[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 251 (Thursday, December 31, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 81807-81808]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-32942]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration


National Estuarine Research Reserve System

AGENCY: Stewardship Division, Office for Coastal Management, National 
Ocean Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, U.S. 
Department of Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of Approval for the Mission-Aransas, Texas National 
Estuarine Research Reserve Management Plan revision.

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SUMMARY: Under 15 CFR 921.33(d), notice is hereby given that the 
Stewardship Division, Office for Coastal Management, National Ocean 
Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, U.S. 
Department of Commerce approves the Mission-Aransas, Texas National 
Estuarine Research Reserve Management Plan revision. The Mission-
Aransas Reserve revised plan will replace the plan approved in 2006.
    The revised management plan outlines the administrative structure; 
the research/monitoring, stewardship, education, and training programs 
of the reserve; and the plans for future land acquisition and facility 
development to support reserve operations.
    The Mission-Aransas Reserve takes an integrated approach to 
management, linking research, education, coastal training, and 
stewardship functions. The Reserve has outlined how it will manage 
administration and its core program providing detailed actions that 
will enable it to accomplish specific

[[Page 81808]]

goals and objectives. Since the last management plan, the Reserve has 
built out its core programs and monitoring infrastructure; constructed 
several facilities including a L.E.E.D. certified Estuarine Research 
Center that serves as the reserve headquarters and includes 
laboratories, offices, classrooms, interpretative areas and 
dormitories; and built new partnerships with organizations along the 
Coastal Bend of Texas.
    On October 1, 2015, NOAA issued a notice of a thirty day public 
comment period for the Mission-Aransas Reserve revised plan (80 FR 
59138). Responses to the written and oral comments received, and an 
explanation of how comments were incorporated into the final revised 
plan, are available in Appendix K to the revised plan (http://missionaransas.org/sites/default/files/manerr/files/final_2015-2020_manerr_management_plan_appendices_dec_2015.pdf).
    With the approval of this management plan, the Mission-Aransas 
Reserve will increase their total acreage from 185,708 acres to 
186,189. The change is attributable to the recent acquisitions of 
several parcels by Reserve partners, totaling 481 acres. All of the 
proposed additions are owned by existing Reserve partners and will be 
managed for long-term protection and conservation value. These parcels 
have high ecological value and will enhance the Reserve's ability to 
provide increased opportunities for research, education, and 
stewardship. The revised management plan will serve as the guiding 
document for the expanded 186,189 acre Mission-Aransas Reserve for the 
next five years. The 2015-2020 Mission-Aransas, Texas Reserve 
Management Plan, which contains a more detailed description of the 
boundary change and acquired parcels, is available at (https://sites.cns.utexas.edu/manerr/about/management-plan).
    The impacts of the revised management plan have not changed and the 
initial Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) prepared at the time of 
designation is still valid. NOAA has made the determination that the 
revision of the management plan will not have a significant effect on 
the human environment and therefore qualifies for a categorical 
exclusion under NOAA Administrative Order 216-6. An environmental 
assessment will not be prepared.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Matt Chasse at (301) 563-1198 or Erica 
Seiden at (301) 563-1172 of NOAA's National Ocean Service, Stewardship 
Division, Office for Coastal Management, 1305 East-West Highway, N/
ORM5, 10th floor, Silver Spring, MD 20910.

    Dated: October 22, 2015.
John King,
Deputy Director, Office for Coastal Management, National Ocean Service, 
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
[FR Doc. 2015-32942 Filed 12-30-15; 8:45 am]
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