[Federal Register: September 8, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 174)]
[Notices]               
[Page 53131-53132]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr08se06-66]                         

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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

 
Notice of intent To Prepare a Comprehensive Conservation Plan and 
Environmental Assessment for Tensas River National Wildlife Refuge in 
Madison, Tensas, and Franklin Parishes, LA

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of intent.

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SUMMARY: The Fish and Wildlife Service, Southeast Region, intends to 
gather information necessary to prepare a comprehensive conservation 
plan and environmental assessment for Tensas River National Wildlife 
Refuge, pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 and 
its implementing regulations.
    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 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 
mandate, 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.
    The purpose of this notice is to machine the following:
    (1) Advise other agencies and the public of our intentions, and
    (2), Obtain suggestions and information on the scope of issues to 
include in the environmental document.

DATES: To ensue consideration, written comments must be received no 
later than November 7, 2006.

ADDRESSES: Address comments, questions, and requests for more 
information to Tina Chouinard, Natural Resource Planner, Central 
Louisiana National Wildlife Refuge Complex, 401 Island Road, 
Marksville, Louisiana 71351.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Special mailings, newspaper articles, and 
other media announcements will be used to inform the public and state 
and local government agencies of meeting dates and opportunities for 
input throughout the planning process. All comments received from 
individuals become part of the official public record. Requests for 
such comments will be handled in accordance with the Freedom of 
Information Act and the Council on Environmental Quality's NEPA, 
regulations [40 CFR 15076.6(f)].
    Tensas River National Wildlife Refuge lies within a physiographic 
region known as the Mississippi Alluvial Valley. This valley was, at 
one time, a 25-million-acfre forested wetland complex that extended 
along both sides of the Mississippi River from Illinois to Louisiana. 
More than 90 percent of the original forest has been cleared for 
agriculture. Congress authorized the establishment of the refuge in 
June 1980, in an effort to conserve the largest privately owned tract 
of bottomland hardwoods remaining in the region. It was acquired 
through a joint effort of the Fish and Wildlife Service and the Army 
Corps of Engineers to mitigate the loss of fish and wildlife resources 
associated with six flood control projects under construction, or being 
planned in that portion of the state.
    The refuge, totaling 71,217 acres, is located in the Tensas River 
Basin in northeast Louisiana, approximately 60 miles east of Monroe, 
Louisiana, and 25 miles west of Vicksburg, Mississippi. The office/
visitor center and maintenance facilities are located on the

[[Page 53132]]

refuge approximately 12 miles southwest of Tallulah, Louisiana.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Tina Chouinard, Natural Resource 
Planner, Central Louisiana National Wildlife Refuge Complex, telephone: 
318/253-4238; fax: 318/253-7139; e-mail: tina_chouinard@fws.gov or 
mail (write to the Natural Resource Planner at address in ADDRESSES 
section).

    Authority: This notice is published under the authority of the 
National Wildlife Refuge System Improvement Act of 1997, Public Law 
105-57.

    Dated: August 9, 2006.
Cynthia K. Dohen,
Acting Regional Director.
[FR Doc. 06-7503 Filed 9-7-06; 8:45 am]

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