[Federal Register: December 5, 2005 (Volume 70, Number 232)]
[Notices]
[Page 72463-72464]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr05de05-81]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
Draft Comprehensive Conservation Plan and Environmental
Assessment for Shawangunk Grasslands National Wildlife Refuge
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Department of the Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service, we, our)
announces that the draft Comprehensive Conservation Plan (CCP) and
Environmental Assessment (EA) for the Shawangunk Grasslands National
Wildlife Refuge (NWR) is available for review. The Service prepared
this CCP/EA in compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act of
1969, and 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, et seq.).
DATES: The draft CCP/EA will be available for public review and comment
for a 45-day period starting with the publication of this notice.
ADDRESSES: Copies of the draft CCP/EA on compact diskette or in print
may be obtained by writing to Nancy McGarigal, U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service, 300 Westgate Center Drive, Hadley, Massachusetts 01035, or e-
mail northeastplaning@fws.gov. The document may also be viewed on the
Web site at http://library.fws.gov/ccps.htm. We plan to host one
evening public meeting in the Town of Shawangunk. We will announce the
details at least 2 weeks in advance in local papers and post them at
the refuge.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Nancy McGarigal, Refuge Planner, U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service, 300 Westgate Center Drive, Hadley,
Massachusetts 01035, 413-253-8562 (telephone), 413-253-8562 (FAX), or
e-mail Nancy at Nancy_McGarigal@fws.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The National Wildlife Refuge System
Administration Act of 1966, as amended by the National Wildlife Refuge
System Improvement Act of 1997, requires the Service to develop a CCP
for each refuge. The purpose of developing a CCP is to provide refuge
managers with a 15-year strategy for achieving refuge purposes and
contributing to the mission of the National Wildlife Refuge System, in
conformance with the sound principles of fish and wildlife science,
natural resources conservation, legal mandates, and Service policies.
In
[[Page 72464]]
addition to outlining broad management direction on conserving wildlife
and habitats, CCPs identify wildlife-dependent recreational
opportunities available to the public, including opportunities for
hunting, fishing, wildlife observation and photography, and
environmental education and interpretation. The Service will review and
update each CCP at least every 15 years in accordance with the National
Wildlife Refuge System Improvement Act of 1997 and the National
Environmental Policy Act of 1969.
The transfer of 566 acres from the United States Military Academy
at West Point (through the General Services Administration) to the
Service created the Shawangunk Grasslands NWR in 1999. No land has been
added since then. The refuge was established for its ``particular value
in carrying out the national migratory bird management program'' (16
U.S.C. 667b), under the general legislative authority of the Transfer
of Certain Real Property for Wildlife Conservation Purposes Act (16
U.S.C. 667b) and the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act
(40 U.S.C. 471 et seq.; repealed by Public Law 107-217, August 21,
2002). Our Regional Director's memorandum to the General Services
Administration, dated October 17, 1997, specifies the refuge's Regional
importance for wintering raptors and breeding and migrating grasslands
birds.
The 566-acre refuge lies in the Town of Shawangunk, Ulster County,
New York, in the Hudson River/New York Bight watershed. We maintain 400
of those acres as open fields and grasslands, primarily by mowing, to
benefit breeding, migratory and wintering grasslands-dependent birds.
Asphalt or concrete runways and taxiways cover 30 acres of the refuge,
formerly a military training airport. We do not actively manage the
remaining 136 acres, which are classified as upland hardwood woodland
with some shrub and transitioning to woodland.
We know of no federally listed species on the refuge. However,
several rare or uncommon plants, and at least 141 species of birds,
including 58 breeding species, have been documented. At least 20 of
those are listed by the State of New York or are species of
conservation concern for the Region. We conduct annual breeding bird
surveys to document their presence and breeding status.
Bird watching is the most popular activity at this unstaffed
refuge, which is administered by from the Wallkill River NWR
headquarters in Sussex, New Jersey. The Shawangunk Grasslands NWR is
open from sunrise to sunset, 7 days a week. Wildlife observation,
nature photography, and environmental education and interpretation are
all permitted.
The draft CCP/EA analyzes three alternatives for managing the
refuge over the next 15 years. Alternative A (the ``No Action''
Alternative) would continue our present management, and would not
change the habitat management and visitor programs described above.
Alternative B (the Service-preferred alternative) would expand our
current grasslands management program with more intensive, diverse
tools and techniques, which would potentially include grazing, haying,
prescribed burning, and applying herbicides to promote native grassland
and discourage invasive plants, and would also restore the natural
hydrology of the area, to the extent that it does not impede our
grasslands management. We would remove the runways and taxiways from 30
acres and restore them to native grassland, except where we can
incorporate them into a planned interpretive trail. Alternative B would
also open a small, man-made pond to fishing, and open the refuge to a
fall archery deer hunt.
Alternative C would allow all 400 acres of managed grasslands and
open fields to revert to shrub land, and eventually to woodland, to
benefit shrub- and forest-dependent birds of conservation concern for
the Region. Re-establishing the natural hydrology of the area would
become a higher priority, which would eliminate the opportunity for
fishing in the pond. As in alternative B, we would also restore the 30
acres of runways and taxiways, create an interpretive trail, and open
the refuge to a fall archery deer hunt.
The draft also identifies a 5,960-acre Shawangunk Grasslands Focus
Area that includes the refuge and contiguous, ecologically important
land. None of the alternatives proposes Service acquisition of
additional land at this time. We will encourage conservation owners to
protect grasslands in that area.
All of the alternatives would continue to promote our existing
conservation partnerships, new partnerships, and valuable volunteer
opportunities. They would also enhance our outreach in the locale,
including information exchanges with private landowners in the focus
area who are interested in managing grassland for wildlife.
Dated: September 21, 2005.
Richard O. Bennett,
Acting Regional Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Hadley,
Massachusetts.
[FR Doc. 05-23642 Filed 12-2-05; 8:45 am]
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