[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 228 (Tuesday, November 28, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Pages 58635-58636]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-28918]



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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Notice of Intent To prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for 
the Acquisition of Lands for the Big Muddy National Fish and Wildlife 
Refuge in Counties Adjacent to the Missouri River From the Confluence 
of the Kansas and Missouri Rivers Near Kansas City, Missouri, to the 
Confluence of the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers Near St. Louis, 
Missouri

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of Intent.

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SUMMARY: This notice advises the public that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife 
Service (Service) intends to gather information necessary to prepare an 
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the acquisition of lands for 
the Big Muddy National Fish and Wildlife Refuge (refuge) in Missouri. 
Public ``open house'' meetings will be held. Dates, times, and 
locations of the open house scoping meetings will be published in local 
media in advance.
    This notice is being furnished as required by the National 
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) Regulations (40 CFR 1501.7) to obtain 
suggestions and information from other agencies and the public on the 
scope of issues to be addressed in the EIS. Comments and participation 
in this scoping process are solicited.

DATES: Written comments should be received by March 27, 1996. Public 
open house meetings will be held from 1:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. as 
follows:

January 8, 1996, Park Place Hotel, 1601 Universal, Kansas City, 
Missouri 64120.
January 9, 1996, Marshall Inn, Highway 65 Bypass, Marshall, Missouri 
65340.
January 10, 1996, Capitol Plaza Hotel, 415 West McCarty, Jefferson 
City, Missouri 65101.
January 11, 1996, Jaycees Hall, City park, Washington and 11th Streets, 
Hermann, Missouri 65041.
January 12, 1996, The Heart of St. Charles Banquet Center, 1400 South 
5th Street, St. Charles, Missouri 63301.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
J.C. Bryant, Project Leader, Big Muddy National Fish and Wildlife 
Refuge, 4200 New Haven Road, Columbia, Missouri 65201-9643; Telephone 
1-800-611-1826.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: R. Wayne Weier, Wildlife Biologist, U.S. 
Fish and Wildlife Service, 24385 State Highway 51, Puxico, Missouri 
63960 is the primary author of this document.

Proposed Action

    The Service proposes to acquire 60,000 acres, more or less, of 
Missouri River floodplain land at multiple sites along the Kansas City 
to St. Louis reach (Map 1) for management as a unit of the National 
Wildlife Refuge System. The project area encompasses River Miles 367 to 
0 and includes the lower 10 miles of tributary streams and rivers. Land 
would be acquired from willing sellers through fee less, easement, or 
other property transfer arrangements. The project would involve less 
than ten percent of the floodplain in this river reach if the entire 
acreage were acquired.

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Map. 1. Study area for proposed land acquisition.

Purpose of Action

    The purpose of the proposed action is to contribute to the 
Service's resource responsibilities, as stated in the Service's mission 
statement, through protection, restoration, and management of Missouri 
River floodplain lands in the benefit of fish, wildlife, and their 
habitats and to provide for compatible public use.

Need for Action

    The action is proposed to meet Service stewardship mandates for 
interjurisdictional fish, migratory birds, and threatened and 
endangered species. Channelization and floodplain development have led 
to the loss of over 500,000 acres of aquatic and terrestrial habitat in 
the Lower Missouri River floodplain (between Sioux City, Iowa, and St. 
Louis, Missouri) since 1912. Consequently, native fish and wildlife 
resources dependent upon the river and its associated floodplain have 
declined dramatically. Land acquisition and habitat restoration would 
benefit a diversity of fish and wildlife resources, including native 
river fishes, birds such as waterfowl, shorebirds, and passerine birds, 
and advance the recovery of Federally-listed threatened and endangered 
species.

Related Actions of Other Agencies

    Acquisition of lands and rights to lands under existing Service 
authorities would complement other floodplain land acquisition being 
done along this reach of the Missouri River by the U.S. Army Corps of 
Engineers, the Natural Resources Conservation Service, the Missouri 
Department of Conservation, and the Federal Emergency Management 
Agency. Depending on agency missions, these acquisitions are being made 
to restore Missouri River habitats, contribute to the river's floodway, 
or to alleviate past or future flood damage.

Alternatives

    Alternatives for the Service to pursue restoration of the Missouri 
River ecosystem to benefit fish and wildlife include: (1) Acquiring 
appropriate ownership interest in floodplain lands and managing those 
lands as Big Muddy National Fish and Wildlife Refuge--a unit of the 
National Wildlife Refuge System, (2) non-acquisition methods, such as 
private lands initiatives or public information thrusts, and (3) no 
action. These alternatives, along with others identified during the 
scoping process, may or may not be examined in detail in the EIS.

Issues

    The following would be likely issues under the Service's proposed 
action: (1) Floodplain land use: Agricultural uses of acquired lands 
would mostly cease. Forest and wetland habitat, and areas available for 
outdoor recreation, would increase. Acquired lands would no longer be 
available to others for purchase. New or expanded transportation and 
utility systems across refuge land could be authorized through Service 
issuance of right-of-way permits. (2) Fish and wildlife: The river 
eventually would reconnect to its floodplain on the refuge, restoring 
floodplain habitats and functions to the benefit of fish and wildlife, 
including Federally-listed threatened and endangered species. (3) 
Economics: Both pluses and minuses would occur. On acquired lands, 
economic returns from agriculture would mostly cease, while returns 
from outdoor recreation would likely increase. Long-term, increases in 
economic returns from commercial fishing and timber harvest could be 
possible. Little impact on commercial navigation is expected. (4) 
Drainage and flooding: Previously established drainage across the 
refuge would continue. The Missouri River would have a larger floodway 
in certain areas. (5) Levee and drainage districts: The Service would 
develop cooperative agreements with levee and drainage districts as 
required to address specific needs, including levee and drainage system 
maintenance. (6) County tax revenues: Lands and Service acquired in fee 
title would be removed from county tax rolls; tax revenue losses would 
be offset by annual payments to those counties through the Refuge 
Revenue Sharing Act. (7) Taxes associated with transfer of title: On 
accreted lands, or for long-term ownerships, capital gains taxes could 
be so high as to deter land sales by certain owners who would otherwise 
be willing to sell.

Other Information

    The environmental review of this proposal will be conducted in 
accordance with the requirements of the National Environmental Policy 
Act of 1969, as amended (42 U.S.C. 4371 et seq.), NEPA regulations (40 
CFR 1500-1508), other appropriate Federal regulations, and Service 
procedures for compliance with those regulations.
    We estimate the Draft EIS will be available to the public by Fall, 
1996.

    Dated: October 27, 1995.
Marvin E. Moriarty,
Acting Regional Director.
[FR Doc. 95-28918 Filed 11-27-95; 8:45 am]
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