[Federal Register: December 24, 1998 (Volume 63, Number 247)] [Notices] [Page 71298-71299] From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr24de98-88] ----------------------------------------------------------------------- DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Fish And Wildlife Service Comprehensive Conservation Plans; Michigan and Minnesota ACTION: Notice of Intent to Prepare Comprehensive Conservation Plans and Associated Environmental Documents. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- SUMMARY: This notice advises the public that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service [[Page 71299]] (Service) intends to gather information necessary to prepare Comprehensive Conservation Plans (CCPs) and environmental assessments for units within Michigan and Minnesota. The CCPs will be prepared for the Wyandotte and Michigan Islands National Wildlife Refuges (NWRs) and the East Lansing Wetland Management District as part of the planning process for Shiawassee NWR. The CCP will be prepared for the Minnesota Valley Wetland Management District as part of the planning process for Minnesota Valley NWR. The Service is furnishing this notice in compliance with the National Wildlife Refuge System Improvement Act of 1997 and the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and implementing regulations: (1) to advise other agencies and the public of our intentions, and (2) to obtain suggestions and information on the scope of issues to include in the environmental document. DATES: Inquire at the address below for due dates for comments regarding specific projects. ADDRESSES: Address comments and requests for more information or to be put on a mailing list to: Chief, Branch of Ascertainment and Planning, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building, 1 Federal Drive, Fort Snelling, Minnesota 55111, 612-713-5429, E-mail: R3PLANNING@mail.fws.gov SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Service will solicit information from the public via open houses and written comments. Special mailings, newspaper articles, and radio announcements in the areas near each unit will inform people of the time and place of open houses to be held in 1999 related to the CCP and NEPA documentation. The National Wildlife Refuge System Improvement Act of 1997 requires that all lands within the National Wildlife Refuge System be managed in accordance with an approved CCP. The CCP guides management decisions and identifies goals, objectives, and strategies for achieving unit purposes. Public input into this planning process is encouraged. The CCPs will provide other agencies and the public with a clear understanding of the desired conditions for each of its units and how the Service will implement management strategies. Shiawassee NWR administers the Wyandotte and Michigan Islands NWRs. Minnesota Valley NWR administers the Minnesota Valley Wetland Management District. The intent to prepare a CCP for the Shiawassee and Minnesota Valley NWRs was published October 1, 1997 (62 FR 51482). Wyandotte NWR consists of two islands and adjacent shallow waters in the Detroit River offshore from Wyandotte, Michigan. The refuge is situated in what was once one of the most significant migratory staging areas for diving ducks in the United States. Extensive beds of aquatic vegetation have disappeared and only a remnant of the once vast rafts of migratory waterfowl are now seen in Wyandotte. Public access is not permitted on either island. Michigan Islands NWR consists of five islands. Thunder Bay and Scarecrow Islands are located in Lake Huron near Alpena, Michigan. The islands total 128 acres and are home to the Federally-threatened Dwarf lake iris (Iris lacustris). American redstarts (Setophaga ruticilla) and American black ducks (Anas rubripes) nest on the islands. Gull, Pismire, and Shoe Islands are part of the Beaver Island Group in northern Lake Michigan. The three islands total 235 acres. Pismire and Shoe Islands are officially designated as the Michigan Islands Wilderness Area. Herring (Larus argentatus) and ring bill gulls (L. Delawarensis), double-crested cormorants (Phalacrocorax auritus), great blue herons (Ardea herodias), and Caspian terns (Sterna caspia) nest on the islands. The East Lansing Wetland Management District consists of two Waterfowl Production Areas, a 160 acre area in Jackson County and a 77 acre area in VanBuren County. The areas are managed primarily to maintain wetland and upland habitat for migrating and nesting waterfowl, migratory birds, and resident game species. Minnesota Valley Wetland Management District is a 13 county district located in east central Minnesota. The district includes portions of the Minnesota, Cannon, and Mississippi River watersheds. Pre-settlement habitat included prairie pothole, native prairie, oak savannah, and big woods habitats. Prevalent land use in the district is agriculture and urban development around the Twin Cities metropolitan area. The major breeding species of waterfowl in the district are mallards (Anas platyrhynchos), blue-winged teal (A. discors), and wood ducks (Aix sponsa). The district consists of 2,248 acres of waterfowl production areas and approximately 700 easement acres. The Service units need CCPs because no formal, up-to-date, long- term management direction exists. Until the CCPs are completed, management will be guided by official unit purposes; the National Wildlife Refuge System Improvement Act of 1997; other Federal legislation regarding management of national wildlife refuges and wilderness; and other legal, regulatory and policy guidance. Upon implementation, the CCPs will apply to Federal lands, easements, and lands leased by the Service within the boundaries of the units. The plans will be consistent with the Service's Ecosystem Approach to Fish and Wildlife Conservation and include approaches to habitat management, wildlife population management, public use management, cultural resource identification and protection, and management of any special uses. The compatibility of uses will be determined as part of the CCP process. The environmental review of these projects will be conducted in accordance with the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), NEPA Regulations (40 CFR parts 1500-1508), the National Wildlife Refuge System Improvement Act of 1997, other appropriate Federal laws and regulations, Executive Order 12996, and Service policies and procedures for compliance with those regulations. We estimate that the first draft CCPs and associated environmental documents will be available by August 1999. Dated: December 8, 1998. Marvin E. Moriarty, Acting Regional Director. [FR Doc. 98-34178 Filed 12-23-98; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4310-55-M