop best practices for external engagement that
illustrates success in forming and nurturing coalitions and
partnerships that support the Service's mission.
Coordinate within Service programs, including the Refuge
System, Ecological Services, Fish and Aquatic Conservation, hatcheries,
and Migratory Birds during the development of regional long-range and
project-level plans.
2. Asset Management: The program will operate and maintain a
functional, financially sustainable, and resilient transportation
network to satisfy current and future land management needs in the face
of a changing climate.
Objectives:
Use asset management principles to maintain important
infrastructure at an appropriate condition level.
Prioritize work programs through the project selection
process detailed in this plan or an adaptation thereof.
Evaluate life-cycle costs when considering new assets to
determine long-term financial sustainability.
Consider the impacts of increased climate variability in
the planning and management of transportation assets.
3. Safety: The program's network will provide a superior level of
safety for all users and all modes of transportation to and within
Service lands.
Objectives:
Identify safety issue ``hot spots'' within the Service's
transportation system with the Safety Analysis Toolkit.
Implement appropriate safety countermeasures to resolve
safety issues and reduce the frequency and severity of crashes (also
with the Safety Analysis Toolkit).
Address wildlife-vehicle collisions with design solutions
(Environmental Enhancements).
Use cooperation and communication among the 4E's of
safety, including engineering, education, enforcement, and emergency
medical services.
4. Environmental: Transportation infrastructure will be landscape
appropriate and play a key role in the improvement of environmental
conditions in and around Service lands.
Objectives:
Follow the Roadway Design Guidelines for best practices in
design, planning, management, maintenance, and construction of
transportation assets.
Reduce greenhouse gas emissions and air pollutants by
increasing transportation options and use of alternative fuels.
Protect wildlife corridors, reduce habitat fragmentation,
and enhance terrestrial and aquatic organism passage on and adjacent to
Service lands to conserve fish, wildlife, and plant populations.
5. Access, Mobility, and Connectivity: The program will ensure that
units open to public visitation have adequate transportation options
for all users, including underserved, underrepresented, and mobility-
limited populations.
Objectives:
Offer a wide range of transportation modes and linkages
for on and offsite access.
Provide a clear way finding information both on and off
Service lands.
Through the Urban Wildlife Conservation Program, integrate
Service transportation facilities with local community transportation
systems in a way that encourages local visitation and provides economic
benefits to partner and gateway communities.
Through coordinated planning, provide context-appropriate
transportation facilities that address the specific needs of local
visitor groups and respect the natural setting of the refuge or
hatchery.
Address congestion issues to and within Service units.
6. Visitor Experience: The program will enhance the visitation
experience through improvement and investment in the transportation
network.
Objectives:
Integrate interpretation, education, and resource
stewardship principles into the transportation experience.
Evaluate the feasibility of alternative transportation
systems at all stations and implement where appropriate.
Encourage connections with existing and planned public and
private transportation services.
Design infrastructure in such a way that highlights the
landscape and not the transportation facility.
Next Steps
After this comment period ends, we will analyze the comments and
address them in the form of a final LRTP.
Public Availability of Comments
Before including your address, telephone 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 review, we cannot guarantee that we will be
able to do so.
Dated: February 4, 2016.
Deborah Rocque,
Acting Regional Director, Northeast Region.
[FR Doc. 2016-04987 Filed 3-4-16; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4333-15-P