[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 159 (Friday, August 16, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 50038-50039]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-19942]


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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 Public Comment Period for the Wells, Maine National 
Estuarine Research Reserve Management Plan revision.

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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that the Estuarine Reserves Division, 
Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management, National Ocean 
Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, U.S. 
Department of Commerce is announcing a thirty day public comment period 
for the Wells, Maine National Estuarine Research

[[Page 50039]]

Reserve Management Plan revision. Pursuant to 15 CFR Section 921.33(c), 
the revised plan meets the reserve's requirements for compliance. The 
Wells Reserve Management Plan revision will replace the plan approved 
in 2007.
    The revised management plan outlines the administrative structure; 
the research & monitoring, education, training, and stewardship goals 
of the reserve; and the plans for future land acquisition and facility 
development to support reserve operations.
    The Wells, Maine National Estuarine Research Reserve takes an 
integrated approach to management, linking research, education, 
training and stewardship functions to address high priority issues 
including the impact of climate change of coastal ecosystems and 
communities, development pressures, population growth, land-use change, 
habitat fragmentation, and water quality degradation. Since the last 
management plan, the reserve implemented its core programs and expanded 
its monitoring infrastructure to include Sentinel Site protocols; 
enhanced its facilities, including new Visitor Center exhibits and 
interpretive trail signs; constructed an environmental chamber for 
year-round research; and furthered land conservation in the reserve's 
targeted watersheds.
    The revised management plan will serve as the guiding document for 
the 2,250 acre Wells National Estuarine Research Reserve for the next 
five years. The Wells National Estuarine Research Reserve Management 
Plan revision can be viewed at www.wellsreserve.org. Comments can be 
provided to Paul Dest, Reserve Director at [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Alison Krepp at (301) 563-7105 or 
Erica Seiden at (301) 563-1172 of NOAA's National Ocean Service, 
Estuarine Reserves Division, 1305 East-West Highway, N/ORM5, 10th 
floor, Silver Spring, MD 20910.

    Dated: August 12, 2013.
Christopher C. Cartwright,
Associate Assistant Administrator for Management and CFO/CAO, National 
Ocean Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
[FR Doc. 2013-19942 Filed 8-15-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-08-P