[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 184 (Friday, September 21, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 48662-48663]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-23675]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration


Waquoit Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve: Notice of 
Approval and Availability on Revised Management Plan

AGENCY: Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management, National Ocean 
Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, U.S. 
Department of Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of Approval and Availability of the Final Revised 
Management Plan for the Waquiot Bay National Eustraine Research 
Reserve.

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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that the Estuarine Reserves Division 
(ERD), Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management, has approved 
the revised management plan for the Waquoit Bay National Estuarine 
Research Reserve (WBNERR). The WBNERR was designated in 1989 and has 
been operating under a management plan approved in 1989. Pursuant to 
section 921.33(c) of the National Estuarine Research System 
implementing regulations, a state must revise its management plan at 
least every five years, or more often if necessary.
    The revisions to the WBNERR management plan include:
     The renovation of the headquarters site and its structures 
to provide a support base for the administrative, research and 
education activities of the Reserve;
     The significant increase in staff and the concomitant 
increase in activities undertaken under the auspices of the Reserve;
     The proposed acquisition boundary which describes the 
Reserve's plans to expand its boundary. It also describes lands that 
may be acquired for incorporation into the Reserve boundary. The 
approval of this management plan officially incorporates the Quashent 
River parcel and the Great Flat Pond into the Reserve boundary. The 
proposed acquisition boundary describes the Reserve's plans to pursue 
for acquisition approximately 1,250 acres of unprotected areas in the 
Waquoit Bay watershed that coincides with the Mashpee National Wildlife 
Refuge's acquisition boundary.
     The incorporation of the Massachusetts Department of 
Environmental Management's Guidelines for Operations and Land 
Stewardship (GOALS);
     The exhibits at the visitor center, which significantly 
increases visitation to the Reserve; and
     Modifications to the Reserve's advisory committee 
structure that reflect the maturation of the Reserve and its needs at 
this stage of operations.
    The revised management plan demonstrates continued strong support 
from the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Management (DEM) and 
NOAA for research, monitoring and education programs. A long-term 
research plan focuses on understanding the structure and function of 
key habitats, such as the Reserve's five major marsh systems. A 
comparative ecology approach provides the basis for research project 
design and priority setting. Collaborative studies with Federal, state, 
and institutional researchers are encouraged. An associated long-term 
monitoring program will characterize the environmental quality and the 
occurrence and abundance of living resources. Monitoring is designed to 
determine baseline status and trends in habitat quality and the health 
of important resource species.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Doris Grimm, OCRM, Esturarine Reserves 
Division, 1305 East-West Highway, 11th Floor (N/ORM5), Silver Spring, 
Maryland 20910, (301) 713-3155, Extension 107.

    Federal Domestic Assistance Catalog Number 11.420 (Coastal Zone 
management) Research Reserves.


[[Page 48663]]


    Dated: September 17, 2001.
Jamison S. Hawkins,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Ocean Services and Coastal Zone 
Management, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
[FR Doc. 01-23675 Filed 9-20-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-08-M