- Alternative
- A reasonable way
to fix the identified problem or satisfy the stated need.
- Approved acquisition
boundary
- A project boundary
which the Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service approves upon
completion of the planning and environmental compliance process. An
approved acquisition boundary only designates those lands which the
Fish and Wildlife Service has authority to acquire and/or manage through
various agreements. Approval of an acquition boundary does not grant
the Fish and Wildlife Service jurisdiction or control over lands within
the boundary, and it does not make lands within the refuge boundary
part of the National Wildlife Refuge System. Lands do not become part
of the National Wildlife Refuge System until they are purchased or are
placed under an agreement that provides for management as part of the
refuge system.
- Biological diversity
or biodiversity
- The variety of
life and its processes and includes the variety of living organisms,
the genetic differences among them, and the communities and ecosystems
in which they occur.
- Candidate species
- A species for which
the Service has on file sufficient information on biological vulnerability
and threat(s) to support a proposal to list as threatened or endangered
species.
- Categorical
Exclusion
- A category of actions
that do not individually or cumulatively have a significant effect on
the human environment and have been found to have no such effect in
procedures adopted by a Federal agency pursuant to the National Environmental
Policy Act.
- CFR
- Code of Federal
Regulations
- Compatible use
- A use that, in
the sound professional judgment of the Director, will not materially
interfere with or detract from the fulfillment of the mission of the
System or the purposes of a refuge.
- Comprehensive
Conservation Plan (CCP) or Comprehensive Management Plan (CMP)
- A document that
provides a description of the desired future conditions and long-range
guidance for the project leader to accomplish purposes of the refuge
system and the refuge. CCPs establish management direction to achieve
refuge purposes.
- Concept Plan
- A document developed
early in the establishment a new refuge, designed to provide the public
with a vision of what the refuge may accomplish.
- Conceptual Management
Plan
- A document that
presents a broad overview of the Service's proposed management approach
to lands included within the National Wildlife Refuge System. Management
actions would be finalized only after additional planning and public
input. Areas addressed include: wildlife and habitats, public uses and
wildlife-dependent recreational activities, wildfire suppression and
prescribed burning, rights-of-way, law enforcement, facilities, public
outreach, and interagency coordination.
- Conservation
easement
- A legal document
that provides specific land-use rights to a secondary party. A perpetual
conservation easement usually grants conservation and management rights
to a party in perpetuity.
- Cooperative
agreement
- A simple habitat
protection action in which no property rights are acquired. An agreement
is usually long-term and can be modified by either party. Lands under
a cooperative agreement do not necessarily become part of the National
Wildlife Refuge System.
- Cultural Resource
Inventory
- A professionally
conducted study designed to locate and evaluate evidence of cultural
resources present within a defined geographic area. Inventories may
involve various levels, including background literature search, comprehensive
field examination to identify all exposed physical manifestations of
cultural resources, or sample inventory to project site distribution
and density over a larger area. Evaluation of identified cultural resources
to determine eligibility for the National Register follows the criteria
found in 36 CFR 60.4.
- Cultural Resource
Overview
- A comprehensive
document prepared for a field office that discusses, among other things,
its prehistory and cultural history, the nature and extent of known
cultural resources, previous research, management objectives, resource
management conflicts or issues, and a general statement on how program
objectives should be met and conflicts resolved. An overview should
reference or incorporate information from a field office's background
or literature search.
- Donation
- A citizen or group
may wish to give land or interests in land to the Service for the benefit
of wildlife. Aside from the cost factor, these acquisitions are no different
than any other means of land acquisition. Gifts and donations have the
same planning requirements as purchases.
- Ecoregion
- A territory defined
by a combination of biological, social, and geographic criteria, rather
than geopolitical considerations; generally, a system of related, interconnected
ecosystems.
- Eminent domain
- The authority given
to federal agencies to condemn land for the public good. Although it
is Service policy to purchase land only from willing sellers, the Service
does have this authority and occasionally uses it to clear title.
- Ecosystem
- A dynamic and interrelating
complex of plant and animal communities and their associated nonliving
environments.
- Endangered species
- A species officially
recognized by Federal and State agencies to be in immediate danger of
extinction throughout all or a significant portion of its range.
- Environmental
Assessment (EA)
- A concise public
document, prepared in compliance with the National Environmental Policy
Act, that briefly discusses the purpose and need for an action, alternatives
to such action, and provides sufficient evidence and analysis of impacts
to determine whether to prepare an environmental impact statement or
finding of no significant impact. .
- Environmental
Impact Statement (EIS)
- A detailed written
statement required by section 102(2)(C) of the National Environmental
Policy Act, analyzing the environmental impacts of a proposed action,
adverse effects of the project that cannot be avoided, alternative courses
of action, short-term uses of the environment versus the maintenance
and enhancement of long-term productivity, and any irreversible and
irretrievable commitment of resources.
- Fee-title
- The acquisition
of most or all of the rights to a tract of land. There is a total transfer
of property rights with the formal conveyance of a title. While a fee
title acquisition involves most rights to a property, certain rights
may be reserved or not purchased, including water rights, mineral rights,
or use reservation (the ability to continue using the land for a specified
time period, or the remainder of the owner's life).
- Finding of No
Significant Impact (FONSI)
- A document prepared
in compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act, supported
by an environmental assessment, that briefly presents why a Federal
action will have no significant effect on the human environment and
for which an environmental impact statement, therefore, will not be
prepared.
- Habitat
- The environment
in which a plant or animal lives (includes vegetation, soil, water,
and other factors).
- Land Protection
Plan (LPP)
- A document that
identifies and prioritizes lands for potential willing-seller acquisition,
and also describes other methods of providing protection. Landowners
within project boundaries will find this document, which is released
with the Environmental Assessments, most useful.
- Lease
- A short-term (usually
5-10 year) agreement for full or specified use in return for a rental
payment (usually annual) and generally includes occupancy rights. The
rights revert back to the owner at the termination of the lease. This
device is useful when the objectives are short term or the owners are
unable to provide other forms of land transfer. The property remains
on the tax rolls during the term of the lease.
- National Environmental
Policy Act (NEPA) (4.2 USC 4321)
- The law that requires
a federal agency to 1) consider every significant aspect of the environmental
impact of a proposed action, 2) involve the public in its decision-making
process when considering environmental concerns, 3) use a systematic,
interdisciplinary approach to decision-making, and 4) consider a reasonable
range of alternatives in every recommendation or report on proposals
for legislation and other major federal actions significantly affecting
the quality of the human environment. More information can be found
on the NEPANET.
- National Wildlife
Refuge System
- All lands, waters,
and interests therein administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
as wildlife refuges, wildlife ranges, wildlife management areas, waterfowl
production areas, and other areas for the protection and conservation
of fish, wildlife, and plant resources.
- Overlay national
wildlife refuge
- Lands and waters
that are under the primary jurisdiction of one Federal agency and the
refuge purpose is superimposed as a secondary interest in the property.
Primary administration is retained by the host agency. Wildlife management
must be compatible with those uses for which the primary agency acquired
the land.
- Public involvement
- The process by
which interested and affected individuals, organizations, agencies,
and governmental entities participate in the planning and decision-making
process.
- Refuge purposes
- The purposes specified
in or derived from the law, proclamation, executive order, agreement,
public land order, donation document, or administrative memorandum establishing,
authorizing, or expanding a refuge, refuge unit, or refuge subunit.
- Step-down management
plans
- Plans that describe
management strategies and implementation schedules. Step-down management
plans deal with specific management subjects (e.g., crop lands, wilderness,
and fire).
- Study area
- Within a larger
ecosystem unit, an area that is characterized by ecological relationships
that provides a broader context for preparing unit Comprehensive Management
Plans.These may include similar landscape types, such as watersheds
and physiographic provinces, regional areas that contribute substantially
to refuge public use, adjacent watersheds that provide refuge water
supplies, or other areas that may directly affect refuge resources.
- Threatened species
- Any species which
is likely to become an endangered species within the foreseeable future
throughout all or a significant portion of its range.
- Wildlife-Dependent
Recreation
- A use of a refuge
involving hunting, fishing, wildlife observation and photography, or
environmental education and interpretation.
- Uniform Relocation
Assistance and Real Property Act
- A law (Public Law
91-646,, as amended) that provides certain benefits and payments to
persons displaced as a result of FWS acquisition of land.
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