[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 79 (Thursday, April 24, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 22828-22829]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-09308]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

[FWS-R3-R-2013-N295; FXRS1265030000-145-FF03R06000]


Iowa Wetland Management District, 35 Counties in North-Central 
and Northwest Iowa; Final Comprehensive Conservation Plan and Finding 
of No Significant Impact for the Environmental Assessment

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability.

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SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce the 
availability of a final comprehensive conservation plan (CCP) and 
finding of no significant impact (FONSI) for the environmental 
assessment (EA) for the Iowa Wetland Management District (district, 
WMD). In this final CCP we describe how we intend to manage the 
district for the next 15 years.

ADDRESSES: You will find the final CCP with an embedded executive 
summary and attached FONSI on the planning Web site at http://www.fws.gov/midwest/planning/iowawetlands/index.html. A limited number 
of hard copies and CD-ROMs are available. You may request one by any of 
the following methods:
     Email: [email protected]. Include ``Iowa WMD Final CCP'' 
in the subject line of the message.
     Fax: Attention: Refuge Manager, 515-928-2230.
     U.S. Mail: Attention: Refuge Manager Tim Miller, Iowa 
Wetland Management District, 1710 360th Street, Titonka, IA 50480.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Tim Miller, 515-928-2523.

[[Page 22829]]


SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Introduction

    With this notice, we continue the CCP planning process for the Iowa 
Wetland Management District, which we began by publishing a notice of 
intent in the Federal Register (75 FR 7289) on February 18, 2010. For 
more about the initial process and the history of the district, see 
that notice. We released the EA/Draft CCP to the public, announcing and 
requesting comments in a notice of availability (78 FR 50441) on August 
19, 2013. The 30-day comment period ended on September 18, 2013. The 
public comments received and the agency responses to them are included 
in the Response to Comments appendix in the Final CCP.

Background

    The National Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act of 1966, as 
amended by the National Wildlife Refuge System Improvement Act of 1997 
(16 U.S.C. 668dd-668ee) (Administration Act), requires us to develop a 
CCP for each national wildlife refuge (including wetland management 
districts). The purpose in developing a CCP is to provide the district 
manager with a 15-year strategy for achieving district purposes and 
contributing toward the mission of the National Wildlife Refuge System 
(NWRS), consistent with sound principles of fish and wildlife 
management, conservation, legal mandates, and Service 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 and photography, and 
environmental education and interpretation. We will review and update 
the CCP at least every 15 years in accordance with the Administration 
Act.
    Each unit of the NWRS was established for specific purposes. We use 
these purposes as the foundation for developing and prioritizing the 
management goals and objectives for each unit within the NWRS mission, 
and to determine how the public can use each unit. The planning process 
is a way for us and the public to evaluate management goals and 
objectives that will ensure the best possible approach to wildlife, 
plant, and habitat conservation, while providing for wildlife-dependent 
recreation opportunities that are compatible with each unit's 
establishing purposes and the mission of the NWRS.

Additional Information

    The final CCP (with attached FONSI), which includes detailed 
information about the planning process, district, issues, and 
management alternative selected, may be found at http://www.fws.gov/midwest/planning/iowawetlands/index.html. The Web site also includes an 
EA/Draft CCP, prepared in accordance with the National Environmental 
Policy Act (NEPA) (43 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.). The EA/Draft CCP includes 
discussion of four alternative district management options. The 
Service's selected alternative is reflected in the final CCP. Appendix 
K: Errata was added to the EA/Draft CCP, after it was released for 
public review on August 19th, 2013, in response to comment.
    The selected alternative focuses on managing for breeding 
waterfowl. Restoring cropland to perennial grassland will be the 
dominant activity in the uplands, while a variety of pothole wetlands 
will be the focus for restoration in the lowlands, especially those 
important to restoration of semi-permanent to shallow lakes. A 
diversity of wetland types will provide for a greater diversity of 
wildlife, in particular, grassland and other wetland birds. Public use 
opportunities, in addition to hunting, fishing, and trapping, as well 
as some additional public use facilities (kiosks), will be provided, 
and some food plots will remain. Environmental education, 
interpretation, and outreach will remain at current levels, with more 
emphasis on distributing a consistent message for the entire district. 
Furthermore, based on comments received from the public during the 
planning process, within two years of CCP approval, it will be proposed 
through the federal rulemaking process to implement the following 
regulation on the Service's fee title property within the Iowa WMD: 
``You may only use or possess approved nontoxic shot shells while in 
the field, including shot shells used for hunting wild turkey.'' This 
requirement would be in line with current regulations at 50 CFR 
32.2(k).

Charles M. Wooley,
Acting Regional Director, Midwest Region, U.S. Fish and Wildlife 
Service.
[FR Doc. 2014-09308 Filed 4-23-14; 8:45 am]
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