1806 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 8 / Wednesday, January 13, 2010 / Notices 

(FAVOR), and to establish new 

partnerships for environmental 

education and outreach programs. 

Resource protection and visitor safety 

would be greatly enhanced through this 

alternative, with the addition of two law 

enforcement officers. This would allow 

for more patrol and enforcement of 

closures and sensitive areas protection, 

especially of wilderness areas or 

cultural resource sites. New areas of the 

backcountry would be closed to public 

access to protect wildlife resources. We 

would seek expanded management 

authority to regulate public and 

commercial activities in nearshore 

waters and submerged lands under the 

Management Agreement. A cultural 

resources field investigation and 

inventory would be conducted. 

Implementation of Alternative C 

would also occur through the 

development of 11 step-down 

management plans. New staffing would 

be proposed through the addition of 6 

permanent, full-time employees. The 

positions would be in addition to the 5 

full-time positions proposed in 

Alternative B, for a total of 11 full-time 

positions in Alternative C. New 

maintenance and government housing 

facilities would be proposed along with 

new vehicles and boats to accommodate 

the staff increases. While Alternative C 

would promote our vision for these 

refuges, the resources available to 

implement it would not likely be 

forthcoming in the current economic 

environment as compared to when first 

proposed. 

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 for 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 wildlifedependent 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 

every15 years in accordance with the 

Administration Act. 

Comments 

Notices of availability of the Draft 

Comprehensive Conservation Plan and 

Environmental Assessment (Draft CCP/ 

EA) were sent to 200 persons on the 

mailing list and copies were made 

available for a 30-day public review 

period as announced in the Federal 

Register on May 23, 2008 (73 FR 30139). 

At least 47 persons attended two public 

meetings held on the Draft CCP/EA 

during the open comment period. We 

received 25 comment letters by mail or 

e-mail from 16 persons and 11 nongovernmental organizations. Comments 

were received from 4 government 

agencies and 1 Tribal government. The 

Draft CCP/EA was circulated through 

the Florida State Clearinghouse to 8 

State, regional, and local governments. 

Selected Alternative 

After considering the comments we 

received, and based on the professional 

judgment of the planning team, we 

selected Alternative B to implement the 

CCP. It promotes the enhancement of 

wildlife populations by maintaining and 

enhancing a diversity and abundance of 

habitats for native plants and animals, 

especially imperiled species that are 

only found in the Florida Keys. Many of 

the objectives and strategies are 

designed to maintain and restore native 

plant communities and ensure the 

biological integrity across the landscape. 

Strategies are designed to restore and 

maintain the fire-dependent pine 

rocklands and to enhance habitat 

features of selected salt marsh transition 

and freshwater wetland communities 

that benefit priority species in the 

National Key Deer Refuge. Research and 

monitoring will provide essential 

information for implementing an 

adaptive management approach to 

strategic landscape conservation, 

providing flexibility in management 

strategies in order to incorporate new 

information and changing 

environmental conditions. The CCP also 

provides for obtaining baseline data and 

monitoring indicator species to detect 

changes in ecosystem diversity and 

integrity related to climate change. 

Since a primary purpose of the 

refuges is to provide sanctuary for 

nesting and migratory birds, protection 

from human disturbance will be 

enhanced, particularly at colonial 

nesting bird rookeries and at beach 

habitats in the backcountry islands of 

the Key West and Great White Heron 

NWRs. Ongoing research to identify 

causal reasons for the marked, long-term 

decline in the great white heron nesting 

population, as well as studies on the 

impacts of sea level rise on wading 

birds, will be expanded. 

A primary focus of the visitor services 

program is to enhance environmental 

education and outreach efforts through 

existing venues and expanded 

partnerships to reach a diversity of local 

residents, businesses, students, 

educators, and visitors. This plan 

focuses on increasing public awareness, 

understanding, and support for the 

refuges’ conservation mission. It places 

priority on wildlife-dependent 

recreational uses, such as wildlife 

observation and photography. Nonwildlife dependent forms of recreation, 

such as beach picnicking and 

sunbathing, will be limited or restricted 

in sensitive areas. Awareness efforts 

will be expanded to inform visitors 

about protecting wilderness values. 

The compatibility determinations for 

(1) Environmental education and 

interpretation; (2) hiking/daypacking, 

jogging, and walking (National Key Deer 

Refuge only); (3) bicycling (National Key 

Deer Refuge only); (4) wildlife 

observation and photography; (5) 

fishing; (6) beach use (National Key 

Deer Refuge only); (7) public use on 

wilderness and backcountry islands; (8) 

research and monitoring; (9) mosquito 

management (National Key Deer Refuge 

and Great White Heron NWR only); and 

(10) horseback riding (National Key 

Deer Refuge only) are available in 

Appendix F of the CCP. 

Authority 

This notice is published under the 

authority of the National Wildlife 

Refuge System Improvement Act of 

1997, Public Law 105–57. 

Dated: August 24, 2009. 

Patrick Leonard, 

Acting Regional Director. 

[FR Doc. 2010–447 Filed 1–12–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–55–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

National Park Service 

Draft General Management Plan and 

Environmental Impact Statement, New 

River Gorge National River, WV 

AGENCY: National Park Service, 

Department of the Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of availability of the 

Draft General Management Plan and 

Environmental Impact Statement for 

New River Gorge National River. 

SUMMARY: Pursuant to the National 

Environmental Policy Act of 1969, 42 

U.S.C. 4332(2)(C), the National Park 

Service announces the availability of the 


srobinson on DSKHWCL6B1PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 8 / Wednesday, January 13, 2010 / Notices 1807 

Draft General Management Plan and 

Environmental Impact Statement (Draft 

GMP/EIS) for New River Gorge National 

River, West Virginia. Consistent with 

National Park Service laws, regulations, 

and policies, and the purpose of the 

National River, the Draft GMP/EIS 

describes and analyzes five alternatives, 

including the no action alternative, to 

guide the management of the National 

River over the next 15 to 20 years. The 

alternatives incorporate various 

management prescriptions to ensure 

protection, access and enjoyment of the 

park’s resources. 

Alternative 1 is the no action 

alternative, which would continue 

current management and trends, with 

no major changes in direction. 

Alternative 2 emphasizes the 

substantial differences among subareas 

of the gorge, improving them to reflect 

their differing character, resources, and 

visitor experiences. Management actions 

would build upon the cultural resource, 

interpretive, and recreational 

opportunities of the north and south 

ends of the park, while retaining a 

primitive and remote feeling in the 

middle of the park. 

Alternative 3 would unify the park by 

providing a north-south through park 

hike and bike trail, enhancing existing 

scenic roads, and building new access 

and facilities in the middle of the park 

to balance opportunities for visitors 

throughout the park. 

Alternative 4 recognizes river 

gateways and the rim to river 

experiences that take visitors to them as 

the primary access points and 

orientation venues in the park. River 

gateways would be enhanced to tell 

gorge stories while providing improved 

river, trail, and recreational access. The 

NPS and gateway communities would 

work cooperatively to enhance rim to 

river experiences. 

Alternative 5 is the National Park 

Service’s preferred alternative. 

Alternative 5 would preserve areas for 

primitive recreational experiences from 

end to end of the park. Interspersed 

with these primitive areas would be 

cultural and interpretive resource focal 

areas where visitors could explore 

communities and other places that once 

populated the gorge, experience the 

river, and enjoy a variety of recreational 

experiences. A north-south through park 

connector composed of improved scenic 

roads and trails would enable visitors to 

travel the length of the park, visit these 

areas, and access the backcountry. 

Partnerships with gateway communities 

and improved rim to river experiences 

would foster links to the park as a whole 

and to specific cultural and interpretive 

resource areas within the park. 

The Draft GMP/EIS evaluates 

potential environmental consequences 

of implementing the five alternatives. It 

describes the affected natural, cultural, 

scenic, and socioeconomic 

environments within and near the park 

and analyzes potential impacts on park 

resources and values. Seventeen 

resource topics are addressed, including 

physiography, geology, and soils; 

floodplains; water quality; vegetation; 

aquatic wildlife; terrestrial wildlife; 

rare, threatened, and endangered 

species; scenic resources; archeological 

resources; cultural landscapes; historic 

structures; ethnographic resources; 

regional and local economy; 

communities; visitor use and visitor 

experience; park access; and park 

operations. 

DATES: The National Park Service will 

accept comments on the Draft GMP/EIS 

from the public for 60 days from the 

date the Environmental Protection 

Agency publishes their Notice of 

Availability in the Federal Register. 

Public meetings will be held in Hinton, 

Beckley, and Fayetteville, West Virginia 

to solicit comments on the Draft GMP/ 

EIS during the public review period. 

The dates, times, and locations will be 

announced on the park’s Web site at 

http://www.nps.gov/neri; on the NPS 

Planning, Environment, and Public 

Comment (PEPC) Web site at http:// 

parkplanning.nps.gov/neri; in local 

papers; and can also be obtained by 

contacting the park at (304) 465–0508. 

ADDRESSES: The Draft GMP/EIS will be 

available for public review and 

comment online at the NPS PEPC Web 

site (http://parkplanning.nps.gov/neri), 

and at the park’s Web site (http:// 

www.nps.gov/neri). Printed copies (in 

limited quantity) and CDs can be 

requested by calling (304) 465–0508. 

Printed hardcopies can be viewed at the 

following locations: 

New River Gorge National River— 

Headquarters, 104 Main Street, Glen 

Jean, WV 25846. 

New River Gorge National River— 

Canyon Rim Visitor Center, 162 Visitor 

Center Road (off US 19, north of the 

New River Gorge Bridge), Lansing, WV 

25862. 

New River Gorge National River— 

Sandstone Visitor Center, Meadow 

Creek Road, Sandstone, WV 25958. 

Raleigh County Public Library, 221 N. 

Kanawha Street, Beckley, WV 25801. 

Summers County Public Library, 201 

Temple Street, Hinton, WV 25951. 

Oak Hill Public Library, 611 Main 

Street. Oak Hill, WV 25901. 

The preferred method to comment is 

to submit comments electronically 

through the NPS PEPC Web site at 

http://parkplanning.nps.gov/neri. You 

may also send written comments to 

Superintendent Don Striker, New River 

Gorge National River, 104 Main St., 

Glen Jean, WV 25846. Before including 

your address, phone number, e-mail 

address, or other personal identifying 

information in your comment, you 

should be aware that your entire 

comment—including your personal 

identifying information—may be made 

publicly available at any time. While 

you can ask us in your comment to 

withhold your personal identifying 

information from public review, we 

cannot guarantee that we will be able to 

do so. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Don 

Striker, Superintendent, New River 

Gorge National River, 104 Main Street, 

Glen Jean, WV 25846, (304) 465–0508. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Through 

the Draft GMP/EIS planning process, the 

NPS was able to develop a unified 

approach to managing the major 

changes in and adjacent to the park 

since the 1982 General Management 

Plan was prepared, to focus on 

protecting park natural, cultural, and 

scenic resources, and to identify 

opportunities to facilitate appropriate 

forms of visitor education, 

interpretation and use. Twelve related 

legislative mandates have been added 

since the enabling legislation was 

signed into law in 1978, including 

several boundary changes. The most 

recent legislation mandates the 

continuation of hunting within the park. 

The Draft GMP/EIS includes a 

recommendation for additional 

boundary changes as well as a 

wilderness eligibility assessment for all 

National Park Service lands and waters 

within the current park boundary. 

Mary Pearson-Cooper, 

Acting Regional Director, Northeast Region, 

National Park Service. 

[FR Doc. 2010–444 Filed 1–12–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–YP–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Bureau of Land Management 

Notice of Intent To Prepare an 

Environmental Impact Statement for 

the Restoration Design Energy Project 

and Possible Land Use Plan 

Amendment 

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of Intent. 

SUMMARY: In compliance with the 

National Environmental Policy Act 

(NEPA) of 1969, as amended, and the 


srobinson on DSKHWCL6B1PROD with NOTICES