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[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 8 (Tuesday, January 14, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 3240-3241]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-31631]

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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

[FWS-R6-NWRS-2024-N036; FF06R06000-256-FXRS126506ROMC0]

Charles M. Russell Wetland Management District (MT); Draft 
Comprehensive Conservation Plan

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce the 
availability of a draft comprehensive conservation plan (CCP) and 
associated environmental assessment (EA) for the Charles M. Russell 
Wetland Management District (District) for review and comment. The 
District is distinct from the Charles M. Russell (CMR) National 
Wildlife Refuge (NWR) and this draft CCP and EA will not impact 
management of that refuge. The draft CCP describes the vision, goals, 
objectives, and strategies that will guide the long-term management of 
the District. The draft EA describes the impacts of implementing the 
objectives and strategies of the CCP on the environment, as well as 
alternative management objectives and strategies the Service is 
considering, in compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act. 
We invite comment from the public and local, State, Tribal, and Federal 
agencies.

DATES: To ensure consideration, written comments must be received or 
postmarked on or before February 13, 2025.

ADDRESSES: Accessing Documents: You may obtain electronic copies of the 
draft CCP, draft EA, and associated documents at https://www.fws.gov/refuge/charles-m-russell-wetland-management-district. Hard copies may 
be viewed in person during regular business hours, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., 
Monday through Friday, at the Charles M. Russell Wetland Management 
District, 333 Airport Road, Lewistown, MT 59457.
    Submitting Comments: Please submit comments by only one of the 
following methods:
     Email: [email protected];
     U.S. mail: Cortez Rohr, District Manager, 333 Airport 
Road, Lewistown, MT 59457; or
     In-Person Drop off: You may drop off comments during 
regular business hours (address above).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ella Wagener, by telephone at 703-283-
2142 or via email at [email protected]. Individuals in the United 
States who are deaf, deafblind, hard of hearing, or have a speech 
disability may dial 711 (TTY, TDD, or TeleBraille) to access 
telecommunications relay services. Individuals outside the United 
States should use the relay services offered within their country to 
make international calls to the point-of-contact in the United States.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The National Wildlife Refuge System 
Improvement Act of 1997 (Improvement Act; 16 U.S.C. 668dd-668ee), which 
amended the National Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act of 1966, 
requires the Service to develop a CCP for each NWR. The purpose in 
developing a CCP is to provide refuge managers with a long-term 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 wildlife-
dependent recreational opportunities available to the public, including 
opportunities for hunting, fishing, wildlife observation and 
photography, and environmental education and interpretation. We will 
review this CCP at least every 15 years and revise it as necessary in 
accordance with the Improvement Act.

Introduction

    With this notice, the Service continues the process for developing 
a CCP for the District. The District currently encompasses four 
national wildlife refuges (NWRs) and six waterfowl production areas 
(WPAs) in five Montana counties: Petroleum, Musselshell, Golden Valley, 
Yellowstone, and Stillwater. Clark's Fork WPA (Carbon County) is 
managed by the District but is outside the District boundary. There are 
also five conservation easements in the District. These are the 
District's current units and easements: War Horse WPA and War Horse NWR 
and its three units; Lake Mason NWR and its three units; Hailstone WPA 
and NWR, Grass Lake NWR, Spidel WPA, Tew WPA, Clark's Fork WPA, and 
James L. Hansen WPA. In addition, there are five Farmers Home 
Administration conservation easements (Hardy, Kurz, Overturf, Weyer, 
and Jansen tracts), as well as other leases, flowage easements, and 
State grazing easements. Additional units or conservation easements 
added to the

[[Page 3241]]

District in the future will be managed according to the direction in 
this CCP and associated EA and will be incorporated into future 
revisions and amendments.
    Pre-planning for this CCP began in 2016 and three public scoping 
meetings were conducted in February and March 2017 in Winnett, Roundup, 
and Laurel, Montana. However, the planning process stalled. On June 29, 
2022, the Service published a notice of intent in the Federal Register 
announcing the intent to reinitiate the planning process to develop a 
CCP and EA for the District (87 FR 38775). The Service received 
comments from two individuals and three organizations during the new 
scoping comment period, which closed on July 29, 2022. All comments 
were shared with the planning team and considered throughout the 
planning process. Some of the valuable comments focused on public 
opportunity, wildlife resources, and livestock grazing. Findings from 
public comments and other information were used to develop the proposed 
action for the District and to analyze the management alternatives.

Background

Charles M. Russell Wetland Management District

    The District is located within the Northern Great Plains in central 
and southcentral Montana and is bounded on the north by the Missouri 
River Breaks and on the south by the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. 
While it is part of the Charles M. Russell NWR Complex, the District is 
distinct from the Charles M. Russell NWR in both location and 
management direction. The District includes wetlands with a mix of 
grasses, rushes, and occasional greasewood; areas of Ponderosa pine 
woodlands; creek bottoms filled with cottonwoods; coulees having a mix 
of juniper, sagebrush, and deciduous shrubs with grass components; and 
vast, open, flat and rolling grassland hills mixed with sagebrush in 
some areas. Seasonal and temporary wetland basins provide critical 
waterfowl and grassland bird habitat for feeding and nesting. The 
District also lies on the western edge of the Central Flyway and near 
the eastern edge of the Pacific Flyway. The core of the District's work 
is managing wetland habitat to benefit waterfowl, wading birds, and 
shorebirds.

National Environmental Policy Act Compliance

    This CCP is being developed in accordance with the requirements of 
the National Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act of 1966 (16 
U.S.C. 668dd-668ee), as amended by the National Wildlife Refuge System 
Improvement Act of 1997 (Improvement Act; Pub. L. 105-57); the National 
Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended (NEPA; 42 U.S.C. 4321 et 
seq.); other appropriate Federal laws and regulations; and the policies 
and procedures for compliance with those laws and regulations.

Tribal Responsibilities

    The Service has unique responsibilities to Tribes, including under 
the National Historic Preservation Act (54 U.S.C. 306101 et seq.); the 
American Indian Religious Freedom Act (42 U.S.C. 1996); the Native 
American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (25 U.S.C. 3001 et 
seq.); the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993 (42 U.S.C. 2000bb 
et seq.); Joint Secretarial Order 3403, Fulfilling the Trust 
Responsibility to Indian Tribes in the Stewardship of Federal Lands and 
Waters (Secretaries of Interior and Agriculture; November 15, 2021); 
Secretarial Order 3206, American Indian Tribal Rights, Federal-Tribal 
Trust Responsibilities, and the Endangered Species Act (Secretaries of 
Interior and Agriculture; June 5, 1997); Executive Order 13007, Indian 
Sacred Sites (61 FR 26771; May 29, 1996); and the Service's Native 
American Policy. We apply the term ``Tribal'' or ``Tribe(s)'' generally 
to federally recognized Tribes and Alaska Native Tribal entities. We 
will refer to Native Hawaiian Organizations separately when we intend 
to include those entities.
    The Service will separately consult with Tribes on the proposals 
set forth in this CCP. We will also ensure that those Tribes wishing to 
engage directly in the planning process will have the opportunity to do 
so. As part of this process, we will protect the confidential nature of 
any consultations and other communications we have with Tribes, to the 
extent permitted by the Freedom of Information Act and other laws.

Review and Comment

    At the end of the review and comment period for the draft CCP, 
comments will be analyzed by the Service and addressed in the final 
CCP. All information provided voluntarily by mail, by phone, or at 
public meetings (e.g., names, addresses, letters of comment, input 
recorded during meetings) becomes part of the official public record. 
Before including your address, phone number, email 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, the Service cannot guarantee we will be 
able to do so.Authority
    This notice is published under the authority of the National 
Wildlife Refuge System Improvement Act of 1997 (16 U.S.C. 668dd).

Matthew Hogan,
Regional Director, Mountain-Prairie Region.
 [FR Doc. 2024-31631 Filed 1-13-25; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4333-15-P
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