[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 250 (Thursday, December 31, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Page 69330]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-31069]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration


National Estuarine Research Reserve System

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 for the Revised Management 
Plan for the Jacques Cousteau National Estuarine Research Reserve.

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SUMMARY: 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 Jacques Cousteau National Estuarine Research Reserve 
Management Plan Revision.
    The Jacques Cousteau National Estuarine Research Reserve consists 
of public lands within the Mullica River-Great Bay watershed of New 
Jersey and managed by a variety of local, state, and federal agencies. 
The site was designated as the Jacques Cousteau National Estuarine 
Research Reserve in 1998 pursuant to Section 315 of the Coastal Zone 
Management Act of 1972, as amended, 16 U.S.C. 1461. The reserve has 
been operating in partnership with the Institute of Marine and Coastal 
Sciences of Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey under a 
management plan approved in 1997. Pursuant to 15 CFR Section 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. A 
boundary expansion and land conservation initiative, new facilities, 
and updated programmatic objectives are notable revisions to the 1997 
approved management plan.
    The revised management plan outlines the administrative structure; 
the research, coastal training, education and outreach, and stewardship 
goals of the reserve; and the plans for future land acquisition and 
facility development to support reserve operations. This management 
plan describes how the reserve will focus on three key coastal 
management issues: Nutrient inputs into coastal waters; human 
alteration of habitat and water quality; and effects of climate change 
on coastal and estuarine systems.
    Since 1997, the reserve has completed a site profile that 
characterizes the reserve; they have also expanded the coastal 
training, research and monitoring, stewardship and education programs 
significantly. A new administrative building, the Jacques Cousteau 
Coastal Center, and a new interpretive exhibit, ``Life on the Edge'' at 
the Tuckerton Seaport, have been built to support the growth of reserve 
programs.
    With the approval of this management plan, the Jacques Cousteau 
National Estuarine Research Reserve will expand their total acreage 
from 114,665 acres to 114,873 acres. Pursuant to 15 CFR 921.33(a), a 
boundary change requires public comment. NOAA announced a thirty day 
public comment period in the Federal Register on November 4, 2009. The 
reserve announced a thirty day public comment period in the Asbury Park 
Press on October 16, 2009. No comments were received. This change is 
attributable to the acquisition of four parcels within the Mullica 
River watershed through a partnership with New Jersey Conservation 
Foundation. The acquisition of Bear Creek Preserve (100 acres), 
Hanselman Preserve (57 acres), Rudolph Property (31 acres), and Lee 
Property (20 acres) provides additional buffer areas (mixed pitch pine-
scrub oak upland, Atlantic white cedar forest) for key land and water 
areas (salt marsh flats, tidal wetlands).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Michael Migliori at (301) 563-1126 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. For copies of the Jacques Cousteau 
Management Plan revision, visit http://www.jcnerr.org/.

Donna Wieting,
Acting Director, Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management, 
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
[FR Doc. E9-31069 Filed 12-30-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-08-M