[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 237 (Tuesday, December 9, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 74746-74747]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-29082]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

[FWS-R4-R-2008-N0244; 40136-1265-0000-S3]


Archie Carr National Wildlife Refuge, Brevard and Indian River 
Counties, FL

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Department of the Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability: final comprehensive conservation plan 
and finding of no significant impact.

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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 Archie Carr National 
Wildlife Refuge (NWR). In the CCP, we describe how we will manage 
Archie Carr NWR for the next 15 years.

ADDRESSES: A copy of the CCP may be obtained by writing to the refuge 
at: P.O. Box 2683, Titusville, FL 32781-2683. The CCP may also be 
accessed and downloaded from the Service's Internet Site: http://southeast.fws.gov/planning.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Cheri Ehrhardt; Telephone: 321/861-
2368.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Introduction

    With this notice, we finalize the CCP process for Archie Carr NWR. 
We started this process through a notice of intent in the Federal 
Register on April 24, 2000 (65 FR 21784). For additional information 
regarding the process, see that notice. We released the draft 
comprehensive conservation plan and environmental assessment (Draft 
CCP/EA) to the public, announcing and requesting comments in a notice 
of availability in the Federal Register on June 26, 2008 (73 FR 36347).
    Established in 1991, Archie Carr NWR is located approximately 15 
miles northeast of Vero Beach, Florida, in Brevard and Indian River 
Counties. The 258-acre refuge includes a diversity of habitats 
consisting of beaches, dunes, coastal strand, maritime hammock, and 
mangroves. Refuge and partner beaches support the highest nesting 
concentrations of federally protected loggerhead and green sea turtles 
in the United States. Furthermore, several other state- and federal-
listed species are found in the coastal and other barrier island 
habitats supported by the refuge. The refuge protects several 
historical and archaeological sites and, through working with the 
partners, provides a range of visitor services.
    We announce our decision and the availability of the CCP and FONSI 
for Archie Carr NWR in accordance with National Environmental Policy 
Act (NEPA) [40 CFR 1506.6(b)] requirements. We completed a thorough 
analysis of impacts on the human environment, which we included in the 
Draft CCP/EA.
    The CCP will guide us in managing and administering Archie Carr NWR 
for the next 15 years. Alternative B, as we described in the CCP, is 
the foundation for the CCP.

Background

    The National Wildlife Refuge System Improvement Act of 1997 (16 
U.S.C. 668dd-668ee) (Improvement Act), which amended the National 
Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act of 1966, requires us to 
develop a CCP for each national wildlife refuge. The purpose for 
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.

Comments

    We solicited comments on the Draft CCP/EA for Archie Carr NWR from 
June

[[Page 74747]]

26 to July 28, 2008. The comments were thoroughly evaluated, and 
changes were incorporated into the CCP, where warranted. Some of the 
changes include adding the impacts of climate change to the list of 
priority issues facing the refuge and updating the land cover maps with 
regard to the location of key non-native plant species.

Selected Alternative

    After considering the comments received, we have selected 
Alternative B for implementation. Under this alternative, refuge 
management will focus on improving conditions for sea turtles and other 
threatened and endangered species, maintaining and restoring habitat, 
and improving biodiversity on the refuge, while focusing public use 
activities on partner properties within the larger Archie Carr NWR 
partnership.

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

    Dated: September 19, 2008.
Cynthia K. Dohner,
Acting Regional Director.
[FR Doc. E8-29082 Filed 12-8-08; 8:45 am]
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