Service Announces Availability of a Draft Environmental Assessment And Land Protection Plan for the Proposed Hakalau Forest National Wildlife Refuge Expansion

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) announces the availability of a draft Environmental Assessment (EA), draft Land Protection Plan (LPP), and draft Conceptual Management Plan (CMP) for the proposed expansion of the Hakalau Forest National Wildlife Refuge in Hawai‘i County, Hawai‘i.
 
The EA assesses the impacts of a no-action alternative and a preferred alternative that would expand the current boundaries of the Hakalau Forest and Kona Forest Units of the Refuge by up to 29,973 acres, subject to the approval of Fish and Wildlife Service Director Dan Ashe. Land within the approved expanded boundary would be acquired only from willing sellers pending the availability of funds and would be managed as part of the National Wildlife Refuge System. Consistent with the purposes of the Refuge at the time it was established in 1985, any acquired land would be managed to conserve endangered or threatened species.
 
The Service announced this land protection study in a planning update and news release in August 2011. An open house was hosted by Service staff on August 17, 2011, at the Refuge Headquarters in Hilo, Hawai‘i. At this open house, Refuge staff shared information about the study, answered questions and took public comments about the proposed land acquisition project. The Service has also worked with the State of Hawai‘i, conservation organizations, landowners, other agencies and interested individuals to collect additional information about wildlife and habitat and the potential impacts of our proposal.
 
Issues and concerns raised by the public, and the potential impacts of our proposal, are assessed in the draft EA. The specific tracts of land proposed to be included within the expanded boundary are identified in the EA and draft LPP and priorities for acquisition are assigned. Interim management direction for any acquired lands is provided in the CMP.
 
The draft planning documents can be downloaded at http://www.fws.gov/hakalauforest/planning.html. Copies of the planning documents on compact disk are being sent to those on our mailing list. If you are not on our mailing list, you can obtain a compact disk containing the documents from the Refuge Headquarters at 60 Nowelo Street, Suite 100, Hilo, HI, or call 808.443.2300. A limited number of printed copies are also available.
 
The release of the draft planning documents initiates a 30-day public comment period. To provide input on the proposed land acquisition project, please send comments to FW1PlanningComments@fws.gov by March 16, 2012. Please include “Hakalau Forest LPP” in the subject line.