[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 10 (Thursday, January 15, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 2119-2120]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-00381]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

[FWS-HQ-R-2014-N231; FXRS12650900000-145-FF09R20000]
RIN 1018-AZ89


Final Strategic Growth Policy for the National Wildlife Refuge 
System

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) has finalized a 
policy to implement a strategic approach to the growth of the National 
Wildlife Refuge System (Refuge System, System). The National Wildlife 
Refuge System Administration Act (Administration Act), as amended by 
the National Wildlife Refuge System Improvement Act, requires that we 
``plan and direct the continued growth of the System in a manner that 
is best designed to accomplish the mission of the System.'' This policy 
directs Refuge System employees to focus their protection measures on 
priority conservation features to ensure that our limited resources are 
used to make the greatest contribution to the conservation of species 
in a cost-effective and transparent manner. It ensures that the growth 
of the System reflects our vision toward managing functional 
landscapes, enhancing our scientific rigor, improving our 
effectiveness, and involving our partners and the American people. The 
Strategic Growth policy is found in ``Refuge Planning,'' chapter 5, 
part 602 in the Fish and Wildlife Service Manual.

DATES: The policy was effective September 4, 2014.

ADDRESSES: You may read the final policy online at http://www.fws.gov/policy/602fw5.html. You may obtain a summary of how we addressed 
comments we received on the draft policy at http://www.fws.gov/refuges/planning/StrategicGrowth.html. You may also request a copy of the 
policy by U.S. mail from USFWS, Division of Natural Resources and 
Conservation Planning, 5275 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, VA 22041-3803 
(see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT). The policy is also available for 
public inspection, by appointment, during normal business hours at the 
above address.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Brian Salem, at the address above, or 
by telephone: (703) 358-2397.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Introduction

    The Service has established a final Strategic Growth policy, which 
is available at http://www.fws.gov/policy/602fw5.html. The policy is 
chapter 5, part 602, ``Refuge Planning,'' in the Fish and Wildlife 
Service Manual. The purpose of the policy is to implement a strategic 
approach to the growth of the National Wildlife Refuge System.

Background

    The National Wildlife Refuge System Improvement Act of 1997 
(Improvement Act), which amended the Administration Act (16 U.S.C. 
668dd-ee), states that the Refuge System mission is to ``administer a 
national network of lands and waters for the conservation, management, 
and where appropriate, restoration of the fish, wildlife, and plant 
resources and their habitats for the benefit of present and future 
generations of Americans.'' The Improvement Act requires us to ``plan 
and direct the continued growth of the System in a manner that is best 
designed to accomplish the mission of the System,'' ``to fulfill the 
mission of the System, as well as the specific purposes for which [the] 
refuge was established,'' and to ``ensure timely and effective 
cooperation and collaboration with Federal agencies and State fish and 
wildlife agencies during the course of acquiring and managing 
refuges.'' Because we are facing unparalleled challenges related to 
climate and non-climate stressors, we must provide consistent direction 
for adding lands and waters to the System in a science-based, cost-
effective, and transparent manner. The Strategic Growth policy is a 
result of this need for strategic and consistent planning.

Final Policy

    The policy prioritizes acquisitions within existing refuge 
boundaries, expansion of existing refuges, and establishment of new 
refuges. It focuses protection measures on priority conservation 
features so that we can make the most of our limited resources.
    The policy is consistent with the biological planning and 
conservation design components of Strategic Habitat Conservation, the 
Service's science-based adaptive management framework for determining 
where and how to deliver conservation efficiently to achieve specific 
biological outcomes. The policy identifies threatened and endangered 
species, migratory birds of conservation concern, and waterfowl, or the 
surrogate species that represent them, as priority conservation 
features.
    The policy requires application of the best available science to 
incorporate

[[Page 2120]]

elements of conservation design to help us identify priority 
conservation areas that will contribute to achieving measurable 
conservation targets such as population objectives. The policy ensures 
that when employees propose new refuges or expansions to existing 
refuges, they analyze and describe: (1) The project's vulnerability to 
climate change and other non-climate stressors (e.g., habitat 
fragmentation, invasive species), (2) how we will mitigate stressors to 
ensure the project's resiliency, (3) how the project is arranged in a 
geographically efficient manner to safeguard ecological processes 
across the landscape, and (4) how the project complements the 
resilience of other conservation areas.
    The policy establishes the process for sending project proposals to 
the Service Director and the potential outcomes of the Director's 
review. It also describes how designated representatives at the local 
level--Refuge Managers--must interact, coordinate, cooperate, and 
collaborate with State fish and wildlife agencies in the acquisition 
and management of refuges.

Summary of Comments and Changes to the Final Policy

    On January 30, 2014, we announced the draft policy and requested 
public comment via a Federal Register notice (79 FR 4952). The comment 
period was open from January 30, 2014, through March 3, 2014. We 
received 35 detailed comment letters and many individual comments on 
the draft policy. In total, we received 236 individual comments, which 
were grouped into 71 comment categories. The comments were from 
nongovernmental organizations, individuals, States, and industry. Most 
of the comments expressed general support, and many addressed specific 
elements in the draft policy.
    We considered all of the recommendations for improvement and 
clarification included in the comments and made appropriate changes to 
the draft policy. Many of the comments we received were outside the 
scope of this policy. We drafted this policy in a way that gives us 
flexibility as funding levels and resources change. The policy does not 
supersede any piece of legislation, regulation, or other policy.

    Dated: December 11, 2014.
Dan Ashe,
Director, Fish and Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. 2015-00381 Filed 1-14-15; 8:45 am]
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