[Federal Register: September 24, 2007 (Volume 72, Number 184)]
[Notices]
[Page 54280-54281]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr24se07-58]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
Supawna Meadows National Wildlife Refuge, Salem County, NJ
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare a comprehensive conservation plan
and environmental assessment; announcement of public scoping and
request for comments.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (we, us, Service) is
gathering the information needed to prepare a comprehensive
conservation plan (CCP) and associated environmental assessment (EA)
for Supawna Meadows National Wildlife Refuge (NWR). We publish this
notice in compliance with our policy of advising other agencies and the
public of our intentions to conduct detailed planning on refuges and
obtain suggestions and information about the scope of issues to
consider in the planning process.
DATES: We held public scoping meetings in September 2007 after
announcing the location, date, and times at least 2 weeks in advance in
special mailings, notices in local newspapers, in radio public service
announcements, on our Web site (http://www.fws.gov/northeast/planning),
and through personal contacts. To ensure our consideration of your
written comments, you must submit them within 30 days of the
publication of this notice.
ADDRESSES: Send your comments or requests for more information on the
planning process to Beth Goldstein, Refuge Planner, U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service, 300 Westgate Center Drive, Hadley, MA, 01035; 413-
253-8564 (telephone); 413-253-8468 (fax); northeastplanning@fws.gov
(electronic mail). If submitting comments by electronic mail, please
put ``Supawna Meadows NWR'' in the subject line.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION: To obtain more information on the refuge,
contact Howard Schlegel, Refuge Manager, Cape May NWR, at 609-463-0994
(telephone); fw5rw_spmnwr@fws.gov (electronic mail); http://www.fws.gov/refuges/profiles/index.cfm?id=52571
(Supawna Meadows NWR
Web site).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This notice initiates the comprehensive
conservation planning process for Supawna Meadows NWR, which is
administered by Cape May NWR staff with headquarters in Cape May Court
House, New Jersey.
Background
The CCP Process
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 us to develop a CCP for each national
wildlife refuge. The purpose of a CCP is to provide refuge managers
with a 15-year plan for achieving refuge purposes and contributing to
the mission of the National Wildlife Refuge System (NWRS), consistent
with the sound principles of fish and wildlife management and
conservation, legal mandates, and Service policies. In addition to
providing broad management direction on conserving wildlife and
habitat, the plans identify wildlife-dependent recreational
opportunities available to the public, including opportunities for
hunting, fishing, wildlife observation and photography, and
environmental education and interpretation. We will review and update
the CCP at least every 15 years.
We establish each refuge for specific purposes, and use those
purposes to develop and prioritize its management goals, objectives,
and public uses. The planning process is one way for us and for the
public to evaluate those goals and objectives for the best possible
conservation of important wildlife habitat, while providing
opportunities for wildlife-dependent recreation compatible with those
purposes and the mission of the NWRS.
We request your input on all issues, concerns, ideas, improvements
and suggestions for the future management of Supawna Meadows NWR. You
may submit comments at any time during the planning process by writing
to the refuge planner (see ADDRESSES above).
We will conduct the environmental review of this project in
accordance with the requirements of the National Environmental Policy
Act of 1969 (NEPA), as amended (42 U.S.C. 4321, et seq.), the Council
on Environmental Quality Regulations on NEPA (40 CFR parts 1500-1508),
other appropriate Federal laws and regulations, and our policies and
procedures for complying with them. All of the comments we receive on
either our EAs or our environmental impact statements become part of
the official public record. We will handle requests for those comments
in accordance with the Freedom of Information Act, NEPA (40 CFR
1506.6(f)), and other policies and procedures of the Department of the
Interior or the Service. When we receive such a request, we will
provide
[[Page 54281]]
comment letters with the names and addresses of the individuals who
wrote them. However, to the extent permissible by law, we will not
provide the telephone numbers of those individuals.
Supawna Meadows NWR
Supawna Meadows NWR currently includes more than 3,000 acres of
marsh, grassland, shrubland, and forest habitats. The approved refuge
acquisition boundary encompasses 4,500 acres along the Upper Delaware
Bay and Salem River in Pennsville Township, New Jersey. The refuge
boundaries are defined by the Delaware Bay, Salem River, and Fort Mott
Road.
Supawna Meadows NWR was originally established as the Goose Pond
addition to the Killcohook NWR (currently termed Killcohook Dredge
Spoil Disposal Area), which was established by Executive Order 6582 on
February 3, 1934. The refuge was renamed Supawna Meadows NWR and
officially separated from Killcohook on April 10, 1974, by the Service.
On October 30, 1998, the Service's jurisdiction over Killcohook was
revoked.
Supawna Meadows NWR was established as a ``* * *refuge and breeding
ground for wild birds and animals;'' ``* * *for particular value in
carrying out the national migratory bird management program;'' ``* *
*for use as an inviolate sanctuary, or for any other management
purpose, for migratory birds;'' and as a refuge ``* * *suitable for (1)
incidental fish and wildlife-oriented recreational development, (2) the
protection of natural resources, (3) the conservation of endangered
species or threatened species* * *''
The refuge is located in the Atlantic Flyway, where birds migrating
from interior Canada and the coastal Provinces merge to form the main
stem of the flyway. The area not only serves as an important migration
area, but also provides wintering habitat for large numbers of
waterfowl. Recent midwinter waterfowl inventory flights for the Salem
River watershed averaged more than 2,000 dabbling ducks and more than
17,000 Canada geese.
Supawna Meadows NWR provides critical foraging habitat for more
than 6,000 pairs of 9 species of wading birds that nest on Pea Patch
Island, one of the largest rookeries on the east coast. Pea Patch
Island and the surrounding area, including the refuge, have been
designated a Special Management Area by the States of New Jersey and
Delaware, in accordance with the Coastal Zone Management Act.
Supawna Meadows NWR receives significant use by shorebirds during
both spring and fall migrations. The refuge and adjacent marshes are
currently being investigated for potential inclusion in the Western
Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network. It also provides habitat for the
bald eagle, as well as State-listed endangered and threatened species
and species of conservation concern.
A maternity colony of more than 1,500 bats, primarily the little
brown bat, roosts in a dilapidated barn on the refuge. The federally
endangered Indiana bat is known to form small colonies within large
little brown bat colonies. Indiana bats have been documented within the
Highlands region of New Jersey, but little survey work has taken place
within the southern portion of the State, and it is not yet known if
the species is present within the Coastal Plain.
Reptile and amphibian species of conservation concern at Supawna
Meadows NWR include northern diamondback terrapin, eastern box turtle,
spotted turtle, and Fowler's toad.
The predominant public uses of the refuge are hunting, fishing,
wildlife observation and photography. There are two walking trails and
one boating trail to facilitate those uses. Portions of the refuge are
open to deer hunting and waterfowl hunting per State regulations. There
is an historic lighthouse on the refuge, the Finns Point Rear Range
Light, which draws a number of visitors.
Dated: September 18, 2007.
Thomas J. Healy,
Acting Regional Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Hadley,
Massachusetts.
[FR Doc. E7-18740 Filed 9-21-07; 8:45 am]
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