[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 205 (Monday, October 25, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 62284-62285]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-23832]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service


Draft Revised Comprehensive Conservation Plan for Kodiak National 
Wildlife Refuge, Alaska

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Department of the Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) announces that 
the Revised Draft Comprehensive Conservation Plan (Draft Conservation 
Plan) and Environmental Impact Statement for the Kodiak National 
Wildlife Refuge is available for review and comment. The Draft 
Conservation Plan was prepared pursuant to the Alaska National Interest 
Lands Conservation Act of 1980 (ANILCA; 16 U.S.C. 140hh-3233, 43 U.S.C. 
1602-1784), the National Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act of 
1966 (Refuge Administration Act) as amended by the National Wildlife 
Refuge System Improvement Act of 1997 (Refuge Improvement Act) (16 
U.S.C. 668dd-668ee), and the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 
as amended (42 U.S.C. 4321-4347). Four alternatives for management of 
the Kodiak Refuge over the next 15 years, including continuing current 
management, are considered in the Draft Conservation Plan.

DATES: Comments on the Draft Conservation Plan must be received on or 
before January 24, 2005.
    Public Meetings: Meetings will be held in Anchorage, the City of 
Kodiak, and in other local communities near the Refuge, as requested. 
Dates, times, and locations of these meetings will be announced at a 
later date and advertised in these communities, as appropriate.

ADDRESSES: To provide written comments or to request a paper copy or a 
compact diskette of the Draft Conservation Plan, contact Mikel Haase, 
Planning Team Leader, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 1011 East Tudor 
Road, MS 231, Anchorage, Alaska, 99503-6199; telephone: (907) 786-3402; 
fax: (907) 786-3965. You may also access or download a copy of the 
Draft Conservation Plan at the following Web site: http://alaska.fws.gov/planning. Comments may be e-mailed to: [email protected].
    Copies of the Draft Conservation Plan may be viewed at the Kodiak 
Refuge Office, 1390 Bushkin River Road, Kodiak, Alaska; local 
libraries, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Regional Office in 
Anchorage, Alaska.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mikel Haase at the above address or by 
phone at (907) 786-3402.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Alaska National Interest Lands 
Conservation Act requires development of a conservation plan for all 
national wildlife refuges in Alaska. The Draft Conservation Plan for 
the Kodiak Refuge was developed consistent with Section 304(g) of 
ANILCA and the National Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act as 
amended by the National Wildlife Refuge System Improvement Act. 
Conservation plans provide refuge managers with a 15-year management 
strategy for achieving refuge purposes and contributing toward the 
mission of the National Wildlife Refuge System, consistent with sound 
principles of fish, wildlife, and habitat management and conservation; 
legal mandates; and Service policies. Plans define long-term goals and 
objectives toward which refuge management activities are directed and 
identify which uses may be compatible with the purposes of the refuge. 
They identify wildlife-dependent recreation opportunities available to 
the public, including hunting, fishing, wildlife observation and 
photography, and environmental education and interpretation. 
Conservation plans are updated in accordance with planning direction in 
Section 304(g) of ANILCA and with the National Environmental Policy 
Act.
    Background: On August 19, 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt 
established the Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge by Executive Order 8857 
``for the purpose of protecting the natural feeding and breeding ranges 
of the brown bears and other wildlife on Uganik and Kodiak Islands.'' 
The Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act of 1971 allowed the conveyance 
of about 310,000 acres of Refuge land to Native village corporations.
    On December 2, 1980, ANILCA added about 50,000 acres on Afognak and 
Ban islands to the Kodiak Refuge and stated that the Kodiak Refuge 
purposes include: To conserve fish and wildlife populations and 
habitats in their natural diversity; to fulfill international treaty 
obligations of the United States with respect to fish and wildlife and 
their habitats; to provide the opportunity to continued subsistence use 
by local residents; and to ensure water quality and necessary water 
quantity within the Refuge.
    Since 1994, the Service has purchase fee title to nearly 174,000 
acres, and conservation or nondevelopment easements have been acquired 
on more than 100,000 acres within the Refuge boundaries. Today, Refuge 
boundaries encompass nearly 1.8 million acres, of which nearly 1.64 
million acres (92 percent) are under Service jurisdiction.
    The original Kodiak conservation plan was completed in 1987. The 
plan was prepared following direction in Section 304(g) of ANILCA. The 
1997 Refuge Improvement Act includes additional direction for 
conservation planning throughout the Refuge System. This direction has 
been incorporated into national planning policy for the Refuge System, 
including refuges in Alaska. This draft revision of the Kodiak 
conservation plan meets the requirements of both ANILCA and the Refuge 
Improvement Act.
    Issues raised during scoping and addressed in this draft 
conservation plan are (1) how to manage public use, given limited 
access and projected growth in demand, to continue providing 
opportunities for appropriate and quality use while preventing 
significant impacts to Refuge resources; and (2) what types of bear-
viewing opportunities should be available on the Refuge and how should 
these

[[Page 62285]]

opportunities be managed while protecting bears and their habitats.
    This draft conservation plan identifies and evaluates four 
alternatives for managing the Kodiak Refuge for the next 15 years. 
These alternatives follow the same general management direction but 
provide different ways of addressing the issues.
    Alternative A: Current Management: Management of the Refuge would 
continue to follow the 1987 conservation plan and record of decision as 
modified by subsequent step-down plans, including fisheries and public 
use management plans. Private and commercial uses of the refuge would 
continue at current levels. Refuge management would continue to reflect 
existing laws, executive orders, regulations, and policies governing 
Service administration and operation of the National Wildlife Refuge 
System. Regulations would be adopted to seasonally limit all public use 
(commercial users are restricted by stipulations placed on their 
special use permits) of nine bear-concentration areas; to close two 
bear-denning areas to snowmachine use; and to restrict camping near 
public use cabins and administrative facilities. Seven existing public 
use cabins would be maintained, two additional cabins would be 
constructed, and cabins on newly acquired lands would be managed for 
public use, if located on appropriate sites. Impacts at heavily used 
camping areas would be managed by restricting use through regulations. 
The seasonal closure to all users at O'Malley River would continue with 
no formal bear-viewing program. Refuge lands would continue to be 
managed under Moderate (44,627 acres) and Minimal (1,578,700 acres) 
management categories, with Special River Management as an option for 
rivers receiving higher levels of public use.
    Alternative B: Much of the general management direction in 
Alternative A would continue, although some specific directions and 
actions occurring under current management would be altered or not 
pursued under this alternative. Clearer goals and objectives for 
increasing our knowledge of wildlife and habitat needs and 
relationships would be established. Public use monitoring would 
facilitate wildlife-dependent recreation, subsistence, and other 
traditional uses. None of the regulations proposed in Alternative A 
would be promulgated; voluntary guidelines for public use of bear-
concentration areas would be developed. These guidelines would replace 
use restrictions on special use permits issued to commercial users. The 
number of public use cabins would be allowed to expand as demand 
increases, either by constructing new cabins or by managing cabins on 
newly acquired lands for public use. Food storage containers, latrines, 
temporary electric fences, and other minor improvements could be 
provided if needed at popular camping areas to reduce impacts. The 
O'Malley River closure would be modified to allow a guide operating 
under a refuge special use permit to operate a formal bear-viewing 
program. The permit would be awarded competitively. Refuge lands would 
continue to be managed in Moderate and Minimal management categories as 
in Alternative A. The Special River Management category would be 
eliminated.
    Alternative C: Much of the general management direction in 
Alternative A would continue, although some specific directions and 
actions occurring under current management would be altered or not 
pursued in this alternative. As with Alternative B, clearer goals and 
objectives for increasing our knowledge of wildlife and habitat needs 
and relationships would be established. Public use monitoring would 
facilitate wildlife-dependent recreation, subsistence, and other 
traditional uses. Voluntary guidelines for public use of bear-
concentration areas would be developed. These guidelines would replace 
use restrictions on special use permits issued to commercial users. 
Seasonal closure or day-use-only restrictions could be proposed for 
some bear-concentration areas, based on, on-going evaluation of the 
effectiveness of voluntary use guidelines in these areas. Two bear-
denning area would be phased out over time. Impacts at heavily used 
camping areas would be managed by restricting use through regulations. 
Regulations would be adopted to restrict camping near public use cabins 
and administrative facilities. The O'Malley River closure would be 
modified to allow the Service, in cooperation with the Alaska 
Department of Fish and Game, to operate a formal bear-viewing program. 
Bear-viewing permits would be awarded to individuals by lottery. The 
Moderate Management category would be reduced by 11,192 acres; the 
acreage in Minimal Management would increase by an equivalent amount. 
The Special River Management category would be eliminated.
    Alternative D: Preferred Alternative: Much of the general 
management direction in Alternative A would continue, although some 
specific directions and actions occurring under current management 
would be altered or not pursued in this alternative. As in Alternatives 
B and C, clearer goals and objectives for increasing our knowledge of 
wildlife and habitat needs and relationships would be established. 
Public use monitoring would facilitate wildlife-dependent recreation, 
subsistence, and other traditional uses. Voluntary guidelines for 
public use of bear-concentration areas would be developed. These 
guidelines would replace use restrictions on special use permits issued 
to commercial users. Day-use-only restrictions could be proposed for 
some bear-concentration areas based on, on-going evaluation of the 
effectiveness of voluntary use guidelines in these areas. One bear-
denning area would be closed to snowmachine use by regulation. Seven 
public use cabins would be maintained, two additional cabins would be 
constructed, and cabins on newly acquired land would be managed for 
public use, if located on appropriate sites. Regulations would be 
adopted to restrict camping near public use cabins and administrative 
facilities. Food-storage containers, latrines, temporary electric 
fences, and other minor improvements could be provided if needed at 
popular camping areas to reduce impacts. The O'Malley River closure 
would be modified to allow a formal bear-viewing program combining 
agency-supervised use (allocated to the public by lottery) with guided 
use (offered to the public by qualified guides selected through a 
competitive process and operating under a Refuge special use permit). 
The Moderate Management category would be reduced by 30,946 acres; the 
acreage in Minimal Management would increase by an equivalent amount. 
The Special River Management category would be eliminated.

    Dated: October 13, 2004.
Rowan W. Gould,
Regional Director, Fish and Wildlife Service, Anchorage, Alaska.
[FR Doc. 04-23832 Filed 10-22-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-55-M