[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 17 (Friday, January 25, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 4616-4617]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-1276]


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

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service


Rice Lake and Mille Lacs National Wildlife Refuges (NWRs); 
Aitkin, Pine, and Mille Lacs Counties, MN

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability; final comprehensive conservation plan 
and finding of no significant impact for environmental assessment.

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

SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce the 
availability of our final Comprehensive Conservation Plan (CCP) and 
finding of no significant impact (FONSI) for Rice Lake and Mille Lacs 
NWRs, Minnesota. In this final CCP, we describe how we will manage 
these refuges for the next 15 years.

ADDRESSES: Copies of the Final CCP and FONSI are available on compact 
disk or hard copy. You may obtain a copy by writing to: U.S. Fish and 
Wildlife Service, Division of Conservation Planning, Bishop Henry 
Whipple Federal Building, 1 Federal Drive, Fort Snelling, MN 55111 or 
you may access and download a copy via the planning Web site at http://www.fws.gov/midwest/planning/RiceLake.

[[Page 4617]]


FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Walt Ford, (218) 768-2402.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Introduction

    With this notice, we complete the CCP process for Rice Lake and 
Mille Lacs NWRs that began with the Federal Register notice 70 FR 5693 
(February 3, 2005). For more about the process, see that notice. We 
released the draft CCP and environmental assessment (EA) to the public, 
announcing and requesting comments in a notice of availability in the 
Federal Register (72 FR 34711; June 25, 2007).
    Rice Lake and Mille Lacs NWRs are located in east-central 
Minnesota. Both refuges are administered by the staff at Rice Lake NWR. 
Rice Lake NWR is a mosaic of lakes, marshes, forests, and grasslands 
that provide a variety of habitat for migrant and resident wildlife. 
The Refuge is especially noted for its fall concentrations of Ring-
necked Ducks, which often number over 150,000 birds. The Refuge also 
includes pre-historic and historic cultural resources of recognized 
importance. Mille Lacs NWR is the smallest refuge in the National 
Wildlife Refuge System. The 0.57-acre Refuge consists of two islands in 
Mille Lacs Lake. One island is managed as a nesting colony for the 
State-listed threatened Common Tern. The other island is used by other 
colonial nesting species. The CCP will guide us in managing and 
administering Rice Lake and Mille Lacs Refuges for the 15 years 
following publication of the final CCP. Alternative B, as we described 
in the environmental assessment, is the foundation for the CCP.

Background

The CCP Process

    The National Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act of 1966, as 
amended by the National Wildlife Refuge System Improvement Act of 1997 
(16 U.S.C. 668dd-668ee et seq.), requires the Service to develop a CCP 
for each National Wildlife Refuge. The purpose in developing a CCP 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 for conserving 
wildlife and their habitats, the CCP identifies wildlife-dependent 
recreational opportunities available to the public, including 
opportunities for hunting, fishing, wildlife observation and 
photography, and environmental education and interpretation. We will 
review and update these CCPs at least every 15 years in accordance with 
the National Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act of 1966, as 
amended by the National Wildlife Refuge System Improvement Act of 1997, 
and the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321-
4370d).

CCP Alternatives

    Our draft CCP and NEPA document (72 FR 34711; June 25, 2007) 
addressed several priority issues raised by us and others. To address 
these priority issues, we developed and evaluated 2 alternatives during 
the planning process.

Alternative A, Current Management

    Under Alternative A, Current Management, the 170 acres of grassland 
on the auto tour route would be maintained; stable water levels in Rice 
Lake would be maintained throughout the growing season and at 
sufficient level to allow rice harvest; the 1,400 acre area with the 
pending Wilderness recommendation would be managed as de facto 
wilderness; Native American ceremonies would be held under special use 
permit and wild rice harvest coordinated with a local Native American 
committee; cultural resources would not be interpreted on-site; demand 
for interpretation and environmental education would be responded to as 
staff and time permitted; the erosion of Hennepin Island would 
continue; and the 2005 landcover at the Sandstone Unit would be 
maintained while allowing for forest succession.

Alternative B, Preferred Alternative

    Under Alternative B, Preferred Alternative, 85 acres would be 
maintained as grassland on the auto tour route to facilitate wildlife 
observation; water levels would be allowed to fluctuate in Rice Lake to 
more closely approximate a natural system; the 1,400 acre Wilderness 
recommendation would be withdrawn to allow for more active management; 
Native American ceremonies would be held under special use permit and 
wild rice harvest would be coordinated with a local Native American 
committee; additional interpretation of cultural resources would be 
developed in cooperation with the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe; demand for 
interpretation and environmental education would be responded to with 
additional interpretive opportunities and educational programs with the 
addition of a park ranger position; the erosion of Hennepin Island 
would be reversed through rebuilding and protection with a constructed 
reef; and the 2005 landcover at the Sandstone Unit would be maintained 
while allowing for forest succession.

Comments

    We solicited comments on the draft CCP and environmental assessment 
for Rice Lake and Mille Lacs NWRs from June 25, 2007 to July 30, 2007. 
We held an open house at the refuge headquarters on July 10, 2007, to 
receive comments. We received approximately 15 written comments during 
the 35 day comment period. We responded to all substantive comments in 
an appendix to the CCP.

Our Preferred Alternative

    After considering the comments we received, we have chosen 
Alternative B as our preferred alternative. Management of the Refuges 
for the next 15 years will focus on: (1) Improving the long-term 
sustainability of wild rice in Rice Lake; (2) reestablishing the white 
pine super-canopy in Refuge forests; and (3) strengthening programs in 
wildlife-dependent recreation and cultural resources protection.

    Dated: September 12, 2007.
David R. Downes,
Acting Regional Director, Region 3, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 
Fort Snelling, Minnesota.
[FR Doc. E8-1276 Filed 1-24-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-55-P