[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 200 (Tuesday, October 16, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 63326-63327]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-25337]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[FWS-R6-R-2008-N0186; FF06R06000 134 FXRS1265066CCP0]
Huron Wetland Management District, Madison Wetland Management
District, and Sand Lake Wetland Management District, SD; Final
Comprehensive Conservation Plan and Finding of No Significant Impact
for Environmental Assessment
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of Availability.
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SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce the
availability of our final comprehensive conservation plan (CCP) and
finding of no significant impact (FONSI) for the environmental
assessment (EA) involving Huron, Madison, and Sand Lake Wetland
Management Districts (Districts). In this final CCP, we describe how we
will manage these three Districts for the next 15 years.
ADDRESSES: You may view or obtain copies of the final CCP and FONSI/EA
by any of the following methods. You may request a hard copy or CD-ROM.
Agency Web Site: Download a copy of the document at http://mountain-prairie.fws.gov/planning.
Email: bernardo_garza@fws.gov. Include ``Huron Wetland Management
District, Madison Wetland Management District, Sand Lake Wetland
Management District final CCP'' in the subject line of the message.
Mail: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Division of Refuge Planning,
P.O. Box 25486, Denver Federal Center, Denver, Colorado 80225.
In person Viewing or Pickup: call 303-236-4377 to make an
appointment during regular business hours at 134 Union Boulevard, Suite
300, Lakewood, Colorado 80228.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Bernardo Garza, 303-236-4377, (phone);
bernardo_garza@fws.gov (email).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Introduction
With this notice, we finalize the CCP process for Huron Wetland
Management District, Madison Wetland Management District, Sand Lake
Wetland Management District. We started this process through a notice
in the Federal Register (73 FR 53439, September 16, 2008). We released
the draft CCP and the EA to the public, announcing and requesting
comments in a notice of availability in the Federal Register (76 FR
65525, October 21, 2011).
Huron Wetland Management District was established in 1992
encompassing lands that were previously under the management of both
the Lake Andes and Sand Lake Wetland Management Districts. Madison
Wetland Management District was established in 1969. Sand Lake Wetland
Management District was established in 1961. These Districts lie in
eastern South Dakota, within the highly productive Prairie Pothole
region. These Districts are three of six existing Districts in South
Dakota, and together manage more than 1.5 million acres of land within
the 27-county planning area. A mosaic of primarily tallgrass and mixed-
grass prairies dotted with many small lakes
[[Page 63327]]
and semipermanent or permanent wetlands, interspersed among
agricultural lands, comprise most of the Districts.
These diverse prairie habitats provide for a myriad of waterfowl,
waterbird, and neotropical migratory bird species, resident white-
tailed deer, as well as federally listed species such as whooping and
sandhill cranes, least terns, and piping plovers in the eastern portion
of the districts to pronghorn, mule deer, and prairie chicken, among
others, in the westernmost portion of the planning area. Native fish
such as walleye and lake trout, as well as a large variety of other
smaller native fish species, share this environment with sport fishes
such as smallmouth and largemouth bass, bluegill and northern pike.
Wetland drainage and tiling, as well as prairie conversion to crop
production, pose some of the greatest challenges to the wildlife and
native plant species of this region of the Central Flyway.
The Districts were created to administer the Small Wetlands
Acquisition Program to protect wetlands from various threats--
particularly drainage. Grassland easements were included in this
program in 1991. The purpose of the Districts is ``to assure the long-
term viability of the breeding waterfowl population and production
through the acquisition and management of waterfowl production areas,
while considering the needs of other migratory birds, threatened and
endangered species, and other wildlife.'' This purpose statement was
developed for all Region 6 wetland management districts.
Despite the decentralized nature of the lands managed by the three
districts, it is estimated that annual visitation to all three
districts' lands totaled more than 240,000 visitor-days, with nearly 75
percent of this visitation involving local residents and the remaining
25 percent from visitors from outside of the planning area. Hunting
accounted for nearly 80 percent of the total visitation, followed by
fishing with nearly 12 percent, and non-consumptive uses, such as bird
watching and wildlife photography, accounting for less than eight
percent. Trapping is also a popular activity among visitors to the
Districts.
The Districts have been historically managed for migratory birds,
with an emphasis on waterfowl species. Management techniques include
prescribed burning, cattle grazing, invasive species control, and water
level management in wetlands with water control structures. Past
management has included installing some water control structures and
constructing channels used to divert water. The planning area is a
popular area for research by the Service and local universities, as
well as state and other partners, given its diversity of wildlife and
plants.
We announce our decision and the availability of the FONSI for the
final CCP for the Huron Wetland Management District, Madison Wetland
Management District, and Sand Lake Wetland Management District in
accordance with National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) (40 CFR
1506.6(b)) requirements. We completed a thorough analysis of impacts on
the human environment, which we included in the EA that accompanied the
draft CCP.
The CCP will guide us in managing and administering Huron Wetland
Management District, Madison Wetland Management District, and Sand Lake
Wetland Management District for the next 15 years. Alternative B, as we
described in the final CCP, is the foundation for the CCP.
Background
The National Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act of 1966 (16
U.S.C. 668dd-668ee) (Refuge Administration Act), as amended by the
National Wildlife Refuge System Improvement Act of 1997, requires us to
develop a CCP for each unit of the National Wildlife Refuge System
(System). The purpose for developing a CCP is to provide refuge
managers with a 15-year plan for achieving their unit's purposes and
contributing toward the mission of the System, 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 Refuge Administration Act.
CCP Alternatives, Including Selected Alternative
Our draft CCP and our EA addressed and evaluated three management
alternatives. Alternative A, Current Management, would have maintained
the current management activities of each of the three Districts.
Alternative B, Increased Efficiency, would seek the development and
implementation of an improved, science-based priority system to restore
native prairie habitats. Alternative C, Increased Efficiency with
Expanded Resources, would follow the same prioritization system for
restoration and management as under Alternative B, but it would be
based on projected staffing and funding increases.
Comments
We solicited comments on the draft CCP and the EA for Huron,
Madison, and Sand Lake Wetland Management Districts from October 21,
2011 to November 21, 2011 (76 FR 65525, October 21, 2011). The Service
received 9 comments during the public review period. All of those
comments were thoroughly evaluated by the planning team. However none
of the comments caused substantial changes to the CCP.
Selected Alternative
After considering the comments we received, we have selected
Alternative B for implementation. This alternative, also known as
Increased Efficiency, would emphasize developing and implementing an
improved, science-based priority system to restore native prairie
habitats for the benefit of waterfowl and other migratory birds.
Districts staffs will focus on high priority tracts and, when possible,
on medium-priority tracts. The focus of this will be to restore
ecological processes and native grassland species to the greatest
extent possible within the parameters of available resources and
existing budgetary and staffing constraints. The Districts' staffs will
seek to maintain the existing levels and types of public use programs,
ensuring that programs offered to the public are of consistently high
quality.
Dated: September 12, 2012.
Steve Guertin,
Regional Director, Mountain-Prairie Region, U. S. Fish and Wildlife
Service.
[FR Doc. 2012-25337 Filed 10-15-12; 8:45 am]
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