[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 225 (Wednesday, November 23, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 70878-70879]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-23152]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service


Notice of Intent To Prepare a Comprehensive Conservation Plan and 
Environmental Assessment for Logan Cave National Wildlife Refuge in 
Benton County, AR

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior

ACTION: Notice of intent.

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SUMMARY: The Fish and Wildlife Service, Southeast Region, intends to 
gather information necessary to prepare a comprehensive conservation 
plan and environmental assessment pursuant to the National 
Environmental Policy Act of 1969 and its implementing regulations.
    The National wildlife Refuge System Administration Act of 1966, as 
amended by the National Wildlife Refuge System Improvement Act of 1997, 
requires the Service to develop a comprehensive conservation plan for 
each national wildlife refuge. The purpose in developing a 
comprehensive conservation plan is to provide refuge managers with a 
15-year strategy for achieving refuge purposes and contributing toward 
the mission of the National Wildlife Refuge System, consistent with 
sound principles of fish and wildlife management, conservation, legal 
mandates, and Service policies. In addition to outlining broad 
management direction on conserving wildlife and their habitats, plans 
identify wildlife-dependent recreational opportunities available to the 
public, including opportunities for hunting, fishing, wildlife 
observation, wildlife photography, and environmental education and 
interpretation.
    The purpose of this notice is to achieve the following.
    (1) Advise other agencies and the public of our intentions, and
    (2) Obtain suggestions and information on the scope of issues to 
include in the environmental document.

DATES: Special mailings, newspaper articles, and other media 
announcements will be used to inform the public and state and local 
government agencies of the opportunities for input throughout the 
planning process. Open house style meeting(s) will be held throughout 
the scoping phase of the comprehensive conservation plan development 
process.

ADDRESSES: Comments, questions, and requests for more information 
regarding the Logan Cave National Wildlife Refuge planning process 
should be sent to: Ben Mense, Refuge Manager, Logan Cave National 
Wildlife Refuge, 10448 Holla Bend Road, Dardanelle, Arkansas 72834; 
Telephone 479/229-4300; Fax: 479/229-4302; Electronic mail: [email protected]. To ensure consideration, written comments must be 
received no later than January 9, 2006. Our practice is to make 
comments, including names and addresses of respondents, available for 
public review during regular business hours. Individual respondents may 
request that we withhold their home addresses from the record, which we 
will honor to the extent allowable by law.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Logan Cave National Wildlife Refuge was 
established in 1989 under the Endangered Species Act of 1973. This 123-
acre Ozark Mountain refuge, which

[[Page 70879]]

includes a limestone-solution cave, is 20 miles west of Fayetteville, 
Arkansas, and approximately 2 miles north of U.S. Highway 412. 
The ecology of Logan Cave Refuge has been described as the highest-
quality cave habitat in the entire Ozark region. A spring-fed stream, 
with an average water flow of 5 million gallons/day, extends the entire 
length of the cave. The primary objectives of the refuge are to 
properly administer, preserve, and develop the tract for protection of 
a unique cave ecosystem that provides essential habitat for endangered 
species, such as the gray bat and the Ozark cave crayfish, the 
threatened Ozark cavefish, and other significant cave-dwelling wildlife 
species.

    Authority: This notice is published under the authority of the 
National Wildlife Refuge System Improvement Act of 1997, Public Law 
105-57.

    Dated: November 2, 2005.
Cynthia K. Dohner,
Acting Regional Director.
[FR Doc. 05-23152 Filed 11-22-05; 8:45 am]
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