[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 219 (Monday, November 15, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 69622-69625]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-28696]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
RIN 0648-XA024
Request for Comments on the Draft Revision of the Estuary Habitat
Restoration Strategy Prepared by the Estuary Habitat Restoration
Council
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Notice; request for comments.
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SUMMARY: The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, on behalf
of the interagency Estuary Habitat Restoration Council, is soliciting
comments on the draft revision of the ``Estuary Habitat Restoration
Strategy.''
DATES: Comments and information must be received by January 14, 2011.
ADDRESSES: Send comments to Estuary Habitat Restoration Strategy, NOAA
Fisheries Service, 1315 East-West Highway, Room 14730, Silver Spring,
MD 20910. Electronic comments may be submitted by e-mail to
[email protected] or via an online form at http://www.era.noaa.gov. NOAA is not responsible for e-mail comments sent to addresses
other than the one provided here. Comments should be in one of the
following formats: Word or Word Perfect. The subject line for
submission of comments should begin with ``Estuary Habitat Restoration
Strategy comments from [insert name of agency, organization, or
individual].'' Comments sent via e-mail, including all attachments,
must not exceed a 10-megabyte file size.
All comments received are a part of the public record and may be
posted to http://www.era.noaa.gov without change. All Personal
Identifying Information (for example, name, address, etc.) voluntarily
submitted by the commenter may be publicly accessible. Do not submit
Confidential Business Information or otherwise sensitive or protected
information. A copy of the current strategy and authorizing legislation
may be obtained by writing to the address specified above, telephoning
the contact listed below (see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT), or
visiting the Internet at: http://www.era.noaa.gov or http://www.usace.army.mil/CECW/ERA/Pages/home.aspx.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jenni Wallace, NOAA Fisheries Service,
Silver Spring, MD, 301-713-0174.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Estuary Restoration Act of 2000, title I
of Public Law 106-457 as amended by Section 5017 of the Water Resources
Development Act of 2007, Public Law 110-114 (hereinafter referred to as
``the Act''), has four purposes: (1) Promotion of estuary habitat
restoration through a coordinated Federal approach relying on common
standards for monitoring and a common system for tracking restored
acreage; (2) Development of a national strategy for creating and
maintaining effective estuary habitat restoration partnerships among
public agencies as well as through public-private partnerships; (3)
Provision of Federal assistance through cooperative agreements for
efficient financing of estuary habitat restoration projects; and (4)
Development and enhancement of monitoring and research capabilities to
[[Page 69623]]
ensure that estuary habitat restoration efforts are based on sound
scientific understanding and innovative technologies.
The Estuary Habitat Restoration Council, consisting of
representatives from the Department of the Army, National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration, Environmental Protection Agency, United
States Fish and Wildlife Service, and Department of Agriculture, was
established to oversee implementation of the Act.
The Council was charged, among other things, with developing an
estuary habitat restoration strategy designed to ensure a comprehensive
approach to maximize benefits and foster coordination of Federal and
non-Federal activities. Mandatory elements of the strategy are set
forth in section 106(d) of the Act. The Council is also responsible for
soliciting, reviewing and evaluating project proposals, and submitting
a list of recommended proposals to the Secretary of the Army with
recommendations on project priority for funding and implementation. All
projects selected for implementation must be consistent with the
Strategy.
In December 2002 the Estuary Habitat Restoration Council published
the Final Estuary Habitat Restoration Strategy (67 FR 71942). Section
106(f) of the Act authorizes the Council to periodically review and
update the estuary habitat restoration strategy. The Council has
drafted a revised Strategy. The intent of this notice is to obtain
comments on the draft revised strategy prepared by the Estuary Habitat
Restoration Council in accordance with the requirements of Section
106(e)-(f) of the Act. After reviewing public comments on the draft,
the Council intends to publish the adopted revised version of the
Estuary Habitat Restoration Strategy in early 2011.
The 2002 Strategy was broader than site-specific restoration, and
encouraged the Council to develop a comprehensive approach to maximize
coordination of ongoing Federal and non-Federal estuary habitat
restoration activities throughout the country. There are many elements
from the 2002 Strategy that continue to be relevant to the Council's
efforts to effectively restore estuary restoration habitat. However,
the 2002 Strategy contained some goals that, while worthwhile, were not
achievable due to staffing and funding constraints. The draft revised
strategy, therefore, focuses the Council's limited funding and
resources on more attainable and realistic goals and identifies gaps
that are not currently being filled by other Federal programs. In
addition, the revised strategy identifies completed actions from the
2002 Strategy and discusses how the Council will build on these
accomplishments in the future.
In order to develop the draft revised Strategy, information was
gathered from the five Federal agencies involved with the Act. In
accordance with Section 105(i) of the Act, the Council consulted with
external stakeholders to obtain their advice. A stakeholder workshop
was held in June 2010 and a request for public comments to guide the
strategy revision process was published in the Federal Register on June
21, 2010 (75 FR 34975). The public comment period was open for 30 days.
Stakeholders were asked to provide their opinions about the direction
of the Act and how the program can best work with Federal and non-
Federal partners to achieve shared goals.
During this stakeholder process, a variety of gaps were identified
that the Council could direct resources to fill. However, two issues--
climate change adaptation and socio-economic monitoring--were
repeatedly raised. The Council addresses both of these issues in the
draft revised Strategy.
Draft Revised Estuary Habitat Restoration Strategy
Introduction
The Estuary Restoration Act (title I of Pub. L. 106-457) (Act) was
created in 2000 to establish a collaborative process among Federal
agencies for addressing the pressures facing our Nation's estuaries. In
2007, the Act was amended by Section 5017 of the Water Resources
Development Act (Pub. L. 110-114). As part of the Act, an inter-agency
Estuary Habitat Restoration Council (Council) was established to
encourage the restoration of estuary habitat through more efficient
project financing and enhanced coordination of Federal and non-Federal
restoration programs, and for other purposes. The Council is also
responsible for developing and revising from time-to-time an Estuary
Habitat Restoration Strategy (Strategy) in accordance with Section 106
of the Act. This Strategy revises and supersedes the Final Estuary
Habitat Restoration Strategy originally published in 2002 (67 FR
71942). The Council consists of representatives from the Department of
the Army--U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Department of
Commerce--National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the
Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of the Interior--United
States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), and the Department of
Agriculture--Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS).
Consistent with 2002 Strategy, much of the Council's work has
involved soliciting and funding on-the-ground habitat restoration
projects. The Council has also been actively engaged in developing
mechanisms that track estuary habitat restoration activities throughout
the country and improve monitoring and research capabilities to ensure
that estuary habitat restoration efforts are based on sound scientific
understanding and innovative technologies.
This revised Strategy enhances the Council's role in estuary
habitat restoration, and establishes a focus that will maximize
benefits to our Nation's estuaries. Based upon stakeholder feedback,
and in alignment with the Administration's National Ocean Policy, the
Council will direct resources toward restoration projects (and their
monitoring) that will be able to adapt to the stressors associated with
climate change. The Council will use climate adaptation as a priority-
setting tool, while still addressing the other objectives and
principles of the Strategy and Act.
Vision Statement
The primary objectives of this strategy are to: (1) Restore
estuarine habitats in a manner that allows for adaptation to stressors
associated with climate change, (2) build conservation partnerships,
(3) provide incentives to partners to develop innovative restoration
technology and (4) enhance monitoring capabilities.
Overarching Principles of the Estuary Restoration Act Strategy
The Council recognizes three overarching principles to efficiently
implement the Act and to contribute to estuary habitat restoration
efforts on a national scale. These principles include: supporting
existing Federal programs and fostering partnerships between Federal
and non-Federal partners; working at an ecosystem level; and working
within existing regional governance structures and voluntary
conservation frameworks actively engaged in estuary habitat restoration
issues and supporting the Administration's National Ocean Policy.
To support this Strategy's identified focus these three principles
will be viewed through the lens of climate change adaptation.
Public/Private Partnerships
To efficiently restore and preserve our Nation's estuarine habitat
it is essential to enhance partnerships among government agencies, non-
governmental entities, and private individuals.
[[Page 69624]]
Integrating with public-private partnerships is a central theme of the
Act and a critical part of this Strategy. Currently, hundreds of
existing public/private partnerships direct significant portions of
their resources to the restoration of estuarine habitat throughout the
United States. In addition, many of these ecosystem level partnerships
currently incorporate climate change adaptation components into their
own ongoing activities. Although too numerous to list, a few examples
include the National Fish Habitat Action Plan, National Waterfowl
Management Plan Joint Ventures, the National Estuary Program, the
National Estuarine Research Reserve System, and Fish and Wildlife
Service Landscape Conservation Cooperatives, as well as many projects
implemented by both the NRCS and USACE and their partners.
To maximize public-private partnerships, the Council will
prioritize funding to projects that collaborate among public agencies
and private organizations during the implementation of estuary
restoration projects.
Ecosystem Level Approach
This Strategy recognizes that successful estuary restoration
projects with multiple goals will improve ecosystem function. In its
review of project proposals, the Council will support projects
developed in an ecosystem context with multiple benefits and those that
utilize natural processes to restore and maintain estuary habitat.
Restoration projects should be designed using an ecosystem or watershed
approach to establish a self-sustaining area that provides the
structure and function necessary to support the many interrelated
physical, biological, and chemical components of healthy estuarine
habitats.
Regional Ocean Governance and National Ocean Policy
The Act encourages coordination among all levels of government in
order to address issues of estuarine habitat loss and degradation. The
Council recognizes that there are a variety of regional governance
structures whose efforts contribute significantly to estuary
restoration, including the Gulf of Mexico Alliance, Northeast Regional
Ocean Council, West Coast Governor's Agreement on Ocean Health, Mid-
Atlantic Regional Council on the Ocean, and the South Atlantic
Alliance. There are many existing Federal programs actively involved in
the protection, restoration and science of estuaries that work with the
regional governance structures. It is the goal of the Council to foster
cooperation between government agencies at the Federal, State, and
local levels, and that project proponents seeking funding from the Act
collaborate on the ground with any existing local governance
structures. In addition, the Council will reach out to non-ERA Federal
agencies to encourage collaboration and support of the goals of the
Act.
This coordination is in accordance with the Act and complements the
Administration's National Ocean Policy, which includes a set of
overarching guiding principles for management decisions and actions.
The Council recognizes that the principles and objectives of this
Strategy will aid the National Ocean Council in implementation of the
Policy and Implementation Strategy. In particular, this Strategy
supports Priority Objective 5: Resiliency and Adaptation to Climate
Change and Ocean Acidification and Priority Objective 6: Regional
Ecosystem Protection and Restoration.
Objectives of the Estuary Restoration Act Strategy
The following paragraphs describe the objectives of this Strategy.
Restore Estuarine Habitats in a Manner That Allows for Adaptation to
Stressors Associated With Climate Change
Coastal and marine habitats are already experiencing effects of
climate change and will continue to be among the first and most obvious
areas to suffer damage as changes continue to occur. The Council
recognizes that by increasing and protecting the amount of available
habitat, restoration projects will account for many environmental
stressors on estuarine species and increase the habitats' ability to
adapt to changing climate conditions. Examples could include projects
that increase the amount of available salt marsh habitat to buffer
against sea level rise or a fish passage barrier removal project that
increases available cool water habitat that will benefit anadromous
fish.
Build Conservation Partnerships
In order to maximize public-private partnerships, the Council
encourages collaboration among public agencies, private organizations,
companies, and individuals (e.g., private landowners, hunters, birders,
and fishermen) in restoration efforts. This connectivity encourages
private organizations, companies, landowners and others to bring their
resources (financial or in-kind) to the table to assist in planning and
implementing successful restoration projects.
The Council particularly encourages the use of existing
partnerships and planning entities to carry out this Strategy,
including the regional ocean governance structures.
Support Innovative Restoration Technology
The Act provides a financial incentive for the use of innovative
technology or approaches by increasing the Federal share of the cost
for the incremental increase in project cost due to the use of
innovative technology. The Council encourages project planners to
develop innovative technology as they design restoration projects.
Additionally, project planners are encouraged to develop unique and
innovative technologies that are designed with climate change adaption
in mind. The Council recognizes that there is less risk involved when
funding restoration projects that utilize familiar techniques, since
there is a higher degree of certainty that the project will result in
the desired outcomes. However, the Act emphasizes the need to support
projects that utilize innovative technology and, therefore, the Council
will prioritize projects that propose untested techniques that appear
to be based on scientifically-sound assumptions. The Council will
consider technology ``innovative'' if it involves a new process,
technique, or material or uses existing processes, techniques, or
materials in a new application or habitat type.
Enhance Monitoring Capabilities
Monitoring is important for a number of reasons. It allows
practitioners to track success and determine which methodologies are
successful, which are most cost effective, when adaptive management is
required and when more information is required prior to implementing
restoration. By closely tracking progress at the project level,
restoration practitioners and policymakers can determine whether
individual projects contribute to meeting the goals of estuary and
regional restoration plans, and tally habitat acreage restored at a
national scale.
The Act recognizes the importance of monitoring to the success of
any estuarine restoration program. It requires NOAA, in consultation
with the Council, to establish monitoring requirements for projects
funded under the Act. Those standards may be found at: http://www.era.noaa.gov/information/monitor.html. They are based on NOAA's
two-volume Science-Based Restoration Monitoring of Coastal Habitats,
which provides standard data
[[Page 69625]]
formats for project monitoring, along with requirements for types of
data collected and frequency of monitoring. The first volume (A
Framework for Monitoring Plans Under the Estuaries and Clean Water Act
of 2000) contains a framework for the creation of a monitoring plan.
The second volume (Tools for Monitoring Coastal Habitats) contains
detailed discussions of the habitats and their characteristics, along
with a variety of additional information. These documents are available
at the URL listed above.
The Council will continue to promote monitoring of estuarine
restoration projects with other agencies and when considering funding
projects. In addition, the Council will prioritize projects with
monitoring plans that measure the effectiveness of the climate change
adaptation components of the project design. Project monitoring,
however, must be scaled to the project's scope, and level of risk.
Mechanisms To Support the Estuary Restoration Act Strategy
Solicitation Process
The solicitation for estuarine habitat restoration projects
incorporates elements that must be considered as described in Section
104(c) of the Act, where the Council determines which projects to
recommend for funding. Other elements within the solicitation include
an equitable geographic distribution of projects, a balance of large
and small projects, and encouragement of demonstration of innovative
technology. The solicitation for estuarine habitat restoration project
proposals will describe more specifically the criteria that the Council
will use to prioritize climate change adaptation projects, as well as
other ranking criteria.
Efficient Project Financing and Implementation
As part of the Estuary Restoration Act, the Council was established
to encourage the restoration of estuary habitat through more efficient
project financing and implementation. The Council and its partners are
developing processes to improve the efficiency at which the projects
are implemented.
Science of Restoration Monitoring
In 2008 NOAA entered into a partnership with the National Estuarine
Research Reserve Program to estimate the long-term success of
restoration techniques. Grants were awarded to five National Estuarine
Research Reserves (Wells, ME; Narragansett Bay, RI; Chesapeake Bay, VA;
North Carolina; South Slough, OR) for this work. Project goals
included: Establish reference transects for measuring vegetation,
groundwater/tidal inundation, soil and pore water properties; monitor
reference and restoration sites to determine restoration ``success'' at
individual sites; determine restoration technique effectiveness; and
assess best monitoring parameters to determine success. In 2011 a final
report will articulate outcomes including reference site data that can
be used by other restoration practitioners and an analysis of the
success of past salt marsh restoration projects.
Socio-Economic Monitoring
Building on previous socio-economic efforts, NOAA has funded an
external panel and three case studies to help determine the value and
impact of coastal habitat restoration. These studies will produce the
best methods and metrics to use in measuring the economics of
restoration. NOAA, on behalf of the ERA, will continue to fund socio-
economic monitoring studies to help NOAA, the four other ERA agencies,
and our restoration partners consider systematic approaches for the
collection of data to measure and monitor the economic outcomes of
habitat restoration in the coastal zone.
National Estuaries Restoration Inventory
As required by the Act NOAA, in consultation with the Council,
developed the National Estuaries Restoration Inventory (NERI) (https://neri.noaa.gov/neri/), which maintains a database of information
concerning estuarine habitat restoration projects carried out under the
Act, as well as for other projects that meet the minimum monitoring
requirements. The inventory contains information on project techniques,
project completion, monitoring data, and other relevant information.
This database is Internet-accessible to allow widespread dissemination
and use of restoration project and monitoring data. The goal is to
incorporate information on estuarine projects from multiple sources.
NOAA will continue to work to incorporate estuarine restoration data
from all the agencies represented on the Council, including EPA's
National Estuary Program On-line Reporting Tool (NEPORT), the FWS
Habitat Information Tracking System (HabITS), and the Corps' Civil
Works Aquatic Ecosystem Restoration database.
Trends
Understanding trends for estuarine habitat is key to an effective
and efficient restoration program. Trends data provide a chronological
and geographic picture of change in habitat types, thereby helping
managers to recognize ecological stability or stress.
Under the auspices of the Act, two documents that measure estuarine
habitat within the U.S. have been finalized in order to address the
estimated historic losses, estimated current rate of loss, and extent
of the threat of future loss or degradation of each type of estuary
habitat. The ``Status and Trends of Wetlands in the Coastal Watersheds
of the Eastern United States, 1998 to 2004'' (http://www.fws.gov/wetlands/_documents/gSandT/NationalReports/StatusTrendsWetlandsCoastalWatershedsEasternUS1998to2004.pdf) was
completed in 2008. In this document, NOAA and USFWS analyzed sample
plots using digital high-resolution imagery to identify wetlands and
land use changes between 1998 and 2004 in the coastal watersheds of the
United States adjacent to the Atlantic Ocean, Gulf of Mexico, and Great
Lakes. The ``Habitat Change Analysis'' (http://www.era.noaa.gov/pdfs/final_habitat_trends_report.pdf) was completed in 2005. This
document assesses the overall conditions of historic and recent
degradation and loss of estuary-associated ecosystems and focuses on
the extent and condition of estuarine and Great Lakes wetlands in the
continental United States, using two time frames, 1930-2004 and 1992-
2004.
Moving Forward
Working with public/private partners and other interested
stakeholders, the Council will review and refine this Strategy over
time in an iterative process, as new information becomes available, as
implementation of the National Ocean Policy is initiated, and as
progress toward meeting the goals of the Act is evaluated. The Council
will create an Action Plan that will articulate what it will do to move
forward on the principles and objectives identified in this Strategy.
The Council looks forward to addressing the challenges facing estuarine
habitat restoration and serving as an effective vehicle through which
five Federal agencies can cooperatively direct their resources.
Dated: November 8, 2010.
Samuel D. Rauch III,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2010-28696 Filed 11-12-10; 8:45 am]
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