The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) has extended the public comment period for the draft Compatibility Determination (CD) for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) request to construct towers associated with the Secure Border Initiative on Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge (Refuge).
Written comments will now be accepted thru Friday, September 12, 2008. The comment period was previously scheduled to close on September 2, 2008.
This extension is in response to a request from interested parties for more time to provide comments on the proposed determination.
The Refuge has determined that DHS's proposal to construct 4 permanent surveillance towers and 1 communication tower on the Refuge is compatible with the purposes of the refuge, according to the draft finding. The assessment that the proposed use is compatible is based on DHS implementing certain stipulations. The stipulations are included in the draft CD.
The Refuge is soliciting comments from the public on the draft CD as part of the formal CD process. The purpose of the comment period is to offer the public the opportunity to provide relevant information on the compatibility of SBInet tower construction. The Service is especially interested in information or studies regarding the effects of such a use. All comments received during the comment period will be considered in finalizing the CD.
Copies of the draft CD are available online at: www.fws.gov/southwest/refuges/ ; by contacting the Refuge at: (520) 823-4251; or by U.S. Mail to: Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge, P.O. Box 109, Sassabe, AZ, 85633. Copies of the draft CD are also available at the Green Valley and Arivaca public libraries.
Comments on the draft CD may be sent to the Refuge at the mailing address listed above, faxed to (520) 823-4247; or emailed to: Sally_Gall@fws.gov"> .
http://www.fws.gov/southwest/
