[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 54 (Wednesday, March 19, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Page 14777]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-5457]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration


Public Hearing on the Proposed St. Louis River Site for a Lake 
Superior National Estuarine Research Reserve in Wisconsin

AGENCY: The Estuarine Reserves Division, Office of Ocean and Coastal 
Resource Management, National Ocean Service, National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce.

ACTION: Public Hearing Notice.

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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that the University of Wisconsin--
Extension, the WI Department of Administration's Coastal Management 
Program and the WI Department of Natural Resources with the support of 
the Estuarine Reserves Division of the Office of Ocean and Coastal 
Resource Management (OCRM), National Ocean Service (NOS), National 
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), U.S. Department of 
Commerce, will hold a public hearing for the purpose of receiving 
comments on the preliminary recommendation that the St. Louis River 
Estuary be proposed for designation as a National Estuarine Research 
Reserve in Wisconsin.
    The state agencies will hold a public hearing at 6 p.m. on April 
3rd, 2008 at the Wisconsin Indianhead Technical College--Superior 
Conference Center, 600 North 21st Street, Superior, WI 78701.
    The views of interested persons and organizations on the proposed 
site recommendation are solicited, and may be expressed orally and/or 
in written statements. An informational presentation on the St. Louis 
River Estuary and the National Estuarine Research Reserve System 
(NERRS) is scheduled for 7 p.m. All comments received at the hearing 
will be considered in a formal nomination by the state to NOAA.
    The NERRS is a federal-state partnership that is administered by 
the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The system 
protects more than 1.3 million acres of estuarine habitat for long-term 
research, monitoring, education and stewardship throughout the coastal 
United States. Established by the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972, 
as amended, each reserve is managed by a lead state agency or 
university, with input from local partners. NOAA provides funding and 
national programmatic guidance.
    The NERR site selection effort is a culmination of several years of 
local, grassroots support for a Wisconsin NERR on Lake Superior. The 
recommendation of the St. Louis site follows a year-long process to 
gather information about all of the freshwater estuaries on Lake 
Superior's south shore. The site selection process involved dozens of 
meetings with scientists, agency land managers, public officials and 
citizens.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Laurie McGilvray (301) 713-3155 
extension 158, Estuarine Reserves Division, Office of Ocean and Coastal 
Resource Management, National Ocean Service, NOAA, 1305 East West 
Highway, N/ORM2, Silver Spring, MD 20910.

     Dated: March 13, 2008.
David M. Kennedy,
Director, Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management.
Federal Domestic Assistance Catalog Number 11.420 (Coastal Zone 
Management) Research Reserves.
 [FR Doc. E8-5457 Filed 3-18-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-08-M