[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 123 (Wednesday, June 28, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Page 41928]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-13673]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration


Final Revised Management Plan for the Grand Bay National 
Estuarine Research Reserve

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

ACTION: Notice of approval of the final revised management plan for the 
Grand Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve.

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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that the Office for Coastal Management, 
National Ocean Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce approves the revised 
management plan for the Grand Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve 
in Mississippi. In accordance with the Coastal Zone Management Act and 
its implementing regulations, the Mississippi Department of Marine 
Resources revised the Grand Bay Reserve's management plan, which 
replaces the plan previously approved in 2018.

ADDRESSES: The approved Grand Bay Reserve management plan can be 
downloaded or viewed at https://grandbaynerr.org/management-plan/. The 
document is also available by sending a written request to the point of 
contact identified below (see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Contact Matt Chasse of NOAA's Office 
for Coastal Management, by email at [email protected], or phone at 
240-628-5417.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pursuant to 15 CFR 921.33(c), a State must 
revise the management plan for a research reserve at least every five 
years. Changes to a reserve's management plan may be made only after 
receiving written approval from NOAA. NOAA approves changes to 
management plans via notice in the Federal Register. On February 2, 
2022, NOAA issued a notice in the Federal Register announcing a thirty-
day public comment period for the proposed revision of the management 
plan for the Grand Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve (87 FR 
5799). Appendix 16 of the plan contains a summary of written and oral 
comments received, and an explanation of how comments were incorporated 
into the final version of the management plan.
    The management plan outlines the reserve's strategic goals and 
objectives; administrative structure; programs for conducting research 
and monitoring, education, and training; resource protection, 
restoration, and manipulation plans; public access and visitor use 
plans; consideration for future land acquisition; and facility 
development to support reserve operations. In particular, this updated 
management plan focuses on addressing specific research priorities 
including restoration effectiveness monitoring; understating physical 
and hydrological processes within the reserve; sources and impacts of 
contaminants; and the socio-economic impacts of ecosystem restoration. 
There is also an added focus related to monitoring programs as a valued 
regional and national reference site through the use of abiotic 
parameters, sentinel sites, atmospheric mercury, and restoration 
monitoring. Furthermore, the plan prioritizes improving public access 
and the visitor experience through enhanced trail and debris management 
efforts, and a greater focus on habitat restoration, especially upland 
habitats (wet pine savannas and flatwoods) and along the marsh upland 
interface. Much of the effort in this plan is linked to the multi-year 
Grand Bay Land Acquisition and Habitat Management project.
    The reserve's training program will design trainings around 
priority issues and a new focus area: transferring skills and knowledge 
relating to flood mitigation to nearby disadvantaged communities. 
Education programming will have a continued emphasis on place-based 
learning for students, teachers, non-traditional audiences (i.e., 
artists, veterans, seniors and others). New, non-traditional audiences 
will be added with programs that focus on pre-K audiences, people with 
disabilities, additional programs for seniors, and other groups. These 
new programs will create opportunities for people who do not typically 
use the reserve or participate in reserve events.
    Since the last management plan, the reserve has prioritized the 
comprehensive management of upland and estuarine resources at a 
landscape scale. Public trails were created or maintained, and boat 
access was improved. The reserve also has actively used fire management 
to restore wet pine savanna in collaboration with State and Federal 
partners. The revised management plan will serve as the guiding 
document for the 18,049-acre research reserve for the next five years.
    Furthermore, no reserve boundary or acreage changes are 
incorporated into the updated management plan.
    NOAA reviewed the environmental impacts of the Grand Bay revised 
management plan and determined that this action is categorically-
excluded from further analysis under the National Environmental Policy 
Act, consistent with NOAA Administrative Order 216-6A.
    Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1451 et seq.; 15 CFR 921.33.

John R. King,
Chief, Business Operations Division, Office for Coastal Management, 
National Ocean Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
Administration.
[FR Doc. 2023-13673 Filed 6-27-23; 8:45 am]
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