[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 164 (Wednesday, August 25, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 52363-52364]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-21121]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[FWS-R4-R-2009-N272; 40136-1265-0000-S3]
Black Bayou Lake National Wildlife Refuge, Ouachita Parish, LA
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability: Final comprehensive conservation plan
and finding of no significant impact.
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SUMMARY: We, the Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce the
availability of our final comprehensive conservation plan (CCP) and
finding of no significant impact (FONSI) for the environmental
assessment for Black Bayou Lake National Wildlife Refuge (NWR). In the
final CCP, we describe how we will manage this refuge for the next 15
years.
ADDRESSES: You may obtain a copy of the CCP by writing to: Mr. George
Chandler, North Louisiana National Wildlife Refuge Complex, 11372
Highway 143, Farmerville, LA 71241. The CCP may also be accessed and
downloaded from the Service's Web site: http://southeast.fws.gov/planning/ under ``Final Documents.''
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. George Chandler; telephone: 318-
726-4222; fax: 318-726-4667; e-mail: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION
Introduction
With this notice, we finalize the CCP process for Black Bayou Lake
NWR. We started this process through a notice in the Federal Register
on May 8, 2008 (73 FR 26139).
The Black Bayou Lake NWR is a unit of the North Louisiana National
Wildlife Refuge Complex. In addition to Black Bayou Lake NWR, the
Complex includes D'Arbonne, Upper Ouachita, Handy Brake, and Red River
NWRs, and the Louisiana Farm Service Agency Tracts. Each refuge has
unique issues and has had separate planning efforts and public
involvement.
The Black Bayou Lake NWR plays an important role regionally in
fulfilling the national goals of the National Wildlife Refuge System.
Its close proximity to a major metropolitan center gives the public the
ability to participate in educational opportunities that promote
wildlife stewardship and to learn about environmental issues.
Black Bayou Lake NWR, established in 1997, is 3 miles north of the
city of Monroe, Louisiana, just east of Highway 165 in Ouachita Parish.
It contains 4,522 acres of wetland, bottomland hardwood, and upland
mixed pine/hardwood habitats. Although the suburban sprawl of the city
of Monroe surrounds much of its boundary, the refuge itself represents
many habitat types and is home to a diversity of plants and animals.
Black Bayou Lake NWR is situated in the Mississippi Flyway, the
Mississippi Alluvial Valley Bird Conservation Region, and the Lower
Mississippi River Ecosystem.
Black Bayou Lake NWR was established for ``the conservation of the
wetlands of the nation in order to maintain the public benefits they
provide and to help fulfill international obligations contained in
various migratory bird treaties and conventions'' 16 U.S.C. 3901 (b)
(Wetlands Extension Act).
The central physical feature of the refuge is the lake itself.
Black Bayou Lake, consisting of approximately 1,500 acres, is studded
with baldcypress and water tupelo trees. The western half of the lake
is open and deeper, unlike the eastern side, which is thick with trees
and emergent vegetation. This portion of the lake is naturally filling
in. The lake is owned by the city of Monroe, which manages its water
level as a secondary source of municipal water. The Service has a 99-
year free lease on the lake and some of its surrounding land,
constituting a total of 1,620 acres. The refuge owns the remaining
2,902 acres, consisting of upland pine/hardwood and bottomland hardwood
forests.
We announce our decision and the availability of the final CCP and
FONSI for Black Bayou Lake NWR in accordance with the National
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) [40 CFR 1506.6(b)] requirements. We
completed a thorough analysis of impacts on the human environment,
which we included in the Draft Comprehensive Conservation Plan and
Environmental Assessment (Draft CCP/EA). The CCP will guide us in
managing and administering Black Bayou Lake NWR for the next 15 years.
Alternative B is the foundation for the CCP.
The compatibility determinations for wildlife observation and
photography; environmental education and interpretation; big game
hunting; small game hunting; migratory bird hunting; fishing; hiking,
jogging, and walking; boating; all-terrain vehicles; plant gathering;
bicycling; and forest management/timber harvest are available in the
CCP.
Background
The National Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act of 1966 (16
U.S.C. 668dd-668ee) (Administration Act), as amended by the National
Wildlife Refuge System Improvement Act of 1997, requires us to develop
a CCP for each national wildlife refuge. The purpose in developing a
CCP is to provide refuge managers with a 15-year plan 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 our policies. In
addition to outlining broad management direction on conserving wildlife
and their habitats, CCPs identify wildlife-dependent recreational
opportunities available to the public, including opportunities for
hunting, fishing, wildlife observation, wildlife photography, and
environmental education and interpretation. We will review and update
the CCP at least every 15 years in accordance with the Administration
Act.
Comments
We made copies of the Draft CCP/EA available for a 30-day public
review and comment period via a Federal Register notice on September
20, 2009 (74 FR 50237). We received four comments on the Draft CCP/EA.
Selected Alternative
The Draft CCP/EA identified and evaluated three alternatives for
managing the refuge. After considering the comments we received and
based on the professional judgment of the planning team, we selected
Alternative B for implementation.
Under Alternative B, biological potential of historical habitats
will be restored and enhanced, with most management actions emphasizing
natural ecological processes to foster habitat functions and wildlife
populations. We will focus our efforts on reducing invasive species
threatening the biological integrity of the refuge. Baseline
inventorying and monitoring of management actions will
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be completed to gain information on a variety of species from reptiles
and amphibians to game animals, as well as species of concern. Several
cooperative projects will be conducted with universities, the Louisiana
Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, and other agencies and
individuals to provide biological information to be used in management
decisions. To determine how forest management is affecting wildlife,
partnerships will be developed to establish scientifically valid
protocols and to collaboratively work on research projects. Upland
forest management will focus on restoring the biological integrity of a
mixed hardwood/pine forest by promoting upland hardwood species. We
will increase our management of bottomlands to open canopy cover and
increase understory vegetation. Water control structures and pumping
capabilities will be improved to enhance moist-soil management for the
benefit of wintering waterfowl and shorebirds. Invasive species will be
mapped and protocols for control established. Partnerships will
continue to be fostered for several biological programs, hunting
regulations, law enforcement issues, and research projects.
Public use will be similar to current management, with a few
improvements based on additional resources. Environmental education
will increase from the current conditions only slightly. The program
will be enhanced and improved with the addition of two park rangers
(visitor services and law enforcement). Within 3 years of the date of
the CCP, we will develop a Visitor Services Plan to be used in
maintaining quality public use facilities and opportunities at Black
Bayou Lake NWR.
Staffing will increase by four positions: A full-time law
enforcement officer, a refuge operations specialist, a maintenance
worker, and a park ranger (Visitor Services). This will enable us to
increase biological inventorying and monitoring, enhance forest
management, increase invasives control, enhance the public use program,
and provide safe and compatible wildlife-dependent recreation.
Authority
This notice is published under the authority of the National
Wildlife Refuge System Improvement Act of 1997, Public Law 105-57.
Dated: January 13, 2010.
Jeffrey M. Fleming,
Acting Regional Director.
[FR Doc. 2010-21121 Filed 8-24-10; 8:45 am]
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