Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 176 / Monday, September 13, 2010 / Notices 55599 

Dated: August 31, 2010. 

Anne Kinsinger, 

Associate Director for Biology, U.S. Geological 

Survey. 

[FR Doc. 2010–22669 Filed 9–10–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4311–AM–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Fish and Wildlife Service 

[FWS–R2–R–2010–N158; 20131–1265–2CCP 

S3] 

Little River National Wildlife Refuge, 

McCurtain County, OK; Revised 

Comprehensive Conservation Plan and 

Environmental Assessment 

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of intent; request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and 

Wildlife Service (Service), intend to 

prepare a revised comprehensive 

conservation plan (CCP) and 

environmental assessment (EA) for 

Little River National Wildlife Refuge, 

located in McCurtain County, 

Oklahoma. We provide this notice in 

compliance with our CCP policy to 

advise other Federal and State agencies, 

Tribes, and the public of our intentions, 

and to obtain suggestions and 

information on the scope of issues to 

consider in the planning process. 

DATES: To ensure consideration, please 

send your written comments by March 

14, 2011. We will announce 

opportunities for public input in local 

news media throughout the CCP 

process. 

ADDRESSES: Send your comments or 

requests for more information by any of 

the following methods. 

E-mail: rob_campellone@fws.gov. 

Include ‘‘Little River National Wildlife 

Refuge CCP NOI’’ in the subject line of 

the message. 

Fax: Attn: Rob Campellone, Chief, 

Division of Planning, 505–248–6803. 

U.S. Mail: Rob Campellone, Chief, 

Division of Planning, P.O. Box 1306, 

Albuquerque, NM 87103–1306. 

In-Person Drop-off: You may drop off 

comments during regular business hours 

at the Refuge Headquarters located at 

635 South Park Drive, Broken Bow, OK 

74728. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Rob 

Campellone, Chief, Division of 

Planning, Telephone: 505–248–6631; 

Fax: 505–248–6803; e-mail: 

rob_campellone@fws.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Introduction 

With this notice, we initiate our 

process for developing a revised CCP for 

Little River NWR (Refuge), located in 

McCurtain County, OK. This notice 

complies with our CCP policy to (1) 

Advise other Federal and State agencies, 

Tribes, and the public of our intention 

to conduct detailed planning on this 

Refuge, and (2) obtain suggestions and 

information on the scope of issues to 

consider in the environmental 

document and during development of 

the CCP. 

Background 

The CCP Process 

The National Wildlife Refuge System 

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

668dd-668ee) (Administration Act), as 

amended by the National Wildlife 

Refuge System Improvement Act of 

1997, requires us to develop a CCP for 

each national wildlife refuge. The 

purpose for developing a CCP is to 

provide Refuge Managers with a 15-year 

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 wildlifedependent recreational opportunities 

available to the public, including 

opportunities for hunting, fishing, 

wildlife observation and photography, 

and environmental education and 

interpretation. We will review and 

update the CCP at least every 15 years 

in accordance with the Administration 

Act, as amended. 

Each unit of the National Wildlife 

Refuge System was established for 

specific purposes. We use these 

purposes as the foundation for 

developing and prioritizing the 

management goals and objectives for 

each refuge within the National Wildlife 

Refuge System mission, and to 

determine how the public can use each 

refuge. The planning process is a way 

for us and the public to evaluate 

management goals and objectives that 

will ensure the best possible approach 

to wildlife, plant, and habitat 

conservation, while providing for 

wildlife-dependent recreation 

opportunities that are compatible with 

each refuge’s establishing purposes and 

the mission of the National Wildlife 

Refuge System. 

Our CCP process provides 

participation opportunities for Tribal, 

State, and local governments; agencies; 

organizations; and the public. At this 

time we encourage input in the form of 

issues, concerns, ideas, and suggestions 

for the future management of Little 

River NWR. 

We will conduct the environmental 

review of this project and develop an 

EA in accordance with the requirements 

of the National Environmental Policy 

Act of 1969, as amended (NEPA) (42 

U.S.C. 4321 et seq.); NEPA regulations 

(40 CFR parts 1500–1508); other 

appropriate Federal laws and 

regulations; and our policies and 

procedures for compliance with those 

laws and regulations. 

Little River National Wildlife Refuge 

Little River National Wildlife Refuge 

is located in McCurtain County, 

Oklahoma, and encompasses 13,660 

acres of bottomland hardwood forests. 

The Refuge is approximately 96 percent 

forested with small areas of open water, 

shrub swamps, beaver ponds, and roads. 

The plant communities are complex and 

reflect small elevation changes, complex 

soils and hydrologic regimes, and other 

ecosystem processes that have created 

and maintained a highly diverse plant 

community across the Refuge. The 

forested matrix contains mostly natural 

second- and third-growth bottomland 

hardwood forests, with inclusions of 

loblolly pine components on high 

terraces and stringers of riparian forests 

along the rivers, cypress swamps and 

cypress-lined oxbow lakes, and 

buttonbush shrub swamps. The canopy 

trees are roughly 50–70 years old with 

scattered patches of much older trees 

where topography and drainage patterns 

precluded timber harvest prior to the 

Refuge’s establishment. 

Scoping: Preliminary Issues, Concerns, 

and Opportunities 

We have identified preliminary 

issues, concerns, and opportunities that 

we may address in the CCP. We have 

briefly summarized these issues below. 

During public scoping, we may identify 

additional issues. 

Habitat Issues—Habitat alteration, 

fragmentation, and loss of the 

bottomland hardwood forest and 

freshwater ecosystems. 

The bottomland hardwood forest 

ecosystem habitat located in the Upper 

West Gulf Coastal Plain has been 

influenced through human disturbances 

(development and/or exploitation) and 

faces rapid alterations and disturbances 

as a consequence of climate change. 

These impacts are expected to stress and 

alter the bottomland hardwood forest 

ecosystem utilized by trust wildlife 

resources. Long-term unmitigated 

impacts are expected to create 

population and habitat shifts, increase 

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55600 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 176 / Monday, September 13, 2010 / Notices 

invasive species, and change forest 

productivity. 

Human activities causing pollution 

and water quantity and quality 

degradation, along with habitat 

fragmentation and loss, have caused 

environmental changes in freshwater 

systems. The Little River drains a 

watershed of approximately 2,225 

square miles and provides habitat for 

the Federally listed Ouachita rock 

pocketbook mussel (Arkanasii wheeleri), 

Scaleshell mussel (Leptodea leptodon), 

and Winged mapleleaf mussel 

(Quadrula fragosa), along with a host of 

other imperiled freshwater species. 

Human-created stressors, along with 

climate change stressors, can negatively 

affect the biodiversity of freshwater 

ecosystems. These impacts are expected 

to alter the freshwater ecosystem 

utilized by USFWS trust resources and 

the human population. 

Wildlife Issues—Feral hog 

management and migratory birds. 

The presence of feral hogs (Sus scrofa) 

results in substantial damages to the 

natural resources on the refuge. The 

detrimental effects of free-ranging feral 

hogs can be found throughout the entire 

refuge, as population numbers have 

increased without a control mechanism. 

Feral hogs are highly adaptable, have 

high reproductive capabilities, and can 

be found in a wide range of habitat 

types. Feral hogs cause widespread 

impacts to the refuge habitat, compete 

with native wildlife species for food 

resources, and can transmit infectious 

diseases to humans, domestic livestock, 

and native wildlife species. 

Trust migratory bird species that the 

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is 

mandated to protect are under pressure 

and at risk from a number of stressors 

(e.g., habitat loss and degradation, 

development, pollution, and invasive 

species), in addition to climate change. 

Evidence suggests that climate change is 

affecting the distribution, abundance, 

and population dynamics of a wide 

range of migratory bird species (forest 

dwelling and waterfowl) that rely on a 

bottomland hardwood forest ecosystem 

to provide essential habitat for survival. 

Public Use Opportunities and 

Access—Enhancing Wildlife Dependent 

Recreation Opportunities. 

The bottomland hardwood forest 

protected by the Little River NWR 

provides the public with quality 

recreational opportunities to learn about 

and enjoy the ecological diversity and 

history of the refuge in a largely natural 

setting. Improving opportunities for 

wildlife-dependent recreational uses 

(six priority public uses) that are 

compatible with the purpose of the 

refuge will promote broader community 

support and understanding of the value 

and need for wildlife conservation and 

protection. 

Facilities—Public Contact Station. 

The refuge receives over 10,000 

visitors annually, and visitor use 

continues to rise as the public becomes 

more aware of the wide variety of 

wildlife-dependent recreational 

opportunities provided by the refuge. A 

public contact station is needed to 

provide facilities to enhance the 

public’s experience of nature and the 

great outdoors and to educate the public 

about the mission of the National 

Wildlife Refuge System and the role of 

Little River NWR in achieving it. 

Public Meetings 

We will give the public an 

opportunity to provide input at one or 

more public meetings. You may obtain 

the schedule from the planning team 

leader or project leader (see ADDRESSES). 

You may also send comments anytime 

during the planning process by mail, 

e-mail, or fax (see ADDRESSES). There 

will be additional opportunities to 

provide public input once we have 

prepared a draft CCP. 

Public Availability of Comments 

Before including your address, phone 

number, e-mail 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, we 

cannot guarantee that we will be able to 

do so. 

Dated: August 11, 2010. 

Joy E. Nicholopoulos, 

Regional Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife, 

Region 2. 

[FR Doc. 2010–22732 Filed 9–10–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–55–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Fish and Wildlife Service 

[FWS–R8–R–2010–N169; 80230–1265–0000– 

S3] 

Sonny Bono Salton Sea National 

Wildlife Refuge Complex (Sonny Bono 

Salton Sea National Wildlife Refuge 

and Coachella Valley National Wildlife 

Refuge), Imperial and Riverside 

Counties, CA 

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare a 

comprehensive conservation plan and 

environmental assessment; request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and 

Wildlife Service (Service), intend to 

prepare a Comprehensive Conservation 

Plan (CCP) and Environmental 

Assessment (EA) for the Sonny Bono 

Salton Sea National Wildlife Refuge 

(NWR) Complex, which consists of the 

Sonny Bono Salton Sea NWR located in 

Imperial County, California, and the 

Coachella Valley NWR located in 

Riverside County, California. We 

provide this notice in compliance with 

our CCP policy to advise other Federal 

and State agencies, Tribes, and the 

public of our intentions, and to obtain 

suggestions and information on the 

scope of issues to consider in the 

planning process. 

DATES: To ensure consideration, we 

must receive your written comments by 

November 12, 2010. 

ADDRESSES: Send your comments or 

requests for more information by any of 

the following methods. 

E-mail: Victoria_Touchstone@fws.gov. 

Include ‘‘Sonny Bono Salton Sea CCP’’ 

in the subject line of the message. 

Fax: Attn: Victoria Touchstone, (760) 

930–0256. 

U.S. Mail: Victoria Touchstone, U.S. 

Fish and Wildlife Service, San Diego 

NWRC, 6010 Hidden Valley Road, Suite 

101, Carlsbad, CA 92011. 

In-Person Drop-off: You may drop off 

comments at the Sonny Bono Salton Sea 

NWR Office between 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.; 

please call (760) 348–5278 for 

directions. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Victoria Touchstone, Refuge Planner, at 

760–431–9440, extension 349, or Chris 

Schoneman, Project Leader, at 760–348– 

5278. Further information may also be 

found at http://www.fws.gov/saltonsea/. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Introduction 

With this notice, we initiate our 

process for developing a CCP for the 

Sonny Bono Salton Sea NWR Complex, 

including the Sonny Bono Salton Sea 

NWR in Imperial County, CA, and the 

Coachella Valley NWR in Riverside 

County, CA. This notice complies with 

our CCP policy to (1) Advise other 

Federal and State agencies, Tribes, and 

the public of our intention to conduct 

detailed planning on this refuge 

complex, and (2) obtain suggestions and 

information on the scope of issues to 

consider in the environmental 

document and during development of 

the CCP. 

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