Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 121 / Friday, June 21, 1996 / Proposed Rules 31895

hunters $20, and migratory bird hunters

$33.

Applying these national averages to

projected visitation at Emiquon NWR

results in the following: 600 fishermen

are expected to spend $24,600 annually

in pursuit of their sport, while an

estimated 400 hunters will spend

$13,200 annually while hunting on the

refuge.

This rulemaking was not subject to

Office of Management and Budget

review under Executive Order 12866. A

review under the Regulatory Flexibility

Act of 1980 (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.) has

revealed that although the rulemaking

would increase visitation and

expenditures in the surrounding area of

the refuge, would not have a significant

effect on a substantial number of small

entities in the area, such as businesses,

organizations and governmental

jurisdictions.

Environmental Considerations

Pursuant to the requirements of

section 102(2)(C) of the National

Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42

U.S.C. 4332(2)(C)), an environmental

assessment was prepared for this

opening. Based upon the Environmental

Assessment, the Service issued a

Finding of No Significant Impact with

respect to the opening. A Section 7

evaluation pursuant to the Endangered

Species Act was conducted. The Service

determined that the proposed action

will not affect any Federally listed or

proposed for listing threatened or

endangered species or their critical

habitats. These documents are on file at

the offices of the Service and may be

reviewed by making preliminary

arrangements with the primary author.

Primary Author. Stephen R. Vehrs,

Division of Refuges, U.S. Fish and Wildlife

Service, Washington, DC, is the primary

author of this proposed rulemaking

document.

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 32

Fishing, Hunting, Reporting and

recordkeeping requirements, Wildlife,

and Wildlife Refuges.

Accordingly, Part 32 of chapter I of

Title 50 of the Code of Federal

Regulations is proposed to be amended

as follows:

PART 32—[AMENDED]

1. The authority citation for Part 32

continues to read as follows:

Authority: 5 U.S.C. 301; 16 U.S.C. 460k,

664, 668dd, and 715i.

§ 32.7 [Amended]

2. Section 32.7 List of refuge units

open to hunting and/or fishing is

amended by adding the alphabetical

listing of ‘‘Emiquon National Wildlife

Refuge’’ under the State of Illinois.

3. Section 32.32 Illinois is amended

by adding in alphabetical order

Emiquon National Wildlife Refuge to

read as follows:

§ 32.32 Illinois.

* * * * *

Emiquon National Wildlife Refuge

A. Hunting of Migratory Game Birds.

Hunting of migratory game birds is permitted

on designated areas of the refuge subject to

posted conditions.

B. Upland Game Hunting. Hunting of

upland game is permitted on designated

areas of the refuge subject to posted

conditions.

C. Big Game Hunting. Hunting of big game

is permitted on designated areas of the refuge

subject to posted conditions.

D. Sport Fishing. Sport fishing is permitted

on designated areas of the refuge subject to

the following conditions:

1. Sport fishing is allowed on all refuge

waters during daylight hours from January

15, through October 15.

2. Private boats may not be left in refuge

waters overnight.

3. Motorboats are restricted to slow speed/

minimum wake.

* * * * *

Dated: June 7, 1996.

George T. Frampton, Jr.,

Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and

Parks.

[FR Doc. 96–15292 Filed 6–20–96; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310–55–P

50 CFR Part 32

RIN 1018–AD86

Addition of Patoka River National

Wildlife Refuge and Management Area

to the List of Open Areas for Hunting

and Sport Fishing in Indiana

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service,

Interior.

ACTION: Proposed rule.

SUMMARY: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife

Service (Service) proposes to add Patoka

River National Wildlife Refuge and

Management Area to the list of areas

open for hunting and sport fishing in

Indiana along with pertinent refugespecific regulations for such activities.

The Service has determined that such

use will be compatible with the

purposes for which the refuge was

established. The Service has further

determined that this action is in

accordance with the provisions of all

applicable laws, is consistent with

principles of sound fish and wildlife

management, and is otherwise in the

public interest by providing additional

recreational opportunities at a national

wildlife refuge.

DATES: Comments may be submitted on

or before July 22, 1996.

ADDRESSES: Assistant Director—Refuges

and Wildlife, U.S. Fish and Wildlife

Service, 1849 C Street, NW, MS 670

ARLSQ, Washington, DC 20240.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Stephen R. Vehrs, at the address above;

Telephone (703) 358–2397.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: National

wildlife refuges generally are closed to

hunting and sport fishing until opened

by rulemaking. The Secretary of the

Interior (Secretary) may open refuge

areas to hunting and/or fishing upon a

determination that such uses are

compatible with the purpose(s) for

which the refuge was established. The

action also must be in accordance with

provisions of all laws applicable to the

areas, must be consistent with the

principles of sound fish and wildlife

management, and otherwise must be in

the public interest. The Service

proposes to open Patoka River National

Wildlife Refuge and Management Area

to hunting migratory birds, upland

game, big game and sport fishing.

Request for Comments

Department of the Interior policy is,

whenever practicable, to afford the

public a meaningful opportunity to

participate in the rulemaking process. A

30-day comment period is specified in

order to facilitate public input.

Accordingly, interested persons may

submit written comments concerning

this proposed rule to the person listed

above under the heading ADDRESSES. All

substantive comments will be reviewed

and considered.

Statutory Authority

The National Wildlife Refuge System

Administration Act (NWRSAA) of 1966,

as amended (16 U.S.C. 668dd), and the

Refuge Recreation Act of 1962 (16

U.S.C. 460k) govern the administration

and public use of national wildlife

refuges. Specifically, Section 4(d)(1)(A)

of the NWRSAA authorizes the

Secretary of the Interior to permit the

use of any area within the Refuge

System for any purpose, including but

not limited to, hunting, fishing and

public recreation, accommodations and

access, when he determines that such

uses are compatible with the major

purpose(s) for which the area was

established.

The Refuge Recreation Act (RRA)

authorizes the Secretary to administer

areas within the Refuge System for

public recreation as an appropriate

incidental or secondary use only to the
31896 Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 121 / Friday, June 21, 1996 / Proposed Rules

extent that it is practicable and not

inconsistent with the primary

purpose(s) for which the areas were

established. The NWRSAA and the RRA

also authorize the Secretary to issue

regulations to carry out the purposes of

the Acts and regulate uses.

Hunting and sport fishing plans are

developed for each existing refuge prior

to opening it to hunting or fishing. In

many cases, refuge-specific regulations

are developed to ensure the

compatibility of the programs with the

purposes for which the refuge was

established. Initial compliance with the

NWRSAA and the RRA has been

ensured for hunting and sport fishing on

newly acquired refuges through an

interim determination of compatibility

made at the time of acquisition. This has

ensured that the determinations

required by these acts have been made

prior to the addition of refuges to the

lists of areas open to hunting and

fishing in 50 CFR part 32. Continued

compliance is ensured by the

development of long-term hunting and

sport fishing plans and by annual

review of hunting and sport fishing

programs and regulations.

The Service has determined that this

action is in accordance with the

provisions of all applicable laws, is

consistent with principles of sound fish

and wildlife management, helps

implement Executive Order 12962

(Recreational Fisheries), and is

otherwise in the public interest by

providing additional recreational

opportunities at national wildlife

refuges. Sufficient funds will be

available within the refuge budget to

operate the hunting and sport fishing

programs as proposed.

Opening Package

In preparation for this opening, the

following documents are included in

the refuge’s ‘‘openings package’’ for

Regional review and approval from the

Washington Office: a hunting and

fishing management plan; an

environmental assessment; a Finding of

No Significant Impact (FONSI); a

Section 7 evaluation or statement,

pursuant to the Endangered Species Act,

that this opening is not likely to

adversely affect a listed species or

critical habitat; a letter of concurrence

from the affected State; and refugespecific regulations to administer the

hunting and fishing programs. Upon

review of these documents, the

Secretary has determined that the

opening of the Patoka River National

Wildlife Refuge and Management Area

to hunting and sport fishing is

compatible with the principles of sound

fish and wildlife management and

otherwise will be in the public interest.

A brief description of the refuge

program follows.

Patoka River National Wildlife Refuge

and Management Area

Patoka River National Wildlife Refuge

and Management Area is located in

Southwestern Indiana. The Refuge

portion of the project encompasses

6,800 acres. The area designated as

Wildlife Management Area includes

15,283 acres, for a total project size of

22,083 acres.

Since the area to be opened for

hunting and fishing is presently less

than 2,000 acres, the anticipated hunter

and angler use will be small, probably

consisting of approximately 300–500

use days per year. Use will likely

increase as additional areas are

purchased and made available. The

following are hunting and fishing

objectives for the refuge:

• To open lands to compatible

recreational hunting as soon as

sufficient land has been acquired and

biological data collected to properly

manage wildlife populations;

• To open all suitable lands to

compatible waterfowl hunting, other

than those lands needed to provide

essential sanctuary;

• To open lands to all forms of

compatible traditional resident game

hunting after coordination with the

Indiana Division of Fish and Wildlife;

• To assure, either spatially or

chronologically, that hunting use and

general public use do not conflict or

encroach upon each other;

• To allow compatible sport fishing

within the framework of Indiana

Division of Fish and Wildlife

regulations, subject to additional

regulation by the Service;

• To encourage additional compatible

use of the Patoka River’s fisheries

resources by providing increased/

improved access to the river and its

oxbows.

The hunting and fishing program is in

direct support of the refuge objective to

increase public opportunities for

outdoor recreation by providing 300 to

500 use days immediately. As more land

is acquired these figures will increase

accordingly. All proposed hunting and

fishing will be in accordance with state

seasons and regulations.

Predominate waterfowl of the area are

Canada geese, mallards and wood

ducks, however, other species common

to the flyway also occur at the site.

Federal and State regulations permit

hunting to utilize harvestable surpluses

of resident game and migratory birds

and to tailor harvest opportunities to

local management needs. These

regulations permit harvests that are

consistent with the well being of

waterfowl and game animal populations

that utilize the area. A major priority on

the refuge is the re-establishment of

native hardwood trees. The harvest of

white-tailed deer and cottontail rabbit,

however small, can improve seedling

survival and growth. As refuge land

ownership increases, this harvest may

become an increasingly important

component of the reforestation strategy.

Fish populations in refuge waters are

healthy and can support recreational

fishing at least to levels that occurred

prior to Service acquisition. Surveys of

the Patoka River in conjunction with

preparation of the environmental impact

statement verified that populations of

fish most often targeted by sport

fishermen are sufficient to sustain a

recreational fishery. Allowing sport

fishing in refuge waters will not inhibit

other priority refuge objectives.

Orientation will be facilitated by the

use of a hunting regulation leaflet with

a map delineating areas open for

hunting and fishing. These are available

at refuge headquarters and posted at

field locations near traditional parking

areas. The Service will update the

leaflets as new lands are acquired and

approved for inclusion into the hunting

and fishing program. Because of the

patchwork land characteristics of newly

established refuges, the public will be

apprised of the need to obtain

landowner permission when refuge

lands are landlocked and lack public

access.

Paperwork Reduction Act

This regulation has been examined

under the Paperwork Reduction Act of

1995 and has been found to contain no

information collection requirements.

Economic Effect

Service review has revealed that this

rulemaking will increase hunter and

fishermen visitation to the surrounding

area of the refuge before, during or after

recreational uses, compared to the

refuge being closed to these recreational

uses. When the Service acquired this

land, all public use ceased under law

until opened to the public in accordance

with this rulemaking.

This refuge is located away from large

metropolitan areas. Businesses in the

area consist primarily of small family

owned stores, restaurants, gas stations

and other small commercial enterprises.

In addition, there are several small

commercial and recreational fishing and

hunting camps and marinas in the

general area. This proposed rule would

have a positive effect on such entities;
Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 121 / Friday, June 21, 1996 / Proposed Rules 31897

however, the amount of revenue

generated is not large.

Many area residents enjoy a rural

lifestyle that includes frequent

recreational use of the abundant natural

resources of the area. A high percentage

of the households enjoy hunting,

fishing, and boating in area wetlands,

rivers and lakes. Refuge lands were not

generally available for general public

use prior to government acquisition;

however, they were fished and hunted

upon by friends and relatives of the

landowners, and some were under

commercial hunting and fishing leases.

Many nearby residents also participate

in other forms of nonconsumptive

outdoor recreation, such as biking,

hiking, camping, birdwatching,

canoeing, and other outdoor sports.

Economic impacts of refuge fishing

and hunting programs on local

communities are calculated from

average expenditures in the ‘‘1995

National Survey of Fishing, Hunting,

and Wildlife-Associated Recreation’’. In

1995, 42 million U.S. residents 16 years

old and older hunted and/or fished.

More specifically, 37 million fished and

14.5 million hunted. Those who both

fished and hunted account for the 9.5

million overage. Nationwide

expenditures by sportsmen totaled $42

billion. Trip-related expenditures for

food, lodging, and transportation were

$16 billion or 37 percent of all fishing

and hunting expenditures; equipment

expenditures amounted to $19 billion,

or 46 percent of the total; other

expenditures such as those for

magazines, membership dues,

contributions, land leasing, ownership,

licenses, stamps, tags, and permits

accounted for $6.9 billion, or 16 percent

of all expenditures. Overall, anglers

spent an average of $41 per day. For

each day of hunting, big game hunters

averaged spending $40, small game

hunters $20, and migratory bird hunters

$33.

Applying these national averages to

projected visitation at Patoka River

NWR results in the following: 500

fisherman are expected to spend

$20,500 annually in pursuit of their

sport, while an estimated 500 hunters

will spend $16,500 annually hunting on

the refuge. While many of these

fishermen already made such

expenditures prior to the refuge

opening, minor amounts of these

additional expenditures are due directly

to the land now being open to the

general public.

This rulemaking was not subject to

Office of Management and Budget

review under Executive Order 12866. A

review under the Regulatory Flexibility

Act of 1980 (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.) has

revealed that although the rulemaking

would increase visitation and

expenditures in the surrounding area of

the refuge, it would not have a

significant effect on a substantial

number of small entities in the area,

such as businesses, organizations and

governmental jurisdictions.

Environmental Considerations

Pursuant to the requirements of

section 102(2)(C) of the National

Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42

U.S.C. 4332(2)(C)), an environmental

assessment was prepared for this

opening. Based upon the Environmental

Assessment, the Service issued a

Finding of No Significant Impact with

respect to the opening. A Section 7

evaluation pursuant to the Endangered

Species Act was conducted. The Service

determined that the proposed action is

not likely to adversely affect any

Federally listed or proposed for listing

threatened or endangered species or

their critical habitats. These documents

are on file at the offices of the Service

and may be reviewed by contacting the

primary author noted below.

Unfunded Mandates

The Service has determined and

certifies pursuant to the Unfunded

Mandates Act, 2 U.S.C. 1502 et seq., that

this rulemaking will not impose a cost

of $100 million or more in any given

year on local or State governments or

private entities.

Primary Author. Stephen R. Vehrs,

Division of Refuges, U.S. Fish and Wildlife

Service, Washington, DC 20240, is the

primary author of this rulemaking document.

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 32

Fishing, Hunting, Reporting and

recordkeeping requirements, Wildlife,

Wildlife refuges.

Accordingly, Part 32 of Chapter I of

Title 50 of the Code of Federal

Regulations is proposed to be amended

as follows:

PART 32—[AMENDED]

1. The authority citation for Part 32

continues to read as follows:

Authority: 5 U.S.C. 301; 16 U.S.C. 460k,

664, 668dd, and 715i.

§ 32.7 [Amended]

2. Section 32.7 List of refuge units

open to hunting and/or fishing is

amended by adding the alphabetical

listing of ‘‘Patoka River National

Wildlife Refuge and Management Area’’

under the State of Indiana.

3. Section 32.33 Indiana is amended

by adding in alphabetical order Patoka

River National Wildlife Refuge to read

as follows:

§ 32.33 Indiana.

* * * * *

Patoka River National Wildlife Refuge

A. Hunting of Migratory Game Birds.

Hunting of migratory game birds is permitted

on designated areas of the refuge subject to

posted regulations.

B. Upland Game Hunting. Upland game

hunting is permitted on designated areas of

the refuge subject to posted regulations.

C. Big Game Hunting. Big game hunting is

permitted on designated areas of the refuge

subject to posted regulations.

D. Sport Fishing. Fishing is permitted on

designated areas of the refuge subject to

posted regulations.

Dated: June 3, 1996.

George T. Frampton, Jr.,

Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and

Parks.

[FR Doc. 96–15132 Filed 6–20–96; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310–55–P

50 CFR Part 32

RIN 1018–AD79

Addition of Big Branch Marsh National

Wildlife Refuge to the List of Open

Areas for Hunting and Sport Fishing in

Louisiana

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service,

Interior.

ACTION: Proposed rule.

SUMMARY: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife

Service (Service) proposes to add Big

Branch Marsh National Wildlife Refuge

to the list of areas open for hunting and

sport fishing in Louisiana along with

pertinent refuge-specific regulations for

such activities. The Service has

determined that such use will be

compatible with the purposes for which

the refuge was established. The Service

has further determined that this action

is in accordance with the provisions of

all applicable laws, is consistent with

principles of sound fish and wildlife

management, and is otherwise in the

public interest by providing additional

recreational opportunities at a national

wildlife refuge.

DATES: Comments may be submitted on

or before July 22, 1996.

ADDRESSES: Assistant Director—Refuges

and Wildlife, U.S. Fish and Wildlife

Service, 1849 C Street, NW, MS 670

ARLSQ, Washington, DC 20240.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Stephen R. Vehrs, at the address above;

Telephone (703) 358–2397.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: National

wildlife refuges generally are closed to

hunting and sport fishing until opened

by rulemaking. The Secretary of the

Interior (Secretary) may open refuge