[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 114 (Thursday, June 12, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 33451-33452]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-13166]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

[FWS-R4-R-2008-N0087; 40136-1265-0000-S3]


Wolf Island National Wildlife Refuge, McIntosh County, GA

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability; draft comprehensive conservation plan 
and environmental assessment; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: We, the Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce the 
availability of a draft comprehensive conservation plan and 
environmental assessment (Draft CCP/EA) for Wolf Island National 
Wildlife Refuge for public review and comment. In this Draft CCP/EA, we 
describe the alternative we propose to use to manage this refuge for 
the 15 years following approval of the Final CCP.

DATES: To ensure consideration, we must receive your written comments 
by July 14, 2008. A meeting will be held to present the Draft CCP/EA to 
the public. Mailings, newspaper articles, and posters will be the 
avenues to inform the public of the date and time for the meeting.

ADDRESSES: Requests for copies of the Draft CCP/EA should be addressed 
to: Jane Griess, Project Leader, Savannah Coastal Refuges' Complex, 
1000 Business Center Drive, Suite 10, Savannah, Georgia 31405; 
Telephone: 912/652-4415. The Draft CCP/EA may also be accessed and 
downloaded from the Service's Internet Site: http://southeast.fws.gov/planning. Comments on the Draft CCP/EA may be submitted to the above 
address or by e-mail to Mr. Randy Williams at: [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Randy Williams; Telephone: 985/264-
1979.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Introduction

    With this notice, we continue the CCP process for Wolf Island 
National Wildlife Refuge. We started the process through a notice in 
the Federal Register on October 30, 2006 (71 FR 63344).
    Wolf Island National Wildlife Refuge is approximately 12 miles off 
the coast of Darien, Georgia, in McIntosh County. It was established on 
April 3, 1930, to provide protection and habitat for migratory birds. 
The barrier island refuge consists of Wolf Island and two smaller 
islands, Egg and Little Egg. More than 75 percent of the refuge's 5,126 
acres are composed of saltwater marsh.
    Wolf Island National Wildlife Refuge was designated a National 
Wilderness Area in 1975, and is maintained as such, with its primary 
purpose being to provide protection for migratory birds and such 
threatened and endangered species as the loggerhead sea turtle and the 
piping plover.

Background

The CCP Process

    The National Wildlife Refuge System Improvement Act of 1997 (16 
U.S.C. 668dd-668ee), which amended the National Wildlife Refuge System 
Administration Act of 1966, requires us to develop a CCP for each 
national wildlife refuge. The purpose in developing a CCP is to provide 
refuge managers with a 15-year plan 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 our policies. In addition to 
outlining broad management direction on conserving wildlife and their 
habitats, CCPs identify wildlife-dependent recreational opportunities 
available to the public, including opportunities for hunting, fishing, 
wildlife observation, wildlife photography, and environmental education 
and interpretation. We will review and update the CCP at least every 15 
years in accordance with the Improvement Act and NEPA.
    Significant issues addressed in the Draft CCP/EA include: 
threatened and endangered species; habitat protection; neotropical 
migratory birds; conservation of a remnant maritime forest; visitor 
services (e.g., wildlife observation, wildlife photography, and 
environmental education and interpretation); funding and staffing; 
cultural resources; land acquisition; and invasive species management.

CCP Alternatives, Including Our Proposed Alternative

    We developed three alternatives for managing the refuge and chose 
Alternative C as the proposed alternative. A full description of each 
alternative is in the Draft CCP/EA. We summarize each alternative 
below.

Alternative A--No Action Alternative

    Wolf Island National Wildlife Refuge is part of the Altamaha River 
Ecosystem and is an important part of the Western Hemisphere Shorebird 
Reserve Network. As such, the refuge is of significant importance to 
migrating and wintering shorebirds and has been designated as part of 
critical habitat for the Great Lakes population of the endangered 
piping plover. Under Alternative A, management of the refuge would 
continue at its current level of participation in these initiatives 
throughout the 15-year duration of the CCP. Current approaches to 
managing wildlife and habitats, protecting resources, and disallowing 
public use would remain unchanged.
    Wolf Island National Wildlife Refuge, as a designated National 
Wilderness Area, provides protection for threatened and endangered 
species, including the loggerhead sea turtle and the piping plover. Due 
to its status as a Wilderness Area, no public use facilities exist or 
are planned on the refuge. Although the waters surrounding the refuge 
are open to a variety of recreational activities, all beach, marsh, and 
upland areas are closed to the public. Under this alternative, none of 
the above would change. Current management practices, which are 
primarily custodial in nature, would continue.

Alternative B--Optimize Biological Program

    Under Alternative B, the refuge would strive to optimize its 
biological program, recognizing that there may be tradeoffs and 
opportunity costs between the various elements of the biological 
programs envisioned. Alternative B stresses the principle of 
optimization rather than maximization of wildlife and habitat outputs.
    The refuge would conduct baseline inventorying and monitoring 
programs with several partners to provide a solid foundation of the 
current condition of refuge habitat and wildlife. We would continue to 
furnish benefits to migratory birds and resident wildlife species. We 
would aim to increase the refuge's knowledge base about shorebirds by 
developing and implementing

[[Page 33452]]

monitoring programs while continuing to provide habitats for the 
benefit of migratory birds. The refuge would also continue to furnish 
benefits to federally threatened and endangered species.
    Land acquisition and resource protection efforts at Wolf Island 
National Wildlife Refuge would be intensified. Efforts to control 
invasive species would commence and efforts would be made to reduce 
beach erosion. In the Service's Private Lands Program, staff would work 
with private landowners of adjacent properties to manage and improve 
habitats. Staff would also explore opportunities with partners to 
expand land and habitat protection efforts.
    The refuge would develop and begin to implement a Cultural 
Resources Management Plan (CRMP). Until such time as the CRMP is 
completed and implemented, the refuge would follow standard Service 
protocols and procedures in conducting cultural resource surveys by 
qualified professionals in consultation with the Regional Historic 
Preservation Officer (RHPO) and the State Historic Preservation Officer 
(SHPO).

Alternative C--Ecosystem Management (Proposed Action)

    Under Alternative C, the refuge would practice ecosystem 
management, recognizing the ecological role of Wolf Island National 
Wildlife Refuge within the interrelated Altamaha River Basin and 
coastal barrier island ecosystem. Human activities and natural 
processes within these ecosystems influence the refuge in a variety of 
ways. Alternative C explicitly commits the Service to acknowledge these 
influences and cooperate with other stakeholders in ways that will 
ensure the continued protection and enhancement of the ecosystem's 
natural resources.
    As with Alternative B, the refuge would strive to optimize its 
biological program, recognizing that there may be tradeoffs and 
opportunity costs between the various elements of the biological 
programs envisioned. However, Alternative C emphasizes a broader 
ecosystem approach than Alternative B, which is narrowly focused on the 
refuge.
    The refuge would conduct baseline inventorying and monitoring 
programs with several partners to investigate threats and opportunities 
within the ecosystem as they may impact refuge goals and objectives. 
The Service and our partners would continue to furnish benefits to the 
ecosystem's native flora and fauna under Alternative C. The refuge 
would also continue to furnish benefits to federally threatened and 
endangered species.
    Under Alternative C, land acquisition and resource protection 
within the ecosystem would be intensified. Control of invasive species 
would commence and efforts would be made to reduce beach erosion. 
Service staff would work with partners to manage and improve habitats 
within the ecosystem. Staff would also explore opportunities with 
partners to expand land and habitat protection efforts.
    The refuge would develop and begin to implement a CRMP. Until such 
time as the CRMP is completed and implemented, the refuge would follow 
standard Service protocol and procedures in conducting cultural 
resource surveys by qualified professionals in consultation with the 
RHPO and the SHPO.

Next Step

    After the comment period ends, we will analyze the comments and 
address them in the form of a final CCP and Finding of No Significant 
Impact.

Public Availability of Comments

    Before including your address, phone number, e-mail address, or 
other personal identifying information in your comment, you should be 
aware that your entire comment--including your personal identifying 
information--may be made publicly available at any time. While you can 
ask us in your comment to withhold your personal identifying 
information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be 
able to do so.

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

    Dated: April 24, 2008.
Cynthia K. Dohner,
Acting Regional Director.
 [FR Doc. E8-13166 Filed 6-11-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-55-P