[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 101 (Thursday, May 27, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 28576-28577]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-11270]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration


Draft Revised Management Plan for the Kachemak Bay National 
Estuarine Research Reserve

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

ACTION: Request for comments on draft revised management plan.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is 
soliciting comments from the public regarding a proposed revision of 
the management plan for the Kachemak Bay National Estuarine Research 
Reserve. A management plan: Provides a framework for the direction and 
timing of a reserve's programs; allows reserve managers to assess a 
reserve's success in meeting its goals and to identify any necessary 
changes in direction; and is used to guide programmatic evaluations of 
the reserve. Plan revisions are required of each reserve in the 
National Estuarine Research Reserve System at least every five years. 
This revised plan is intended to replace the plan approved in 2012.

DATES: Comments must be received at the appropriate address (see 
ADDRESSES) on or before June 28, 2021.

ADDRESSES: The draft revised management plan can be downloaded or 
viewed at https://accs.uaa.alaska.edu/kachemak-bay-nerr-draft-management-plan. The document is also available by sending a written 
request to the point of contact identified below (see FOR FURTHER 
INFORMATION).
    You may submit comments by:
    Electronic Submission: Submit all electronic public comments by 
email to [email protected]. Include ``Comments on draft Kachemak Bay 
National Estuarine Research Reserve Management Plan'' in the subject 
line of the message.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Bree Turner of NOAA's Office for 
Coastal Management, by email at [email protected] or phone at (206) 
526-4641.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pursuant to 15 CFR 921.33(c), a state must 
revise the management plan for the research reserve at least every five 
years. If approved by NOAA, the Kachemak Bay National Estuarine 
Research Reserve's revised plan will replace the plan previously 
approved in 2012.
    The draft revised management plan outlines the reserve's: Strategic 
goals and objectives; administrative structure; programs for conducting 
research and monitoring, education, and training; resource protection 
plan; public access and visitor use plans; consideration for future 
land acquisition; and facility development to support reserve 
operations. In particular, this draft revised management plan focuses 
on changes to the Kachemak Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve's 
management issues and goals, which are now: Understanding environmental

[[Page 28577]]

change; understanding land use and human impacts; community-relevant 
engagement; and long-term ecosystem monitoring.
    Since 2012, the reserve has undergone significant state agency 
administration transition from the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, 
Division of Sport Fish to the University of Alaska-Anchorage, College 
of Arts and Sciences, Alaska Center for Conservation Science. With the 
administrative transition, the reserve staff and programs have 
relocated from the Alaska Islands and Ocean Visitor Center to the 
reserve's Field Station modular office and bunkhouse. Due to the change 
in facilities, some of the education and training programs have 
changed, but many of the core research, monitoring, education, and 
training activities have remained the same. The revised management 
plan, once approved, would serve as the guiding document for the 
372,000-acre Kachemak Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve for the 
next five years.
    NOAA's Office for Coastal Management analyzes the environmental 
impacts of the proposed approval of this draft revised management plan 
in accordance with section 102(2)(C) of the National Environmental 
Policy Act of 1969, as amended, 42 U.S.C. 4332(2)(C), and the Council 
on Environmental Quality Regulations for Implementing the Procedural 
Provisions of NEPA (40 CFR 1500-1508). The public is invited to comment 
on the draft revised management plan. NOAA will take these comments 
into consideration in deciding whether to approve the draft revised 
management plan in whole or in part.

(Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1451 et seq.; 15 CFR 921.33.)

Keelin S. Kuipers,
Deputy Director, Office for Coastal Management, National Ocean Service, 
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
[FR Doc. 2021-11270 Filed 5-26-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-NK-P