[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 184 (Monday, September 24, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 54242-54243]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-18773]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration


Announcement of Great Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve 
Revised Management Plan Including a Boundary Expansion

AGENCY: Estuarine Reserves Division, 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 Revised Management 
Plan for the Great Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that the Estuarine Reserves Division, 
Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management, National Ocean 
Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), U.S. 
Department of Commerce has approved the revised management plan and 
expansion of the boundary for the Great Bay National Estuarine Research 
Reserve.
    The Great Bay Reserve was designated in 1989 pursuant to section 
315 of the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972, as amended, 16 U.S.C. 
1461. The reserve has been operating under a management plan approved 
in 1989. Pursuant to 15 CFR 921.33(c), a state must revise their 
management plan every five years. The submission of this plan fulfills 
this requirement and sets a course for successful implementation of the 
goals and objectives of the reserve.
    The mission of the Great Bay Reserve is to promote informed 
management of the Great Bay estuary and estuarine habitats through 
linked programs of stewardship, public education, and scientific 
understanding.
    The management plan establishes goals consistent with the reserve's 
mission. These goals cover three general areas: (1) Protect and improve 
habitat and biological diversity within the boundary of the Reserve, 
(2) improve decisions affecting estuarine and coastal resources, and 
(3) promote education, stewardship, and scientific research focusing on 
estuarine ecosystems. Organized in a framework of programmatic goals 
and objectives, the Great Bay Reserve's management plan identifies 
specific strategies or actions for research, education/interpretation, 
public access, construction, acquisition, and resource protection, 
restoration, and manipulation. Overall, the plan seeks to accomplish 
the mission of the reserve by facilitating scientific research, 
encouraging stewardship, and addressing the local education and 
outreach needs.
    Specifically, stewardship is encompassed under resource protection, 
habitat restoration, and resource manipulation plans. These plans 
address reserve efforts to evaluate natural and anthropogenic processes 
that affect the reserve and its habitats, support for research and 
monitoring of important resources, restore and protect natural habitats 
and to actively educate

[[Page 54243]]

the public to inform resource management.
    Research and monitoring support independent research projects 
within the reserve and its vicinity with resources and background data. 
Staff and visiting researchers conduct monitoring and research within 
the boundaries of the reserve and Great Bay watershed and use GIS to 
map critical habitats. Research and monitoring results are made 
available to others and are translated to public and private users 
through education, training and outreach programs.
    Education at the reserve targets a wide variety of audiences 
including students, teachers, adults, resource users and coastal 
decision-maker audiences. The reserve's comprehensive approach to 
education including a K-12 education program, outreach and a coastal 
training program are designed to increase knowledge about estuaries for 
target audiences.
    Public access at Great Bay Reserve includes improving and enhancing 
water access to facilitate the implementation of reserve programs. 
Also, the reserve will reduce impacts on natural resources and maximize 
public outreach by designating specific areas (i.e., boardwalks) and 
create guidelines for public access.
    Administration at the reserve includes supporting the staffing and 
budget necessary to carry out the goals and objectives of the plan. The 
administration of the Great Bay Reserve is a collective effort 
involving the New Hampshire Department of Fish and Game, other state or 
local agencies and organizations, and the Reserve Advisory Committee. 
An established administrative framework implements and coordinates 
Reserve programs under the plan.
    The boundary expansion incorporates additional open water and salt 
marsh in Little Bay and up to the first dams of five of the seven tidal 
rivers, namely: Bellamy River, Oyster River, Lamprey River, Squamscott 
River, and Winnicut River. Additional upland includes parcels purchased 
through the Nature Conservancy (TNC) on behalf of the Great Bay 
Resource Protection Partnership and transferred to New Hampshire Fish 
and Game Department, and the rest of the Great Bay National Wildlife 
Refuge. The expansion provides a broader and more representative 
diversity of wetland and water habitats. The new boundary of the 
reserve includes tidal freshwater riverine, emergent and forested 
wetland communities that are necessary to protect the ecological units 
of the natural estuarine system for research purposes.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Doris Grimm at (301) 563-7107 or 
Laurie McGilvray at (301) 563-1158 of NOAA's National Ocean Service, 
Estuarine Reserves Division, 1305 East-West Highway, N/ORM5, 10th 
floor, Silver Spring, MD 20910.

    Dated: September 14, 2007.
David M. Kennedy,
Director, Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management, National 
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
 [FR Doc. E7-18773 Filed 9-21-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-08-P