The Michigan Department of Natural Resources made its request after the private landowner involved in the proposed exchange decided to reduce the scope of the land exchange on South Fox Island. Because the landowners revised proposal includes 218 acres of lands with no federal interests, the federal process under which an EIS is developed is no longer applicable.
The EIS was to evaluate the exchange of state land, acquired with Federal Aid wildlife restoration program funds, for privately owned land of equal value; exchange of state lands with National Park Service interest for privately owned lands; and exchange of state lands for lands currently under private ownership on South Fox Island.
Because the actions being considered by the EIS were initiated at the request of the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, the two federal agencies will honor the request to discontinue efforts to develop the EIS. Any proposed exchange of land with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service or the National Park Service is discontinued. Any future consideration of a similar land exchange involving lands with federal interests will be considered a new action requiring a separate review under the National Environmental Policy Act. This federal law requires analysis of environmental impacts and can result in the development of an Environmental Assessment or an Environmental Impact Statement, depending on the nature of the action.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the principal Federal agency responsible for conserving, protecting and enhancing fish, wildlife and plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. The Service manages the 94-million-acre National Wildlife Refuge System which encompasses more than 535 national wildlife refuges, thousands of small wetlands and other special management areas. It also operates 70 national fish hatcheries, 64 fishery resource offices and 78 ecological services field stations. The agency enforces Federal wildlife laws, administers the Endangered Species Act, manages migratory bird populations, restores nationally significant fisheries, conserves and restores wildlife habitat such as wetlands, and helps foreign governments with their conservation efforts. It also oversees the Federal Aid program that distributes hundreds of millions of dollars in excise taxes on fishing and hunting equipment to state fish and wildlife agencies.
For further information about programs and activities of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in the Great Lakes-Big Rivers Region, please visit our website at http://midwest.fws.gov
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