[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 244 (Wednesday, December 21, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Page 75830]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-24282]
[[Page 75830]]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
Notice of Availability of the Final Comprehensive Conservation
Plan for the North Mississippi National Wildlife Refuge Complex, Which
Consists of Three National Wildlife Refuges (Coldwater River, Dahomey,
and Tallahatchie), as Well as a Number of Farm Service Agency Tracts in
the Northern Section of the Mississippi Delta
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Fish and Wildlife Service announces that a Final
Comprehensive Conservation Plan for the North Mississippi National
Wildlife Refuge Complex is available for distribution. The plan was
prepared pursuant to the National Wildlife Refuge System Improvement
Act of 1997, and in accordance with the National Environmental Policy
Act of 1969, and describes how the Complex will be managed for the next
15 years. The compatibility determinations for hunting, fishing,
wildlife observation, wildlife photography, environmental education and
interpretation, off-road vehicle use, and resource research studies on
each refuge, as well as bicycle use and farming on Dahomey and
Tallahatchie refuges, are also available within the plan.
ADDRESSES: A copy of the plan may be obtained by writing to the Project
Leader, North Mississippi National Wildlife Refuge Complex, 2776 Sunset
Drive, Grenada, Mississippi 38901; or by calling the Project Leader at
662/226-8286. The plan may also be accessed and downloaded from the
Service's Web site http://southeast.fws.gov/planning/.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The North Mississippi National Wildlife
Refuge Complex, formerly the Mississippi Wetland Management District,
is composed of three distinct work areas. Each contains a national
wildlife refuge and all Farm Service Agency tracts within that area.
The three refuges plus the 128 Farm Service Agency properties total
33,746 acres, with the Complex headquartered in Grenada. Since the
Complex was established in 1989, and assigned administrative
responsibility for Coldwater River, Dahomey, and Tallahatchie refuges,
the overriding collective thrust has been the creation, restoration,
and enhancement of wetlands on public and private lands. The Complex
provides habitat for large concentrations of wintering waterfowl and
numerous species of neotropical migratory birds.
Implementing the comprehensive conservation plan will enable the
Complex to fulfill its role of conserving and managing fish and
wildlife resources in the northern section of the Mississippi Delta,
and of providing quality environmental education and wildlife-dependent
recreation opportunities for visitors. The Service analyzed four
alternatives for managing the Complex and selected Alternative D to
guide management direction over the next 15 years.
Alternative D represents a combination and/or compromise between
Alternative B (Public Use Emphasis) and Alternative C (Wildlife
Management Emphasis). Whereas these two alternatives seek to maximize
either expanded public use or expanded wildlife management
opportunities, Alternative D seeks to optimize the benefits of the
Complex to both wildlife and people. Under Alternative D, refuge lands
will be more intensively managed than at present to provide quality
habitat for wildlife, particularly migratory birds. Additional areas on
the refuges with pumping capability (wells) and a water control
structure will be managed for moist-soil vegetation or force-account
farmed (with 100 percent of crops left standing) to benefit migratory
waterfowl. Cooperative farming fields will be farmed in rice, milo,
corn, or soybeans (in order of preference) and flooded during the late
fall and winter.
Increased emphasis will be placed on meeting objectives of various
step-down plans, providing habitat for waterfowl and shorebirds. These
habitats and their use will be monitored on the refuges to ensure that
goals and objectives are being met. Population and habitat surveys will
be conducted throughout the refuges to develop baseline data to
determine initial population levels and habitat conditions.
The alternative will encourage more public recreational uses even
while intensifying current habitat management. Additional staff,
emphasis, and resources will be more or less evenly divided between
enhancing public use opportunities and wildlife habitat management.
Hunting and fishing opportunities will be increased as funding and
personnel allow. Moist-soil, cropland, forest, and wetland management
will also intensify, to the extent permitted by funding and staffing
limits. One auto tour, one canoe trail, one or more foot trail(s) and/
or interpretive trail(s), one observation tower, and one or more blinds
will be added for environmental education, photography, and watchable
wildlife programs. Staff may be added to develop and present both on-
and off-site environmental education and interpretation programs.
Under Alternative D, the Complex will continue to seek acquisition
of all willing-seller inholdings within the acquisition boundaries,
expanding Complex acreage by up to an additional 10 percent of the
current boundaries. Highest priority will be given to those lands
adjacent to existing refuge tracts and those lands supporting unique
habitats or offering compatible public use opportunities. Additionally,
the Complex will concentrate future off-refuge partnerships on
promoting more intensive wildlife management on privately owned lands.
Public comments were requested, considered, and incorporated
throughout the planning process. Public outreach included open houses,
public meetings, technical workgroups, planning update mailings, and
Federal Register notices. During the comment period on the draft
document, the Service received a total of 25 comments. All substantive
issues raised have been addressed either through revisions of the final
comprehensive conservation plan or in responses contained in the
appendix dealing with public comments.
Authority: This notice is published under the authority of the
National Wildlife Refuge System Improvement Act of 1997, Public Law
105-57.
Dated: August 24, 2005.
Jeffrey M. Fleming,
Acting Regional Director.
[FR Doc. 05-24282 Filed 12-20-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-55-M