[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 78 (Tuesday, April 23, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 23949-23951]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-09486]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[FWS-R5-R-2012-N282; BAC-4311-K9-S3]
Sunkhaze Meadows National Wildlife Refuge and Carlton Pond
Waterfowl Production Area, Penobscot, Kennebec, and Waldo Counties, ME;
Draft Comprehensive Conservation Plan and Environmental Assessment
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability; request for comments.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (we, the Service),
announce the availability of a draft comprehensive conservation plan
and environmental assessment (CCP and EA) for Sunkhaze Meadows National
Wildlife Refuge (NWR) and Carlton Pond Waterfowl Production Area (WPA),
located in Penobscot, Kennebec, and Waldo Counties, Maine, for public
review and comment. The draft CCP and EA describes our proposal for
managing the refuge and WPA for the next 15 years.
Also available for public review and comment are the draft findings
of appropriateness and draft compatibility determinations for uses to
be allowed upon initial completion of the plan, if alternative B is
selected. These are included as appendix B in the draft CCP and EA.
DATES: To ensure consideration, please send your comments no later than
May 31, 2013. We will announce upcoming public meetings in local news
media, via our project mailing list, and on our regional planning Web
site: http://www.fws.gov/northeast/planning/Sunkhaze%20Meadows/ccphome.html.
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.
Email: northeastplanning@fws.gov. Please include ``Sunkhaze Meadows
NWR and Carlton Pond WPA Draft CCP'' in the subject line of the
message.
Fax: Attention: Lia McLaughlin, 413-253-8468.
U.S. Mail: Lia McLaughlin, Natural Resource Planner, U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service, 300 Westgate Center Drive, Hadley, MA 01035.
In-Person Drop-off, Viewing, or Pickup: Call 207-594-0600 to make
an appointment (necessary for view/pickup only) during regular business
hours at Maine Coastal Islands NWR, 9 Water Street, Rockland, ME 04841.
For more information on locations for viewing or obtaining documents,
see ``Public Availability of Documents'' under SUPPLEMENTARY
INFORMATION.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Beth Goettel, Refuge Manager, 207-594-
0600 (phone), or Lia McLaughlin, Planning Team Leader, 413-253-8575
(phone); northeastplanning@fws.gov (email).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Introduction
With this notice, we continue the CCP process for Sunkhaze Meadows
NWR and Carlton Pond WPA. We started this process through a notice in
the Federal Register (76 FR 14984; March 18, 2011).
Currently, Sunkhaze Meadows NWR is comprised of three units: the
Sunkhaze Meadows Unit, the Benton Unit, and the Sandy Stream Unit. The
Sunkhaze Meadows Unit is the largest of the three, at 11,484 acres,
located in the town of Milford in Penobscot County. The Benton Unit is
a 334-acre former dairy farm in the town of Benton in Kennebec County.
The Sandy Stream Unit is a 58-acre parcel in the town of Unity in Waldo
County. Sunkhaze Meadows NWR was established in 1988 to preserve the
Sunkhaze Meadows peat bog (now the Sunkhaze Meadows Unit) and to ensure
public access to this unique environment. Sunkhaze Meadows NWR includes
more than 3,450 acres of freshwater wetland-peatland that provides
breeding and migrating habitat for waterfowl and other wetland species.
Carlton Pond WPA is a 1,068-acre artificial impoundment located in
the town of Troy in Waldo County. The area was acquired by the Service
in 1966 to protect the waterfowl and other wildlife associated with
this area in central Maine. Carlton Pond WPA has historically provided
good nesting habitat for waterfowl and other birds, and is one of the
few areas in Maine that provides nesting habitat for the black tern,
which is listed as endangered by the State. Many bird species that use
Carlton Pond WPA have been listed by the Partners In Flight
organization as species that are declining.
Sunkhaze NWR and Carlton Pond WPA are currently administered by
staff from Maine Coastal Islands NWR. Both areas offer an abundance of
wildlife observation and photography opportunities. Partners offer
limited environmental education and interpretation programs. Visitors
to the refuge and WPA also participate in outdoor recreation activities
such as hiking, snowmobiling, hunting, and fishing.
Background
The CCP Process
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 national wildlife refuge. The purpose for
developing 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, 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.
Public Outreach
We started pre-planning for the Sunkhaze Meadows NWR and Carlton
Pond WPA CCP on January 4, 2011. In March 2011, we published a notice
of intent in the Federal Register, a press release, and a newsletter,
all announcing our intent to prepare a CCP for the refuge and WPA. In
March and April 2011, we had a formal public scoping period. The
purpose of the public scoping period was to solicit comments from the
community and other interested parties on the issues and impacts that
should be evaluated in the draft CCP and EA. To help solicit public
comments, we held two public meetings at the Milford Town Hall and one
public meeting at Unity College during the formal public scoping
period.
[[Page 23950]]
Throughout the rest of the planning process, we have conducted
additional outreach by holding an additional public meeting on
potential wilderness designation on February 9, 2012, and by
participating in community meetings, events, and other public forums.
In addition to the initial newsletter, we have published three
newsletters updating the public on our progress with the CCP. We
received comments on topics such as the potential effects of climate
change, improving biological connectivity, forest management, potential
wilderness designation, staffing needs, expanding partnerships, trail
maintenance, and public uses of the refuge and WPA. We have considered
and evaluated all of the comments we received and addressed them in
various ways in the alternatives presented in the draft CCP and EA.
CCP Alternatives We Are Considering
During the public scoping process, we, the Maine Department of
Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, other governmental partners, and the
public raised several issues. To address these issues, we developed and
evaluated three alternatives in the draft CCP and EA. Here we present a
brief summary of each of the alternatives; a full description of each
alternative is in the draft CCP and EA. All alternatives include
measures to control invasive species, monitor and abate diseases
affecting wildlife and plant health, and protect cultural resources. In
addition, we have made the preliminary determination that Sunkhaze
Stream and tributaries within the refuge boundary are eligible for Wild
and Scenic River designation. Under all alternatives we would complete
the suitability study to determine if the stream and its tributaries
are suitable for this designation under the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act.
Carlton Pond WPA would also continue to be managed primarily to benefit
the State-listed black tern under all alternatives. There are also
several actions that are common to both alternatives B and C. These
include establishing climate change monitoring, expanding partnerships,
and expanding cultural resource protection and interpretation.
Alternative A (Current Management)
Alternative A (current management) satisfies the National
Environmental Policy Act (40 CFR 1506.6(b)) requirement of a ``No
Action'' alternative, which we define as ``continuing current
management.'' It describes our existing management priorities and
activities, and serves as a baseline for comparing and contrasting
alternatives B and C. It would maintain our present levels of approved
refuge and WPA staffing and the biological and visitor programs now in
place. We would continue to focus on preserving the freshwater wetland-
peatland complex on the Sunkhaze Meadows Unit, which provides habitat
for breeding waterfowl. We would also continue to preserve the open
water and emergent marsh habitat at Carlton Pond WPA, the grassland
habitat at the Benton Unit, and the shrubland and riparian habitat at
the Sandy Stream Unit. Public use activities such as wildlife
observation, photography, hiking, snowmobiling, and hunting would
continue to be allowed. Our environmental education program would
continue to allow visitor access to refuge units and the WPA for
environmental education purposes and conducting interpretation
programs.
Alternative B (Increased Habitat Enhancement and Improved Visitor
Services)
This alternative is the Service-preferred alternative. It combines
the actions we believe would most effectively achieve the refuge's and
WPA's purposes, vision, and goals, and respond to the issues raised
during the scoping period. Under alternative B, we would focus on the
preservation of the peatland-wetland complex and mature forest within
the Sunkhaze Meadow Unit. We would largely maintain existing forest and
grassland habitat at the Benton Unit; however, we would convert about
22 acres of forest habitat to grasslands if feasible. We would expand
the riparian forest at the Sandy Stream Unit to protect water quality;
we would continue to maintain the rest as shrubland habitat.
We would expand and improve our visitor services programs by
providing some Service-led environmental education and interpretation
programs. We would also work with partners to offer more educational
and interpretive opportunities. We would continue to offer hunting and
fishing opportunities as well as allowing other existing uses of the
refuge units such as snowmobiling. We would maintain the refuge's most
popular walking trails at the Sunkhaze Meadows Unit, including creating
some small connector trails. We would stop maintaining two of the
unit's less-used trails. We would also create a small connector trail
at the Benton Unit, develop new interpretive materials for all of the
units and the WPA, and develop new interpretive panels for the Benton
Unit. Refuge staff would update existing trail signs and interpretive
panels.
Alternative C (Intensive Habitat Management and Increased Public Use)
Under alternative C, we would continue to focus on the preservation
of the peatland-wetland complex at the Sunkhaze Meadows Unit. However,
in contrast to alternatives A and B, this alternative includes shifting
management of some mature forest and grasslands to shrubland and young
forest habitat within the Sunkhaze Meadow Unit and the Benton Unit to
benefit species that rely on shrubland and young forest habitat.
Management of the Sandy Stream Unit and Carlton Pond WPA would be
similar to alternative B. Under alternative C, we would also work
closely with partners to increase and enhance public use activities,
such as expanding the trails at the Benton Unit and providing more
environmental education and interpretation programming.
Public Availability of Documents
In addition to any methods in ADDRESSES, you can view or obtain
documents at the following locations:
Our Web site: http://www.fws.gov/northeast/planning/Sunkhaze%20Meadows/ccphome.html Public Libraries: The Old Town Public
Library, located at 46 Middle Street, Old Town, ME 04468, and the
DorothyWebb Quimby Library, located at Unity College, 90 Quaker Hill
Road, Unity, ME 04988, during regular library hours.
Submitting Comments/Issues for Comment
We are seeking substantive comments, particularly on the following
issues:
Public uses of the refuge and WPA; and
Potential for future wild and scenic river designation at
the Sunkhaze Meadows Unit.
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 EA.
Present reasonable alternatives other than those presented
in the EA.
Provide new or additional information relevant to the EA.
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, email address, or
other personal identifying information in your
[[Page 23951]]
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: March 27, 2013.
Deborah Rocque,
Acting Regional Director, Northeast Region.
[FR Doc. 2013-09486 Filed 4-22-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-55-P