51482 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 190 / Wednesday, October 1, 1997 / Notices

amber snail population in its

Chittenango Falls habitat while

establishing or verifying five additional

discrete populations in protected

habitats. The Service solicits review and

comment from the public on this draft

Plan revision.

DATES: Comments on the draft Recovery

Plan must be received December 1,

1997, to receive consideration by the

Service.

ADDRESSES: Persons wishing to review

the draft Recovery Plan can obtain a

copy from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife

Service, Northeast Region Endangered

Species Program, 300 Westgate Center

Drive, Hadley, Massachusetts 01035,

telephone 413–253–8628. Comments

should be sent to this address, to the

attention of Mary Parkin.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Mary Parkin (see ADDRESSES).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

Restoring an endangered or

threatened animal or plant to the point

where it is again a secure, selfsustaining member of its ecosystem is a

primary goal of the U.S. Fish and

Wildlife Service’s endangered species

program. To help guide the recovery

effort, the Service is working to prepare

Recovery Plans for most of the listed

species native to the United States.

Recovery Plans describe actions

considered necessary for conservation of

the species, establish criteria for the

recovery levels for downlisting or

delisting them, and estimate time and

cost for implementing the recovery

measures needed.

The Endangered Species Act of 1973,

as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.)

requires the development of Recovery

Plans for listed species unless such a

Plan would not promote the

conservation of a particular species.

Section 4(f) of the Act, as amended in

1988, requires that public notice and an

opportunity for public review and

comment be provided during Recovery

Plan development. The Service will

consider all information presented

during a public comment period prior to

approval of each new or revised

Recovery Plan. The Service and other

Federal agencies will also take these

comments into account in the course of

implementing Recovery Plans.

The document submitted for review is

the draft Chittenango Ovate Amber

Snail (Novisuccinea chittenangoensis)

Revised Recovery Plan. Since its

discovery in 1905, only one extant

Chittenango ovate amber snail

population has been verified, from a site

within the Chittenango Falls State Park

in New York.

This terrestrial snail requires the cool,

mild-temperature, moist conditions

provided by the spray and mist in its

environment. Its habitat lies within a

ravine at the base of a 167-foot waterfall,

and the ledges it occupies comprise an

early successional sere that is

periodically rejuvenated to a bare

substrate by floodwaters. This snail is

found on green vegetation such as

various mosses, liverworts, and other

low herbaceous vegetation within the

spray zone of the falls.

The Chittenango ovate amber snail

was listed as a threatened species in

July 1978 based on its rarity and a

decline in its population, and the initial

recovery plan for the species was

completed in March 1983. Since then,

full protection of the snail’s habitat has

been achieved and a captive

propagation program is underway, but

the species’ status remains exceedingly

precarious. The primary threat to the

sole wild population of this snail is

considered to be over-competition by an

introduced snail, Succinea sp B.

Additionally, potential threats persist

from habitat changes and inadvertent

human disturbance.

Due to the pervasive threat posed by

the competitor Succinea sp. B, delisting

of the Chittenango ovate amber snail is

not deemed achievable at this time. The

revised recovery objective for this

species, therefore, is to stabilize, to the

extent possible, the extant population at

Chittenango Falls while establishing or

verifying five additional, discrete

Chittenango ovate amber snail colonies

in protected habitats free from the

competition of Succinea sp. B. To

achieve this objective, four major

actions need to be implemented: (1)

continued protection of the species and

its habitat and Chittenango Falls; (2)

acquiring more data on the biological

and environmental requirements of N.

chittenangoensis; (3) enhancing the

snail’s habitat at Chittenango Falls as

feasible or appropriate; and (4) as

feasible, broadening the distribution of

the Chittenango ovate amber snail.

The draft Recovery Plan revision is

being submitted for agency review. After

consideration of comments received

during the review period, the revised

Plan will be submitted for final

approval.

Public Comments Solicited

The Service solicits written comments

on the Recovery Plan described. All

comments received by the date specified

above will be considered prior to

approval of the Plan.

Authority

The authority for this action is

Section 4(f) of the Endangered Species

Act, 16 U.S.C. 1533(f).

Dated: September 25, 1997.

Ronald E. Lambertson,

Regional Director, Region 5.

[FR Doc. 97–26094 Filed 9–30–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310–55–M

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

Comprehensive Management Plan

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare

comprehensive management plans and

associated environmental documents.

SUMMARY: This notice advises the pubic

that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

(Service) intends to gather information

necessary to prepare comprehensive

management plans (CMPs) and

environmental assessments for units

within Illinois, Iowa, Michigan,

Minnesota, Missouri, and Ohio. Readers

should note that pending legislation

may change the names of CMPs to

comprehensive conservation plans. The

CMPs will be prepared for the Illinois

River Refuges and Mark Twain, DeSoto,

Shiawassee, Minnesota Valley, Squaw

Creek, and Ottawa National Wildlife

Refuges and the Wetland Management

Districts in Minnesota. The Service is

furnishing this notice in compliance

with Service CMP policy and the

National Environmental Policy Act

(NEPA) and implementing regulations:

(1) To advise other agencies and the

public of our intentions, and

(2) To obtain suggestions and

information one the scope of issues to

include in the environmental document.

DATES: Inquire at the address below for

due dates for comments regarding

specific projects.

ADDRESSES: Address comments and

requests for more information or to be

put on a mailing list to: Chief, Branch

of Ascertainment and Planning, U.S.

Fish and Wildlife Service, Bishop Henry

Whipple Federal Building, 1 Federal

Drive, Fort Snelling, Minnesota 55111,

(612) 725–3306, E-mail:

R3PLANNING@fws.gov

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The

Service will solicit information from the

public via open houses and written

comments. Special mailings, newspaper

articles, and radio announcements in

the areas near each unit will inform

people of the time and place of open

houses to be held in 1997 and 1998

related to the CMP and NEPA

documentation.
Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 190 / Wednesday, October 1, 1997 / Notices 51483

It is Service policy to have all lands

within the National Wildlife Refuge

System managed in accordance with an

approved CMP. The CMP guides

management decisions and identifies

goals, objectives, and strategies for

achieving unit purposes. Public input

into this planning process is

encouraged. The CMPs will provide

other agencies and the public with a

clear understanding of the desired

conditions of each of its units and how

the Service will implement management

strategies.

The Illinois River National Wildlife

and Fish Refuges is a complex of four

areas in the Illinois River floodplain.

The names of the four areas, the year

they were established, and their acreage

are: Chautauqua Refuge (1936) 4,658;

Meredosia Refuge (1973) 3,397;

Emiquon Refuge, which is authorized

for 11,312 acres, (1993) 1,120; and the

Cameron/Billsbach Unit (1958) 1,709.

Each of the areas consists of backwater

lakes, bottomland forests, floodplain

wetland, and a small amount of upland

forest.

The Mark Twain National Wildlife

Refuge (NWR) Complex encompasses

over 350 miles of the Mississippi River

bottoms between Muscatine, Iowa, and

Gorham, Illinois. As part of an area of

100,000 acres cooperatively managed by

the States of Iowa, Illinois, and

Missouri, and the Corps of Engineers,

the Service directly manages 31,500

acres. The Refuge was established in

1958 and includes the Wapello, Iowa;

Annada, Missouri; and Brussels, Illinois

Districts; and the Clarence Cannon NWR

in Missouri. The Refuge is part of the

internationally significant migratory

bird corridor along the Mississippi

River.

DeSoto NWR is located in

southwestern Iowa, approximately 30

miles north of Omaha, Nebraska.

Established in 1958, the Refuge includes

3,499 acres in Iowa and 4,324 acres in

Nebraska. Located in the Missouri River

Valley, the Refuge is a fall migration

stop for hundreds of thousands of snow

geese. In addition, the Refuge houses a

salvaged 1860’s steamboat and its cargo.

Shiawassee NWR consists of 9,102

acres located near Saginaw, Michigan.

The Refuge was established in 1953 and

has an approved plan to expand by

7,500 acres. The Refuge is part of the

‘‘Shiawassee Flats’’ in the Saginaw Bay

watershed, historically one of the largest

and most productive wetland

ecosystems in Michigan.

Minnesota Valley NWR, which was

established in 1976, consists of 9,429

acres within the metropolitan area of

Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota.

The Refuge, which has an authorized

acreage of 14,000, is a greenbelt

providing wildlife habitat along 34

miles of the Minnesota River. The

Refuge also provides environmental

education and compatible outdoor

recreation opportunities.

Squaw Creek NWR, which was

established in 1935, includes 7,178

acres of the Missouri River floodplain.

Located northwest of St. Joseph,

Missouri, the Refuge is a major

wintering area for bald eagles and snow

geese. Wetlands and loess bluff hills

with remnants of native prairie exist

within the Refuge.

Ottawa NWR (5,794 acres) and its

satellite units, Cedar Point National

Wildlife Refuge (2,445 acres) and West

Sister Island National Wildlife Refuge

and Wilderness Area (77 acres), are

situated along the southwestern shore of

Lake Erie in Lucas and Ottawa Counties,

Ohio. The major parcel of Ottawa NWR

was acquired in 1961 with land

acquired under the authority of the

Migratory Bird Conservation Act. Cedar

Point was accepted as a donation by the

Secretary of Interior in 1964. West Sister

Island was established as a Refuge in

1938 by Presidential Order and was

designated a National Wilderness in

1975. Under a lease agreement, Ottawa

NWR also manages the Navarre Marsh,

which is owned by the Toledo Edison

Power Company. The Refuge is

authorized to expand by an additional

5,000 acres.

The five Minnesota Wetland

Management Districts (WMDs) exist

within the Prairie Pothole Region. In

1958, Congress amended The Duck

Stamp Act to authorize acquisition of

wetlands and uplands as Waterfowl

Production Areas (WPAs). The WPAs

became part of the National Wildlife

Refuge System in 1966 through the

National Wildlife Refuge

Administration Act. The WMDs were

created in 1962 as the acquisition of

wetlands and uplands accelerated due

to a loan from Congress against future

Duck Stamp sales. The WMDs include

approximately 172,000 acres. In

addition to WPAs, WMD staff manage

wetland and grassland easements that

are perpetual contracts with private

landowners. Current wetland easement

acreage is approximately 62,000.

The Service units need CMPs because

no formal, up-to-date, long-term

management direction exists. Until the

CMPs are completed, management will

be guided by official unit purposes;

Management and General Public Use of

the National Wildlife Refuge System

(Executive Order 12996); Federal

legislation regarding management of

national wildlife refuges and

wilderness; and other legal, regulatory

and policy guidance.

Upon implementation, the CMPs will

apply to Federal lands, easements, and

lands leased by the Service within the

boundaries of the units. The plans will

be consistent with the Service’s

Ecosystem Approach to Fish and

Wildlife Conservation and include

approaches to habitat management,

wildlife population management,

cultural resource identification and

protection, and management of any

special uses.

The environmental review of these

projects will be conducted in

accordance with the requirements of the

National Environmental Policy Act of

1969, as amended (42 U.S.C. 4321 et

seq.), NEPA Regulations (40 CFR 1500–

1508), other appropriate Federal laws

and regulations, Executive Order 12996,

and Service policies and procedures for

compliance with those regulations.

We estimate that the first draft CMPs

and associated environmental

documents will be available by March

1998.

Dated: September 25, 1997.

Marvin E. Moriarty,

Acting Regional Director.

[FR Doc. 97–25967 Filed 9–30–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310–55–M

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[WO–310–1310–01–24 1A]

OMB Approval Number 1004–0134;

Information Collection Submitted to

the Office of Management and Budget

for Review Under the Paperwork

Reduction Act

The Bureau of Land Management

(BLM) has submitted the proposed

collection of information listed below to

the Office of Management and Budget

(OMB) for approval under the

provisions of the Paperwork Reduction

Act (44 U.S.C. Chapter 3501 et seq.). On

March 28, 1996, the BLM published a

notice in the Federal Register (61 FR

13868) requesting comments on the

collection. The comment period ended

May 28, 1996. No comments were

received. Copies of the proposed

collection of information and related

forms and explanatory material may be

obtained by contacting the BLM

Clearance Officer at the telephone

number listed below.

OMB is required to respond to this

request within 60 days but may respond

after 30 days. For maximum

consideration your comments and