[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 33 (Thursday, February 19, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 7789-7790]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-3584]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
Notice of Availability of the Draft Comprehensive Conservation
Plan and Environmental Impact Statement for Rocky Flats National
Wildlife Refuge, Commerce City, CO
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) announces that
the Draft Comprehensive Conservation Plan and Environmental Impact
Statement (CCP/EIS) for the Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuge
(Refuge) is available for public review and comment. This Draft CCP/EIS
was prepared pursuant to the National Wildlife Refuge System
Administration Act, as amended, and the National Environmental Policy
Act (NEPA). The Draft CCP/EIS describes the Service's proposal for
management of the Refuge for 15 years, beginning at Refuge
establishment, which is anticipated to occur sometime between 2006 and
2008. Four alternatives for management of the Refuge are considered in
the CCP/EIS.
DATES: To ensure consideration, we must receive your comments on or
before April 5, 2004.
ADDRESSES: To provide written comments or to obtain a copy of the Draft
CCP/EIS, please write to Laurie
[[Page 7790]]
Shannon, Planning Team Leader, Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuge,
Rocky Mountain Arsenal--Building 121, Commerce City, Colorado, 80222.
Comments and requests can be sent electronically to http://[email protected]. Additionally, copies of the Draft CCP/EIS may be
downloaded from the project website: http://rockyflats.fws.gov. The
Draft CCP/EIS will be available for reading at the following main
branch libraries: Arvada Public Library in Arvada, Boulder Public
Library in Boulder, Daniels Library in Lakewood, Golden Public Library
in Golden, Westminster Public Library in Westminster, Front Range
Community College in Westminster, Louisville Public Library in
Louisville, Thornton Public Library in Thornton, and Mamie Dowd
Eisenhower Library in Broomfield, all Colorado.
The Service will hold four public hearings on the CCP/EIS and
encourages you to attend and provide your comments at one of the
meetings. The time and place of the meetings will be provided in a
Planning Update mailed to agencies, organizations and individuals on
the mailing list, in a flyer posted in area libraries, in notices in
area newspapers, and on the project Web site.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Laurie Shannon, Planning Team Leader
at the above address or at (303) 289-0980.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 6,240-acre Rocky Flats National Wildlife
Refuge site is in northern Jefferson County and southern Boulder
County, Colorado. The Rocky Flats site was used as a nuclear weapons
production facility until 1992, when the mission of Rocky Flats changed
to environmental cleanup and closure. The majority of the site has
remained undisturbed for over 50 years and provides habitat for many
wildlife species, including the federally threatened Preble's meadow
jumping mouse, and several rare plant communities. Under the Rocky
Flats National Wildlife Refuge Act of 2001, most of the site will
become a National Wildlife Refuge once cleanup and closure has been
completed. The Refuge will likely be established sometime between 2006
and 2008.
The National Wildlife System Administration Act of 1966, as amended
by the National Wildlife Refuge Improvement Act of 1997, requires the
Service to develop a CCP for the Refuge. The purpose in developing a
CCP is to provide refuge managers with a 15-year strategy for achieving
refuge purposes and contributing toward the mission of the National
Wildlife Refuge System, consistent with sound principles of fish and
wildlife science, conservation, legal mandates, and Service policies.
In addition to outlining broad management direction on conserving
wildlife and their habitats, the CCP identifies wildlife-dependent
recreational opportunities available to the public, including
opportunities for hunting, wildlife observation and photography, and
environmental education and interpretation.
Significant issues addressed in the Draft CCP/EIS include:
vegetation management, wildlife management, public use, cultural
resources, property, infrastructure, and refuge operations. The Service
developed four alternatives for management of the Refuge: Alternative
A--No Action; Alternative B--Wildlife, Habitat, and Public Use;
Alternative C--Ecological Restoration; and Alternative D--Public Use.
All four alternatives outline specific management objectives and
strategies related to wildlife and habitat management; public use,
education, and interpretation; safety; open and effective
communication; working with others; and refuge operations.
Alternative B, the Service's Proposed Action, emphasizes wildlife
and habitat conservation with a moderate amount of wildlife-dependent
public use. Refuge-wide habitat conservation would include management
of native plant communities, weeds, restoration tools, removal and
revegetation of unused roads and stream crossings, management of deer
and elk populations, prairie dogs, and protection of Preble's meadow
jumping mouse habitat. Visitor use facilities would include about 16
miles of trails, a visitor contact station staffed seasonally,
trailheads with parking, and developed overlooks. Most of the trails
would use existing roads and public access would be by foot, bicycle,
horse, or car. A limited public hunting program would be developed.
After the review and comment period for this Draft CCP/EIS, all
comments will be analyzed and considered by the Service. A Final CCP/
EIS will then be prepared and published and will include substantive
comments received and the Service's responses to those comments.
Changes made to the proposed action will also be identified in the
Final CCP/EIS. A Record of Decision and final CCP will then be
published.
All comments received from individuals on environmental impact
statements become part of the official public record. Requests for such
comments will be handled in accordance with the Freedom of Information
Act, the Council on Environmental Quality's NEPA regulations (40 CFR
1506.6(f) and other Service and Departmental policies and procedures.
The Service believes it is important to give reviewers notice of
several court rulings related to public participation in the
environmental review process. Reviewers should provide the Service with
their comments during the review period of the Draft CCP/EIS. This
enables the Service to analyze and respond to the comments at one time
and to use information acquired in the preparation of the final
environmental impact statement, thus avoiding undue delay in the
decision making process. Reviewers have an obligation to structure
their participation in the National Environmental Policy Act process so
that it is meaningful and alerts the agency to the reviewers' position
and contentions. Environmental objections that could have been raised
at the draft stage may be waived if they are not raised until after
completion of the final environmental impact statement. Comments on the
Draft CCP/EIS should be specific and should address the adequacy of the
plan, the impact statement, and the merits of the alternatives
discussed (40 CFR 1503.3).
In the Final EIS, the Service will respond to all substantive
comments. Comments are considered substantive if they:
[sbull] Question, with reasonable basis, the accuracy of the
information in the document;
[sbull] Question, with reasonable basis, the adequacy of the
environmental analysis;
[sbull] Present reasonable alternatives other than those presented
in the EIS;
[sbull] Cause changes or revisions in the CCP; or
[sbull] Provide new or additional information relevant to the
analysis.
Dated: January 14, 2004.
John A. Blankenship,
Regional Director--Region 6, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Lakewood,
Colorado.
[FR Doc. 04-3584 Filed 2-18-04; 8:45 am]
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