32676 Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 114 / Monday, June 15, 1998 / Notices

who had moved in recently. Most

numbers are screened out on the first

completed telephone call, which is

brief. The few that are eligible are asked

a longer series of questions, for a total

elapsed time of about 4 minutes each.

Information collection is voluntary.

Status of the proposed information

collection: Pending OMB approval.

Authority: The Paperwork Reduction Act

of 1995, 44 U.S.C. Chapter 35, as amended;

and Section 8(C)(1) of the United States

Housing Act of 1937.

Dated: June 8, 1998.

Paul A. Leonard,

Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy

Development.

[FR Doc. 98–15850 Filed 6–12–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4210–62–M

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

Notice of Intent (Notice) To Prepare an

Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)

on the Development of a

Comprehensive Conservation Plan for

Stillwater National Wildlife Refuge

(NWR) Complex, Churchill and Storey

Counties, Nevada, and a Boundary

Revision for Stillwater NWR, Churchill

County

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service,

Department of the Interior.

ACTION: Notice of intent.

SUMMARY: The Fish and Wildlife Service

is preparing an EIS for a comprehensive

conservation plan for Stillwater NWR

Complex and an associated boundary

revision for Stillwater NWR. Stillwater

NWR Complex currently consists of

Stillwater NWR, Fallon NWR, Stillwater

Wildlife Management Area (WMA), and

Anaho Island NWR.

DATES: To ensure that the Service has

adequate time to evaluate and

incorporate suggestions and other input

into the planning process, comments

must be received by July 17, 1998.

ADDRESSES: Send written comments, or

requests to be added to the mailing list,

to the following address: Stillwater

NWR Complex CCP/Boundary Revision,

c/o Refuge Manager, Stillwater National

Wildlife Refuge Complex, P.O. Box

1236, Fallon, Nevada 89407, telephone

(702) 423–5128.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The first

notification of the intent to prepare an

EIS on the development of a

comprehensive conservation plan for

Stillwater NWR Complex, including a

boundary revision for Stillwater NWR,

was published in the Federal Register

on March 14, 1997 in a Notice of Intent

to prepare an EIS and hold public

scoping workshops on water resources

management proposals in the Truckee

and Carson Rivers, Churchill, Douglas,

Lyon, Storey, and Washoe Counties,

Nevada (Pages 12245–12246, Volume

62, Number 50). Comprehensive

conservation planning at the Stillwater

NWR Complex, including the Stillwater

NWR boundary revision, was one of

four Federal actions covered in the

March 14, 1997 Notice for this

Department of the Interior EIS. Scoping

meetings were held on March 10, 11,

and 19, 1997 in Fallon, Fernley, and

Reno, Nevada, respectively, to identify

potential issues related to various water

resource management proposals in the

Truckee and Carson River drainages,

including the development of a

comprehensive conservation plan and

boundary revision for Stillwater NWR

Complex. During March, April, and July

1997, a total of six additional openhouse workshops were conducted in

Fallon and Reno specifically to address

the comprehensive conservation plan

and boundary revision. A number of

other meetings have been held with the

Nevada Division of Wildlife, Fallon

Paiute-Shoshone Tribe, Pyramid Lake

Paiute Tribe, Churchill County, City of

Fallon, and various organizations and

individuals to gain additional

information about issues relevant to the

comprehensive conservation plan and

boundary revision. Comments received

from the public during these meetings

constitute the bulk of the public scoping

comments being used by the Fish and

Wildlife Service to prepare a separate

draft EIS on comprehensive

conservation planning and boundary

revisions for Stillwater NWR Complex,

which will no longer be analyzed in a

Department of the Interior EIS on water

resources management proposals in the

Truckee and Carson Rivers.

Wetlands on Stillwater NWR and

Stillwater WMA are located at the

terminus of the Carson River. They are

major components of the Lahontan

Valley wetland ecosystem. Stillwater

NWR, Stillwater WMA, and Fallon

NWR also encompass significant upland

habitats, including parts of a 25-milelong sand dune complex. Anaho Island

NWR is located on Pyramid Lake within

the Pyramid Lake Paiute Reservation, at

the terminus of the Truckee River in

Storey County, Nevada.

Comprehensive Conservation Plan

A comprehensive conservation plan is

being developed for the Stillwater NWR

Complex in accordance with the

National Wildlife Refuge System

Administration Act of 1966 (16 U.S.C.

6688dd et seq.), as amended. This act

requires the Fish and Wildlife Service to

prepare comprehensive conservation

plans for all refuges in the Refuge

System. The comprehensive

conservation plan for the Stillwater

NWR Complex will cover a 15-year

planning period and will identify goals,

objectives, strategies, and a monitoring

program for achieving refuge purposes

and contributing to the mission of the

Refuge System. Care will be taken to

ensure consistency with the National

Wildlife Refuge System Administration

Act, as amended; other applicable laws

and international treaties; Fish and

Wildlife Service policy; and sound

principles of biodiversity conservation

and other aspects of natural resources

management. The mission of the Refuge

System ‘‘is to administer a national

network of lands and waters for the

conservation, management, and where

appropriate, restoration of the fish,

wildlife, and plant resources and their

habitats within the United States for the

benefit of present and future generations

of Americans.’’

Stillwater NWR and Stillwater WMA

were originally established in 1948 as

part of an agreement (Tripartite

Agreement) between the Fish and

Wildlife Service, Nevada Division of

Wildlife, and the Truckee-Carson

Irrigation District. Stillwater WMA,

which was established for the co-equal

purposes of conserving wildlife and

public hunting, will cease to exist after

November 26, 1998, when the 50-year

Tripartite Agreement expires. The

Tripartite Agreement also specified that

livestock grazing and muskrat trapping

were to be managed commensurate with

wildlife conservation and hunting.

Anaho Island was originally established

in 1913 under Executive Order 1819 as

a preserve and breeding ground for

native birds. Fallon NWR was

established in 1931 for the purpose of

providing a refuge and breeding ground

for birds and other wildlife.

The Truckee-Carson-Pyramid Lake

Water Settlement Act of 1990 (Title II of

Public Law 101–618) enlarged Stillwater

NWR by reducing the size of Stillwater

WMA and directed the Secretary of the

Interior to manage Stillwater NWR for

the following purposes:

(A) restoring and maintaining natural

biological diversity within the refuge;

(B) conserving and managing fish,

wildlife, and their habitat within the

refuge;

(C) fulfilling international treaty

obligations with respect to fish and

wildlife; and

(D) providing opportunities for

scientific research, environmental
Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 114 / Monday, June 15, 1998 / Notices 32677

education, and wildlife-oriented

recreation.

Public Law 101–618 also directed the

Secretary to manage Anaho Island for

the benefit and protection of colonial

nesting species and other migratory

birds.

The comprehensive conservation plan

will include strategies for managing

water and water rights that the Fish and

Wildlife Service is acquiring through its

water-rights acquisition program that

was authorized and directed by Public

Law 101–618. In November 1996, an EIS

was completed and a Record of Decision

was signed for cooperative efforts to

acquire water rights to sustain, on a

long-term average, approximately

25,000 acres of primary wetlands habitat

in Lahontan Valley, including wetlands

on Stillwater NWR and Stillwater

WMA. To date, about 27,000 acre-feet of

water rights have been acquired by Fish

and Wildlife Service, State of Nevada,

and Nevada Waterfowl Association to

supplement agricultural drainwater and

intermittent controlled releases from

Lahontan Reservoir. Given the mandate

to restore natural biological diversity

within the refuge, natural hydrologic

patterns and their applications to

management are being explored.

The comprehensive conservation plan

will guide the management of public

use on the Stillwater NWR Complex in

accordance with existing laws. These

laws require that refuge planning efforts

explore opportunities for hunting,

fishing, wildlife observation and

photography, and environmental

education and interpretation, to the

extent these activities do not interfere

with or detract from (i.e., are compatible

with) achieving the purposes of

individual refuge units and the mission

of the Refuge System. Compatibility of

public uses will be evaluated as part of

the comprehensive planning process, in

accordance with the requirement that

such determinations must be consistent

with sound principles of fish and

wildlife management, available

scientific information, and applicable

laws.

The comprehensive conservation plan

comprises the following programs:

wildlife and habitat management,

including management of acquired

water, control of undesirable species,

prescribed burning, and livestock

grazing; public use management,

including the management of areas open

to different types of public uses, and the

management of hunting, fishing,

wildlife observation and photography,

and environmental interpretation and

education; cultural resource

management; law enforcement; facilities

management; and administration.

Several alternative management

scenarios are being developed and

evaluated. The following draft goals for

the Stillwater NWR Complex were

developed based primarily on

establishing authorities, the Refuge

System mission, and other provisions of

applicable laws, international treaties,

and principles of natural resource

conservation.

Stillwater NWR

(1) Conserve and manage fish,

wildlife, and their habitats to restore

and maintain natural biological

diversity.

(2) Fulfill obligations of international

treaties and other international

agreements with respect to fish and

wildlife.

(3) Provide opportunities for scientific

research, environmental education, and

wildlife-dependent recreation that are

compatible with refuge purposes.

Fallon NWR

(1) Provide high-quality sanctuary and

nesting habitat for migratory birds.

(2) Restore and maintain natural

biological diversity.

(3) Provide opportunities for scientific

research, environmental education, and

wildlife-dependent recreation that are

compatible with refuge purposes.

Anaho Island NWR

(1) Protect and perpetuate colonial

nesting birds and other migratory birds.

(2) Restore and maintain natural

biological diversity.

Major categories of issues identified to

date include wildlife and habitat

protection and enhancement, including

concerns with respect to emphasizing

natural biological diversity;

opportunities for wildlife-dependent

recreational uses; continued protection

of cultural resources; and potential

effects on local agriculture, irrigation

project, and economy. Major, on-refuge

environmental problems to be addressed

in the comprehensive conservation plan

include inadequate water supplies and

timing of water inflows, dominance and

spread of invasive nonnative plants,

contaminants, and the effects of

livestock grazing on biological

communities. Major public use issues to

be addressed include the balancing of

compatible wildlife-dependent

recreational uses (including concerns

with respect to a legally-required shift

from managing the hunting program as

a co-equal top priority with wildlife

conservation to managing hunting as

one of several recreational uses that are

secondary to wildlife conservation),

inadequate facilities to provide a broad

spectrum of high-quality experiences for

refuge visitors and for environmental

education activities, and the

compatibility and appropriateness of

camping and other nonwildlifedependent recreational uses.

Stillwater NWR Boundary Revision

Public Law 101–618 authorized the

Secretary of the Interior to recommend

to Congress boundary revisions to

Stillwater NWR that may be appropriate

to carry out the purposes of the refuge

and to facilitate the protection and

enhancement of Lahontan Valley

wetland habitat. It also authorized the

Secretary to recommend the transfer of

any Bureau of Reclamation withdrawn

public lands within existing wildlife use

areas in Lahontan Valley (e.g., Stillwater

WMA) to the Fish and Wildlife Service

for addition to the National Wildlife

Refuge System. Furthermore, it

authorized the identification of lands in

Lahontan Valley currently under the

jurisdiction of the Fish and Wildlife

Service that no longer warrant

continued status as units of the Refuge

System. Several alternative boundary

revisions are being analyzed.

Tentative Schedule

Estimated dates for completing an EIS

that evaluates the potential impacts of

implementing a comprehensive

conservation plan for Stillwater NWR

Complex and revising the boundary of

Stillwater NWR are as follows:

Supplemental Scoping Period—July 17,

1998

Draft EIS Distributed to Public—

November 1998

Public Review/Comment Period

November 1998—February 1999

Final EIS filed with EPA—August 1999

Implementation of the Decision—

September 1999

Date: June 8, 1998.

Thomas J. Dwyer,

Acting Regional Director, Region 1, Portland,

Oregon.

[FR Doc. 98–15802 Filed 6–12–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310–55–P

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

Aquatic Nuisance Species Task Force

Advisory Panel, Aquatic Nuisance

Species Dispersal Barrier for the

Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service,

Interior.

ACTION: Notice of meeting.

SUMMARY: This notice announces a

meeting of the Advisory Panel for the