[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 189 (Thursday, October 1, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Page 50779]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-23822]


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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 Approval and Availability for the Revised Management 
Plan for the North Carolina National Estuarine Research Reserve.

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SUMMARY: 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 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 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: September 28, 2009.
David Kennedy,
Director, Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management, National 
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
[FR Doc. E9-23822 Filed 9-30-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-08-P