[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 47 (Monday, March 12, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 11047-11048]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-4371]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
Cabo Rojo National Wildlife Refuge, Boquer[oacute]n, PR
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare a comprehensive conservation plan
and environmental assessment; request for comments.
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SUMMARY: We, the Fish and Wildlife Service, intend to gather
information necessary to prepare a comprehensive conservation plan and
associated
[[Page 11048]]
environmental documents for the Cabo Rojo National Wildlife Refuge. We
furnish this notice in compliance with our comprehensive conservation
planning policy to advise other agencies and the public of our
intentions, and to obtain suggestions and information on the scope of
issues to be considered in the planning process.
DATES: To ensure consideration, we must receive your written comments
by April 11, 2007.
ADDRESSES: Send your comments or requests for more information to Ms.
Susan Silander, Refuge Manager, Caribbean Islands National Wildlife
Refuge Complex, P.O. Box 510, Boquer[oacute]n, PR 00622; Telephone:
787/851-7258; or electronically to: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: With this notice, we initiate the
comprehensive conservation plan for Cabo Rojo National Wildlife Refuge
with headquarters in Boquer[oacute]n, Puerto Rico.
The National Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act of 1966, as
amended by the National Wildlife Refuge System Improvement Act of 1997
(16 U.S.C. 668dd-668ee), requires the Service to develop a
comprehensive conservation plan for each national wildlife refuge. The
purpose in developing a comprehensive conservation plan 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
management, conservation, legal mandates, and Service policies. In
addition to outlining broad management direction on conserving wildlife
and their habitats, plans identify wildlife-dependent recreational
opportunities available to the public, including opportunities for
hunting, fishing, wildlife observation, wildlife photography, and
environmental education and interpretation.
We establish each unit of the National Wildlife Refuge System with
specific purposes. We use these purposes to develop and prioritize
management goals and objectives within the National Wildlife Refuge
System mission, and to guide which public uses will occur on this
refuge. The planning process is a way for us and the public to evaluate
management goals and objectives for the best possible conservation
efforts of this important wildlife habitat, while providing for
wildlife-dependent recreation opportunities that are compatible with
the refuge's establishing purposes and the mission of the National
Wildlife Refuge System.
We will conduct a comprehensive conservation planning process that
will provide opportunity for tribal, State, and local governments;
agencies; organizations; and the public to participate in issue scoping
and public comment. We request input for issues, concerns, ideas, and
suggestions for the management of the Cabo Rojo National Wildlife
Refuge in Boquer[oacute]n, Puerto Rico. We invite anyone interested to
respond to the following two questions:
1. What problems or issues do you want to see addressed in the
comprehensive conservation plan?
2. What improvements would you recommend for the Cabo Rojo National
Wildlife Refuge?
We have provided the above questions for your optional use; you are
not required to provide information to us. Our Planning Team developed
these questions to gather information about individual issues and ideas
concerning this refuge. Our Planning Team will use comments it receives
as part of the planning process; however, we will not reference
individual comments in our reports or directly respond to them.
We will also give the public an opportunity to provide input at an
open house and public scoping meetings during 2007, to identity issues
to be addressed in the plan. These events will be advertised through
local media outlets. You may also submit comments anytime during the
planning process by writing to the address in the ADDRESSES section.
All information provided voluntarily by mail, phone, or at the public
meeting becomes part of our official record (i.e., names, addresses,
letters of comment, input recorded during meeting).
We will conduct the environmental review of this project in
accordance with the requirements of the National Environmental Policy
Act of 1969, as amended (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.); NEPA Regulations (40
CFR parts 1500-1508); other appropriate Federal laws and regulations;
and our policies and procedures for compliance with those regulations.
All comments we receive on our environmental assessment become part of
the official public record. We will handle requests for such comments
in accordance with the Freedom of Information Act, NEPA [40 CFR
1506.6(f)], and other Departmental and Service policies and procedures.
When we receive a request, we generally will provide comment letters
with the names and addresses of the individuals who wrote the comments.
The Cabo Rojo National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1974 when
587 acres of land were transferred from the Foreign Broadcast
Information Service of the Central Intelligence Agency to the U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service. The 1,249-acre Cabo Rojo Salt Flats, previously
under private ownership, were purchased and added to the refuge in 1999
for a total of 1,836 acres.
The refuge land was used for cattle ranching, agriculture, and salt
production for almost two centuries prior to Service ownership. During
that time, much of the native vegetation was replaced by exotic and
invasive plants from other regions.
Management of the refuge focuses on restoring native forest
vegetation, managing hydrologic conditions in the salt flats,
controlling exotic and invasive species, and providing suitable habitat
for neotropical migratory birds and native species, such as the
endangered yellow-shouldered blackbird.
Authority: This notice is published under the authority of the
National Wildlife Refuge System Improvement Act of 1997, Public Law
105-57.
Dated: February 8, 2007.
Cynthia K. Dohner,
Acting Regional Director.
[FR Doc. E7-4371 Filed 3-9-07; 8:45 am]
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