[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 126 (Monday, June 30, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Page 36843]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-14818]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration


Announcement of Chesapeake Bay Maryland National Estuarine 
Research Reserve Revised Management Plan Including a Boundary Expansion

AGENCY: Estuarine Reserves Division, Office of Ocean and Coastal 
Resource Management, National Ocean Service, National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of Approval and Availability of the Final Revised 
Management Plan for the Chesapeake Bay Maryland National Estuarine 
Research Reserve.

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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that the Estuarine Reserves Division, 
Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management, National Ocean 
Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), U.S. 
Department of Commerce has approved the revised management plan, which 
includes an expansion of the boundary of the reserve, for the 
Chesapeake Bay Maryland National Estuarine Research Reserve.
    The Chesapeake Bay Maryland National Estuarine Research Reserve has 
three sites: Monie Bay, Jug Bay, and Otter Point Creek. Monie Bay was 
designated as part of the National Estuarine Research Reserve in 1985 
and Jug Bay and Otter Point Creek were designated in 1990 pursuant to 
Section 315 of the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972, as amended, 16 
U.S.C. 1461. The reserve has been operating under a management plan 
approved in 1990. Pursuant to 15 CFR Section 921.33(c), a state must 
revise their management plan every five years. The submission of this 
plan brings the reserve into compliance and sets a course for 
successful implementation of the goals and objectives of the reserve. A 
boundary expansion, new facilities, and updated programmatic objectives 
are notable revisions to the 1990 approved management plan.
    The revised management plan outlines the administrative structure; 
the education, stewardship, and research goals of the reserve; and the 
plans for future land acquisition and facility development to support 
reserve operations. Since 1990, the reserve has added a coastal 
training program that delivers science-based information to key 
decision makers in the Chesapeake Bay. The reserve has realized many 
aspects of the 1990 plan, including the completion of the Anita C. 
Leight Center in Harford County. This facility provides classrooms, lab 
space, exhibit space and office space and has allowed the 
implementation of research, education and volunteer activity at the 
Otter Point Creek component of the reserve.
    This management plan calls for a boundary expansion at two reserve 
sites: 1,345 acres are incorporated into the Jug Bay component site and 
approximately 32 acres will be incorporated into the Otter Point Creek 
site. The Otter Point Creek component will expand its land area from 
443 to 475 acres. The land increase consists of two forested parcels 
adjacent to the current boundary that will serve as a buffer for core 
estuarine habitat and will also provide an important access point for 
monitoring and education programming. The expansion at Jug Bay includes 
land on both sides of the Patuxent River, increasing the acreage of 
this site from 491 to 1,836. The original boundary for this component 
site included a portion of the county-owned parks. This expansion 
incorporates a larger portion of those parks to become designated as 
part of the National Estuarine Research Reserves. West of the Patuxent 
River, the reserve will add 455 acres of wetlands and buffer lands that 
will enhance the protection of core reserve lands and will enhance the 
research and monitoring. East of the Patuxent River, the reserve will 
be expanded by 890 acres to increase the level of protection 
surrounding the river and expand the area available for reserve 
programming.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Michael Migliori at (301) 563-1126 or 
Laurie McGilvray at (301) 563-1158 of NOAA's National Ocean Service, 
Estuarine Reserves Division, 1305 East-West Highway, N/ORM5, 10th 
floor, Silver Spring, MD 20910. For copies of the Chesapeake Bay 
Management Plan revision, visit http://www.dnr.state.md.us/bay/cbnerr/.

    Dated: June 12, 2008.
David M. Kennedy,
Director, Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management, National 
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
 [FR Doc. E8-14818 Filed 6-27-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-08-P