[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 190 (Wednesday, October 1, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 51482-51483]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-25967]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service


Comprehensive Management Plan

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare comprehensive management plans and 
associated environmental documents.

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SUMMARY: This notice advises the pubic that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife 
Service (Service) intends to gather information necessary to prepare 
comprehensive management plans (CMPs) and environmental assessments for 
units within Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, and Ohio. 
Readers should note that pending legislation may change the names of 
CMPs to comprehensive conservation plans. The CMPs will be prepared for 
the Illinois River Refuges and Mark Twain, DeSoto, Shiawassee, 
Minnesota Valley, Squaw Creek, and Ottawa National Wildlife Refuges and 
the Wetland Management Districts in Minnesota. The Service is 
furnishing this notice in compliance with Service CMP policy 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 one 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) 725-3306, E-
mail: [email protected]

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 
1997 and 1998 related to the CMP and NEPA documentation.

[[Page 51483]]

    It is Service policy to have all lands within the National Wildlife 
Refuge System managed in accordance with an approved CMP. The CMP 
guides management decisions and identifies goals, objectives, and 
strategies for achieving unit purposes. Public input into this planning 
process is encouraged. The CMPs will provide other agencies and the 
public with a clear understanding of the desired conditions of each of 
its units and how the Service will implement management strategies.
    The Illinois River National Wildlife and Fish Refuges is a complex 
of four areas in the Illinois River floodplain. The names of the four 
areas, the year they were established, and their acreage are: 
Chautauqua Refuge (1936) 4,658; Meredosia Refuge (1973) 3,397; Emiquon 
Refuge, which is authorized for 11,312 acres, (1993) 1,120; and the 
Cameron/Billsbach Unit (1958) 1,709. Each of the areas consists of 
backwater lakes, bottomland forests, floodplain wetland, and a small 
amount of upland forest.
    The Mark Twain National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) Complex encompasses 
over 350 miles of the Mississippi River bottoms between Muscatine, 
Iowa, and Gorham, Illinois. As part of an area of 100,000 acres 
cooperatively managed by the States of Iowa, Illinois, and Missouri, 
and the Corps of Engineers, the Service directly manages 31,500 acres. 
The Refuge was established in 1958 and includes the Wapello, Iowa; 
Annada, Missouri; and Brussels, Illinois Districts; and the Clarence 
Cannon NWR in Missouri. The Refuge is part of the internationally 
significant migratory bird corridor along the Mississippi River.
    DeSoto NWR is located in southwestern Iowa, approximately 30 miles 
north of Omaha, Nebraska. Established in 1958, the Refuge includes 
3,499 acres in Iowa and 4,324 acres in Nebraska. Located in the 
Missouri River Valley, the Refuge is a fall migration stop for hundreds 
of thousands of snow geese. In addition, the Refuge houses a salvaged 
1860's steamboat and its cargo.
    Shiawassee NWR consists of 9,102 acres located near Saginaw, 
Michigan. The Refuge was established in 1953 and has an approved plan 
to expand by 7,500 acres. The Refuge is part of the ``Shiawassee 
Flats'' in the Saginaw Bay watershed, historically one of the largest 
and most productive wetland ecosystems in Michigan.
    Minnesota Valley NWR, which was established in 1976, consists of 
9,429 acres within the metropolitan area of Minneapolis and St. Paul, 
Minnesota. The Refuge, which has an authorized acreage of 14,000, is a 
greenbelt providing wildlife habitat along 34 miles of the Minnesota 
River. The Refuge also provides environmental education and compatible 
outdoor recreation opportunities.
    Squaw Creek NWR, which was established in 1935, includes 7,178 
acres of the Missouri River floodplain. Located northwest of St. 
Joseph, Missouri, the Refuge is a major wintering area for bald eagles 
and snow geese. Wetlands and loess bluff hills with remnants of native 
prairie exist within the Refuge.
    Ottawa NWR (5,794 acres) and its satellite units, Cedar Point 
National Wildlife Refuge (2,445 acres) and West Sister Island National 
Wildlife Refuge and Wilderness Area (77 acres), are situated along the 
southwestern shore of Lake Erie in Lucas and Ottawa Counties, Ohio. The 
major parcel of Ottawa NWR was acquired in 1961 with land acquired 
under the authority of the Migratory Bird Conservation Act. Cedar Point 
was accepted as a donation by the Secretary of Interior in 1964. West 
Sister Island was established as a Refuge in 1938 by Presidential Order 
and was designated a National Wilderness in 1975. Under a lease 
agreement, Ottawa NWR also manages the Navarre Marsh, which is owned by 
the Toledo Edison Power Company. The Refuge is authorized to expand by 
an additional 5,000 acres.
    The five Minnesota Wetland Management Districts (WMDs) exist within 
the Prairie Pothole Region. In 1958, Congress amended The Duck Stamp 
Act to authorize acquisition of wetlands and uplands as Waterfowl 
Production Areas (WPAs). The WPAs became part of the National Wildlife 
Refuge System in 1966 through the National Wildlife Refuge 
Administration Act. The WMDs were created in 1962 as the acquisition of 
wetlands and uplands accelerated due to a loan from Congress against 
future Duck Stamp sales. The WMDs include approximately 172,000 acres. 
In addition to WPAs, WMD staff manage wetland and grassland easements 
that are perpetual contracts with private landowners. Current wetland 
easement acreage is approximately 62,000.
    The Service units need CMPs because no formal, up-to-date, long-
term management direction exists. Until the CMPs are completed, 
management will be guided by official unit purposes; Management and 
General Public Use of the National Wildlife Refuge System (Executive 
Order 12996); Federal legislation regarding management of national 
wildlife refuges and wilderness; and other legal, regulatory and policy 
guidance.
    Upon implementation, the CMPs 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, cultural resource 
identification and protection, and management of any special uses.
    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 1500-1508), 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 CMPs and associated environmental 
documents will be available by March 1998.

    Dated: September 25, 1997.
Marvin E. Moriarty,
Acting Regional Director.
[FR Doc. 97-25967 Filed 9-30-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-55-M