[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 37 (Wednesday, February 25, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 8628-8629]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-4150]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[I.D. 012304A]


Comment Request: National Estuary Restoration Inventory

AGENCY: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The purpose of this document is to invite the public to 
comment on the recently launched National Estuary Restoration Inventory 
(NERI), an on-line database of estuary habitat restoration projects 
that is available to the public for electronic submission and viewing 
of project information. This document provides background information 
about the inventory and guidelines for submitting comments. The 
National Estuary Restoration Inventory contains information about 
estuary habitat restoration projects implemented across the country. 
Restoration practitioners may submit eligible projects to the inventory 
over the Internet via a user-friendly data entry interface. Approved 
project information will be made available to the public through 
queries and reports on the NERI web site.

DATES: Written comments (in paper or electronic format) will be 
accepted upon publication of this document in the Federal Register and 
must be received by March 26, 2004. Comments received by this date will 
be summarized and may be incorporated into the NERI site at a later 
phase.

ADDRESSES: Direct all written comments to Nancy Lou, NOAA Damage 
Assessment and Restoration Center, 7600 Sand Point Way, Seattle, WA 
98115; ATTN: NERI Public Comments (or via the Internet at 
[email protected]). NERI is available at the following URL: http://neri.noaa.gov/.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Nancy Lou at (206)526-0000 (or via the 
Internet at [email protected]) or Amy Zimmerling at (301)713-2989 (or 
via the Internet at [email protected]).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    The Estuary Restoration Act (ERA), signed into law in November 
2000, makes restoring our estuaries a national priority. The ERA 
promotes the restoration of one million acres of estuarine habitat by 
2010 by leveraging limited Federal resources with state and local 
funding, developing and enhancing monitoring and research capabilities, 
and encouraging partnerships among public agencies and between the 
public and private sectors. As part of the ERA, NOAA is required to 
develop and maintain an inventory of estuary restoration projects.
    The purpose of the inventory is to: provide information on 
monitoring and restoration techniques to advance the science of 
restoration, track acres of habitat restored toward the one million 
acre goal of the ERA, and provide information for reports transmitted 
to Congress. In addition, the inventory may be a resource for 
restoration practitioners to monitor the progress of their own 
restoration projects. Project information can also be shared with the 
restoration community over the NERI web site (see ADDRESSES).
    Phase 1 developments have been completed for the inventory which 
went on-line on February 16, 2004. Phase 2 developments will include 
additional searching capabilities, an interactive mapping application, 
as well as the incorporation of any viable suggestions from this 
request for comments.

II. Overview of the Inventory

    The National Estuary Restoration Inventory is an on-line database 
of restoration projects. Restoration practitioners may voluntarily 
submit eligible restoration projects for entry into the inventory using 
an on-line submission form. Eligible projects must: (1) aim to provide 
ecosystem benefits for estuaries and their associated ecosystems, and 
(2) include monitoring to gauge the success of restoration efforts. 
Submission is mandatory for projects funded through the Estuary 
Restoration Act.
    Restoration practitioners are notified once their project(s) is 
(are) accepted into the inventory via e-mail at which time they may log 
into the inventory and begin entering information for their project(s). 
The data entry interface contains twelve sections for entering data 
including general information, project abstract, contacts, geographic 
location, project benefits, habitat types and acreage restored, 
restoration techniques, monitoring and success criteria, regional 
restoration plans, project partners, budget, and project photos. Once 
updated project information is approved by NERI administrators, the 
data will be made available on-line through queries and reports. To 
assist users with entering and querying data, a detailed Help section 
has been created with descriptions of all inventory fields as well as 
useful tips for searching the inventory. In addition, users may

[[Page 8629]]

contact the NERI administrators with questions, comments, and 
suggestions via e-mail at [email protected].

III. Request for Comments

    Comments are invited on: (a) the usability of the site for 
entering, updating, and viewing information on estuary habitat 
restoration projects; (b) the types of information being tracked, 
including comments on specific fields and/or suggestions for 
additional/fewer fields; (c) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and 
clarity of the information presented; and (d) other suggestions that 
would make the site more user-friendly.
    Comments submitted in response to this notice will be summarized 
and published as part of the public record. All comments will be 
reviewed by the NERI development team and addressed either via e-mail 
response or in a later phase of development. Comments must be received 
by March 26, 2004.

    Dated: February 19, 2004.
Rebecca Lent,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 04-4150 Filed 2-24-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S