[Federal Register: September 17, 2010 (Volume 75, Number 180)]
[Notices]
[Page 57056-57058]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr17se10-125]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[FWS-R5-R-2010-N150; 50133-1265-CHNP-S3]
Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge and Wallops Island National
Wildlife Refuge, Accomack County, VA; Comprehensive Conservation Plan
and Environmental Impact Statement
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of intent; announcement of public scoping and request
for comments.
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SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), are gathering
information to prepare a comprehensive conservation plan (CCP) and
associated environmental impact statement (EIS)
[[Page 57057]]
for Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) and Wallops Island NWR.
We provide this notice in compliance with our policy to advise other
agencies and the public of our intentions to conduct detailed planning
on refuges, and obtain suggestions and information about the scope of
issues to consider in the planning process.
DATES: We will hold public scoping open house meetings between August
and November of 2010 in Accomack County, Virginia, and Worcester
County, Maryland. The meetings will be announced through our Web site
(http://www.fws.gov/northeast/planning), local newspapers, a
newsletter, and personal contacts. See the ADDRESSES section for
information about where to submit your comments. To ensure
consideration of your written comments regarding the scope of the
refuge management plan, you should submit them no later than January
18, 2011.
ADDRESSES: Send your comments or requests for more information on the
planning process by any of the following methods:
Electronic mail: northeastplanning@fws.gov. Include ``Chincoteague
NWR'' in the subject line of the message.
Facsimile: Attention: Thomas Bonetti, at 413-253-8468.
U.S. mail: Thomas Bonetti, Refuge Planner, U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service, 300 Westgate Center Drive, Hadley, MA 01035.
In person drop-off: You may drop off comments during regular
business hours at the above address.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To obtain more information on the
refuge, contact Louis Hinds, Refuge Manager, at Chincoteague NWR, P.O.
Box 62, Chincoteague Island, VA 23336; phone: 757-336-6122; facsimile:
757-336-5273; electronic mail: fw5rw_cnwr@fws.gov or Web site: http://
chinco.fws.gov/.
For additional questions about the planning process, you may
contact Thomas Bonetti via the above methods or by calling 413-253-
8307.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Introduction
This notice initiates the CCP process for Chincoteague NWR and
Wallops Island NWR, located in Accomack County, Virginia.
Background
The CCP Process
The National Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act of 1966, as
amended by the National Wildlife Refuge System Improvement Act of 1997
(16 U.S.C. 668dd-668ee), requires us to develop a CCP for each national
wildlife refuge. The purpose of a CCP is to provide refuge managers
with a 15-year plan for achieving refuge purposes and contributing
toward the mission of the National Wildlife Refuge System (NWRS),
consistent with sound principles of fish and wildlife management,
conservation, legal mandates, and our policies. In addition to
outlining broad management direction on conserving wildlife and their
habitats, 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 the CCP at least every 15
years in accordance with the Administration Act.
We establish each refuge for specific purposes, and use those
purposes to develop and prioritize its management goals, objectives,
and public uses. The planning process is one way for us and for the
public to evaluate those goals and objectives for the best possible
conservation of important wildlife habitat, while providing
opportunities for wildlife-dependent recreation compatible with those
purposes and the mission of the NWRS.
We request your input on all issues, concerns, ideas, improvements,
and suggestions for the future management of Chincoteague NWR. In
addition to this opportunity to participate in the scoping for the
project, you may submit additional comments during the planning process
by writing to the refuge planner (see ADDRESSES section).
We will conduct the environmental review of this project in
accordance with the requirements of the National Environmental Policy
Act of 1969 (NEPA), as amended (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), the Council on
Environmental Quality Regulations on NEPA (40 CFR parts 1500-1508),
other appropriate Federal laws and regulations, and our policies and
procedures for complying with them.
Chincoteague NWR and Wallops Island NWR
Under the authority of the Migratory Bird Conservation Act,
Chincoteague NWR was established on May 13, 1943, for the protection
and management of migratory birds, especially migrating and wintering
waterfowl. Since that time, objectives have been expanded to protect
and manage threatened and endangered species and other wildlife, and
provide for wildlife-oriented public use.
The refuge encompasses 14,032 acres, of which all but 418 acres in
Maryland are located in Accomack County on the Eastern Shore of
Virginia. The refuge also manages three smaller divisions that are
located on the Virginia Barrier Islands: Assawoman Island Division,
which contains 1,434 acres and encompasses the entire island; Metompkin
Island Division, which consists of 174 acres on the north end of the
island; and Cedar Island Division, which contains over 1,412 acres in
fee title and 600 acres in easements. Additional refuge lands include
546 acres on Wildcat Marsh (located on the north end of Chincoteague
Island) and 427 acres on Morris Island (located between Chincoteague
and Assateague Islands).
The refuge's location along the Atlantic Flyway makes it a vital
resting and feeding spot for a large number and diversity of birds.
Within a one-day drive to millions of people, Chincoteague NWR is one
of the most visited refuges in the United States, providing visitors
with outstanding opportunities to learn about and enjoy wildlands and
wildlife.
Refuge staff manages this barrier island habitat to allow many
species of wildlife to co-exist, each establishing its own place in the
environment. For example, the refuge supports breeding populations of
the federally endangered Delmarva Peninsula fox squirrel and the
threatened piping plover. Additionally, the Atlantic loggerhead sea
turtle is a threatened species that nests occasionally on the refuge.
Refuge management programs are targeted to provide feeding and resting
areas for birds in migration, and nesting and brood-rearing habitat for
those birds that find the refuge suitable for reproduction.
The refuge is also one of the top shorebird migratory staging areas
in the United States east of the Rocky Mountains. In 1990, the barrier
islands that make up Chincoteague NWR, along with other barrier islands
of the Eastern Shore of Virginia and Maryland, were designated an
International Shorebird Reserve. This coastal barrier island/lagoon
system has also been designated a World Biosphere Reserve by the United
Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization in
recognition of its great ecological value. Moreover, the Department of
Interior designated the area a National Natural Landmark in recognition
of its outstanding natural values.
The refuge is an important recreational destination point for
people
[[Page 57058]]
living in the Washington, Baltimore, Philadelphia, and New York City
areas. Attracted to the beautiful beach and the aesthetically pleasing
nature of the island, hundreds of thousands of people visit Assateague
Island annually. Managed jointly by the National Park Service and the
FWS, Assateague Island supports a growing tourism economy in the town
of Chincoteague and Accomack County.
Popular attractions within the refuge include the undeveloped
beach, the historic, functioning Assateague Lighthouse, the Wildlife
Loop for automobiles, and 6.5 miles of walking trails (including some
compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act) that provide
viewing opportunities of the Chincoteague ponies, wildlife such as the
sika elk, and migratory birds. The Herbert H. Bateman Educational and
Administrative Center, a green facility that opened in 2003, is the
refuge's visitor center and offers 5,000 square feet of interpretive
natural history exhibits, educational programming, a 125-seat
auditorium, and a classroom/wet laboratory. The refuge also provides
wildlife-dependent recreational opportunities such as fishing, hunting,
and wildlife photography.
Wallops Island NWR was created on July 10, 1975, when 373 acres of
land were transferred to the FWS from the National Aeronautics and
Space Administration (NASA). Wallops Island NWR is located entirely in
Accomack County, Virginia. The refuge, comprised mainly of salt marsh
and woodlands, contains habitat for a variety of trust species,
including upland- and wetland-dependent migratory birds. Wallops Island
NWR was opened for the first time to public hunting in 2002 to reduce
the effects of overbrowsing on refuge habitat by white-tailed deer, and
to reduce the potential of deer collisions with vehicles on the
adjacent State Highway 175 and neighboring NASA flight facility.
Public Availability of Comments
Before including your address, phone number, electronic 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: August 10, 2010.
Anthony D. L[eacute]ger,
Acting Regional Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Hadley, MA
01035.
[FR Doc. 2010-23233 Filed 9-16-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-55-P