[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 144 (Wednesday, July 29, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Page 37693]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-18087]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration


National Estuarine Research Reserve System

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 public comment period for the Revised Management Plan 
for the North Carolina 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 is announcing a thirty day public comment period 
on the North Carolina National Estuarine Research Reserve Management 
Plan Revision.
    Four sites in coastal North Carolina comprise the North Carolina 
National Estuarine Research Reserve; Currituck Banks, Rachel Carson, 
Masonboro Island and Zeke's Island. Currituck Banks, Rachel Carson and 
Zeke's Island were designated in 1985, and Masonboro Island was 
designated in 1991, as the North Carolina National Estuarine Research 
Reserve pursuant to Section 315 of the Coastal Zone Management Act of 
1972, as amended, 16 U.S.C. 1461. The reserve has been operating in 
partnership with the North Carolina Department of Environment and 
Natural Resources under a management plan approved in 1998. Pursuant to 
15 CFR Section 921.33(c), a state must revise their management plan 
every five years. The submission of this plan fulfills this requirement 
and sets a course for successful implementation of the goals and 
objectives of the reserve. An increase in the vertical placement of the 
program on the state organizational chart, a new administrative 
facility, and updated programmatic objectives are notable revisions to 
the 1998 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. This management plan describes how the strengths of 
the reserve will focus on several areas relevant to coastal North 
Carolina, including coastal population increase, altered land use, 
storm water runoff and eutrophication, invasive species, tropical and 
coastal storm impacts and sea level rise.
    Since 1998, the reserve has added a coastal training program that 
delivers science-based information to key decision makers in North 
Carolina; has completed a site profile that characterizes the reserve; 
and has expanded the monitoring, stewardship and education programs. A 
new administrative building (2007) has been built to support the growth 
of reserve programs.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Amy Clark at (301) 563-1137 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 North Carolina Management Plan 
revision, visit http://www.nccoastalreserve.net/.

    Dated: July 23, 2009.
Donna Wieting,
Deputy Director, Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management, 
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
[FR Doc. E9-18087 Filed 7-28-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-08-P