Draft Comprehensive Conservation Plan and Environmental Assessment: Aransas National Wildlife Refuge Complex, Aransas, Calhoun, and Refugio Counties, TX

Federal Register: February 12, 2010 (Volume 75, Number 29)

Notices

Page 6872-6874

From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

DOCID:fr12fe10-17

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

FWS-R2-R-2009-N205; 20131-1265-2CCP-S3

Aransas National Wildlife Refuge Complex, Aransas, Calhoun, and

Refugio Counties, TX

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability: Draft comprehensive conservation plan and environmental assessment; request for comments.

SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce the availability of a draft comprehensive conservation plan (CCP) and an environmental assessment (EA) for the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge

Complex (NWRC, Refuge) for public review and comment. In these documents, we describe alternatives, including our preferred alternative, to manage this Refuge complex for the 15 years following approval of the final CCP.

DATES: To ensure consideration, please send your written comments by

April 13, 2010. We will announce upcoming public meetings in local news media.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments or requests for copies or more information by any of the following methods. You may request hard copies or a CD-ROM of the documents by any of the following methods:

E-mail: Roxanne_Turley@fws.gov. Include ``Aransas CCP'' in the subject line of the message.

Fax: Attn: Roxanne Turley, 505-248-6874.

U.S. Mail: Roxanne Turley, Natural Resource Planner, U.S. Fish &

Wildlife, Service, NWRS, Division of Planning, P.O. Box 1306,

Albuquerque, NM 87103-1306.

In-Person Drop-off, Viewing, or Pickup: Call 505-248-6636 to make an appointment during regular business hours. You may drop off comments during regular business hours at 500 Gold Avenue, SW., 4th Floor, Room 4019, Albuquerque, NM 87102. For more information on locations for viewing or obtaining documents, see ``Public Availability of

Documents'' under SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dan Alonso, Complex Manager, by U.S. mail at Aransas NWRC, CCP-Project, P.O. Box 100, Austwell, TX 77050; by phone at 361-286-3559; or by fax at 361-286-3722; or Felipe Prieto,

Wildlife Refuge Specialist/CCP Planning Team, Aransas NWRC, by phone at 361-286-3559.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Introduction

With this notice, we continue the CCP process for Aransas NWRC. We started this process through a notice in the Federal Register (67 FR 55862, August 30, 2002).

Aransas NWRC is located in Aransas, Calhoun, and Refugio Counties,

Texas, and encompasses 115,931 acres of coastal prairie, oak woodland and savannah, barrier island, and salt and freshwater marshes.

Management efforts focus on protecting, enhancing, and restoring Refuge habitats and water management for the benefit of important fish and wildlife resources.

Aransas NWRC was established ``as a refuge and breeding grounds for birds,'' by Executive Order No. 7784 on December 31, 1937. The authority of the Migratory Bird Conservation Act (16 U.S.C. 712d) establishes that each refuge in the system is ``for use as an inviolate sanctuary, or any other management purpose, for migratory birds.'' The

Refuge Recreation Act (16 U.S.C. 460-1) states that each refuge in the system is ``suitable for incidental fish and wildlife-oriented recreational development, the protection of natural resources, and the conservation of endangered or threatened species.'' Additionally,

Aransas NWRC contains critical habitat for the whooping crane (43 FR 20938, May 15, 1978).

Background

The CCP Process

The National Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act of 1966 (16

U.S.C. 668dd-668ee) (Administration Act), as amended by the National

Wildlife Refuge System Improvement Act of 1997, requires a CCP for each national wildlife refuge. The purpose for developing a CCP is to provide refuge managers with a 15-year strategy for achieving refuge purposes and contributing toward the mission of the National Wildlife

Refuge System,

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consistent with sound principles of fish and wildlife management, conservation, legal mandates, and Service policies. In addition to outlining broad management direction on conserving wildlife and their habitats, the 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 these CCPs at least every 15 years in accordance with the

Administration Act.

Public Outreach

To begin the CCP process, we held a comment period beginning on

August 30, 2002, and ending on October 29, 2002 (67 FR 55862). We made draft documents and other relevant information available for public review at the Refuge headquarters. Prior to opening the public comment period, Refuge staff gathered in July and August 2002 to discuss concerns, issues, and opportunities for the future of the Refuge. In

January 2003, we held seven open-house-style meetings at the Refuge

Headquarters and in Rockport, Port Lavaca, Corpus Christi, Refugio, and

Victoria, including one Partners meeting for the Golden Crescent Nature

Club in February 2003. We intended these meetings to solicit initial public input and involvement during the early stages of CCP development. We also invited the State of Texas (Texas Parks and

Wildlife Department) to participate as a partner in the planning process. We have considered and evaluated all of the comments we received, and have incorporated many of them into the various alternatives we addressed in the draft CCP and the EA.

CCP Alternatives We Are Considering

During the public scoping process with which we started work on this draft CCP, we, other governmental partners, and the public raised several issues. Our draft CCP addresses them. A full description of each alternative is in the EA. To address these issues, we developed and evaluated the following alternatives, summarized below.

B: Optimal habitat

A: No-action

management and public

C: Maximal habitat alternative

use (proposed action) management and public- alternative

use alternative

Issue 1: Habitat Management

Biological program and Ecosystem-level

Intensive management to

Activities.

habitat management

management actions to achieve a would continue under

better protect and

predetermined amount existing plans, with

preserve the natural

of woodlands, the emphasis remaining diversity of unique

wetlands, croplands, primarily on migratory habitats and sensitive grasslands, birds, waterfowl, and wildlife through a

shrublands, and water

Federally listed

holistic, partnered,

impoundments to species; the status

and publicly involved benefit the highest quo would prevail

approach would be

possible variety of without the benefit of implemented; current

plants and wildlife holistic, long-term,

and future long-term

would be implemented. and comprehensive

benefits for migratory guidance.

and resident birds, wildlife and their habitats, and the recovery of threatened and endangered species would be provided.

Issue 2: Improvements to Public Use

Current public use

An optimal, quality

All priority public

Opportunities.

under existing plans

experience for the

uses (hunting, would continue; any

public. Priority

fishing, wildlife expansions would occur wildlife-dependent

observation, opportunistically.

uses would be

photography, and emphasized, and other environmental existing public uses

education and would be allowed where interpretation) would appropriate.

be expanded significantly above current levels.

Visitor facilities and interpretive and environmental education programs would be improved or developed.

Issue 3: Refuge Land and Boundary

Currently, there is no Same as Alternative A; Same as Alternative A.

Protection.

active land

however, additional acquisition or land

land protection to protection plan.

address whooping crane

However, any future

flock expansion in the acquisitions would be vicinity of the Refuge based on an approved

would be considered. land protection plan,

The emphasis would developed as a step-

remain on protecting down plan of the CCP. whooping cranes and

Any additional lands

available acres of added to the Refuge

existing wetland or would be purchased

restorable wetland from willing sellers

habitat and adjacent as opportunities and

uplands in portions of funding arise.

Aransas, Calhoun, and

Refugio Counties.

Public Availability of Documents

In addition to any methods in ADDRESSES, you can view or obtain documents at the following locations:

At the Aransas NWRC Headquarters Office, at 1 Wildlife

Circle, near Austwell, TX, during the hours between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday.

Agency Web site: http://www.fws.gov/southwest/refuges/

Plan/index.html.

At the following public libraries:

Library

Address

Phone No.

Victoria Public Library....... 302 N Main St.,

361-572-2701

Victoria, TX 77901.

Parkdale Branch Library....... 1230 Carmel Pkwy,

361-853-9961

Corpus Christi, TX 78411.

Calhoun County Public Library. 200 West Mahan St.,

361-552-7323

Port Lavaca, TX 77979.

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Aransas County Public Library. 701 E Mimosa St.,

361-790-0153

Rockport, TX 78382.

Submitting Comments/Issues for Comment

We consider comments substantive if they:

Question, with reasonable basis, the accuracy of the information in the document;

Question, with reasonable basis, the adequacy of the document;

Present reasonable alternatives other than those presented in the document; and/or

Provide new or additional information relevant to the document.

Next Steps

After this comment period ends, we will analyze the comments and address them in the form of a final CCP and finding of no significant impact.

Public Availability of Comments

Before including your address, phone number, e-mail 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: January 7, 2010.

Brian Millsap,

Acting Regional Director, Region 2.

FR Doc. 2010-2911 Filed 2-11-10; 8:45 am

BILLING CODE 4310-55-P