Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 32 / Thursday, February 15, 2001 / Notices 10507

(Service) intends to gather information

necessary to prepare Comprehensive

Conservation Plans (CCP) and an

associated Environmental Impact

Statement (EIS) pursuant to section

102(2)C of the National Environmental

Policy Act and its implementing

regulations, for three units of the eightunit Eastern Massachusetts National

Wildlife Refuge Complex , located in the

Commonwealth of Massachusetts. These

three refuges are Monomoy National

Wildlife Refuge (NWR), Nantucket

NWR, and Nomans Land Island NWR.

The Refuges are in Barnstable,

Nantucket, and Dukes Counties,

Massachusetts. Concurrent with the CCP

process, the Service will conduct a

wilderness review and incorporate a

summary of the review into the

appropriate CCP and EIS. The CCPs of

the remaining five refuges of the

Complex (Assabet River NWR, Great

Meadows NWR, Mashpee NWR,

Massasoit NWR, and Oxbow NWR) will

be evaluated in a separate

Environmental Assessment (EA).

This notice amends a previous notice,

published on February 24, 1999, that

stated an EIS would be developed for all

eight units of the Complex (then called

Great Meadows National Wildlife

Refuge Complex). Comments already

received for these refuges under the

previous notice will be considered. The

Service invites agencies, groups and the

public to submit any additional

comments concerning the scope of

issues to be addressed, as well as

possible alternatives and environmental

impacts to consider in the EIS.

The Service is furnishing this notice

in compliance with the National

Wildlife Refuge System Administration

Act of 1966, as amended (16 U.S.C.

668dd et seq.):

(1) To advise other agencies and the

public of our intentions, and

(2) To obtain suggestions and

information on the scope of issues to

include in the environmental

documents.

DATES: Inquire at the following address

for dates of planning activity and due

dates for comments.

ADDRESSES: Address comments and

requests for more information to the

following: Refuge Manager, Great

Meadows National Wildlife Refuge,

Weir Hill Road, Sudbury, Massachusetts

01776, (978) 443–4661.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: By Federal

law, all lands within the National

Wildlife Refuge System are to be

managed in accordance with an

approved CCP. The CCP guides

management decisions and identifies

refuge goals, long-range objectives, and

strategies for achieving refuge purposes.

The planning process will consider

many elements, including habitat and

wildlife management, habitat protection

and acquisition, public use, and cultural

resources. Public input into this

planning process is essential. The CCP

will provide other agencies and the

public with a clear understanding of the

desired conditions for the Refuges and

how the Service will implement

management strategies.

The Service has already solicited

information from the public via open

houses, meetings, and written

comments. Special mailings, newspaper

articles, and announcements will

continue to inform people in the general

area near each refuge of the time and

place of opportunities for further public

input to the CCP.

The Eastern Massachusetts NWR

Complex is a diverse group of coastal

and inland refuges. Habitats include

forest, field, riparian, barrier island

beach, freshwater marsh, and pond.

Monomoy NWR contains 2,700 acres, a

portion of which is Federal Wilderness

Area; Nantucket 40 acres; and Nomans

Land Island 628 acres.

Review of this project 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, and Service policies and

procedures for compliance with those

regulations. Concurrent with the CCP

process we will conduct a wilderness

review and incorporate a summary of

the review into the CCP. Wilderness

review is the process we use to

determine if we should recommend

Refuge System lands and waters to

Congress for wilderness designation.

We estimate that the draft

environmental documents will be

available in fall 2001 for public review

and comment.

Dated: January 19, 2001.

Mamie Parker,

Acting Regional Director, U.S. Fish and

Wildlife Service, Hadley, Massachusetts.

[FR Doc. 01–3822 Filed 2–14–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310–55–P

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

North American Wetlands

Conservation Council; Standard Grant

Application Instructions

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service,

Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability.

SUMMARY: Instructions for applying for

standard grants (see SUPPLEMENTARY

INFORMATION) under the U.S. North

American Wetlands Conservation Act.

DATES: Proposals may be submitted at

any time. To ensure adequate review

time prior to upcoming North American

Wetlands Conservation Council

(Council) meetings, the Council

Coordinator must receive proposals by

March 23, 2001 and July, 6, 2001. If a

March proposal needs to be

resubmitted, the due date is July 16.

ADDRESSES: For detailed application

instructions, sample proposal

information, frequently asked questions,

and summaries of recently approved

proposals, visit the North American

Wetlands Conservation Act (NAWCA)

web site at http://

northamerican.fws.gov/nawcahp.html.

If you cannot access the web site,

request computer disk or paper copies

of the web site material from the

Council Coordinator at Council

Coordinator, U.S. Fish and Wildlife

Service, 4401 North Fairfax Drive, Room

110, Arlington, VA 22203. Send

proposals to the Council Coordinator at

the above address. If you choose to

submit the Proposal Summary by

electronic mail (versus computer disk),

send to bettina_sparrowe@fws.gov. Mail

one original and two copies of the

proposal to the Council Coordinator.

Also, mail an electronic copy of the

Proposal Summary on computer disk

with the rest of the proposal or send an

electronic copy by electronic mail to

bettina_sparrowe@fws.gov. Send a copy

of the proposal to your U.S. North

American Waterfowl Management Plan

(NAWMP) Coordinator (see next

section) and all partners in the proposal.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

North American Wetlands Conservation

Council Coordinator at (703) 358–1784,

r9arw_nawwo@fws.gov or

bettina_sparrowe@fws.gov or a NAWMP

Joint Venture Coordinator (Coordinator)

at the numbers given below.

Coordinators can give you advice about

developing a proposal and about

proposal ranking and can provide

compliance requirements for the

National Environmental Policy Act,

National Historic Preservation Act, and

contaminant surveys. Even though all

areas of all States are not in a Joint

Venture, each Coordinator is available

to provide information to NAWCA

applicants. To determine which

Coordinator to call, consult the

following Joint Venture list, but note

that some States are in more than one

Joint Venture and may be listed more

10508 Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 32 / Thursday, February 15, 2001 / Notices

than once. To determine exactly which

Joint Venture you are in, consult the

NAWMP Joint Venture map at http://

northamerican.fws.gov/NAWCA/

images/namap.gif

Atlantic Coast (AL, CT, DC, DE, FL, GA,

MA, MD, ME, NC, NH, NJ, NY, PA,

Puerto Rico, RI, SC, VA, Virgin

Islands, VT, WV) 413–253–8269

Central Valley (Central Valley of CA)

916–414–6459

Gulf Coast (AL, LA, MS, TX) 505–248–

6876

Intermountain West (AZ, CA, CO, ID,

MT, NM, NV, OR, UT, WA, WY)

801–524–5110

Lower Mississippi Valley (AL, AR, KY,

LA, MS, OK, TN, TX) 601–629–

6600

Pacific Coast (AK, Am. Samoa, CA,

Com. of N. Mariana Islands, Guam,

HI, OR, WA) 360–696–7630

Playa Lakes (CO, KS, NM, OK, TX) 505–

248–6877

Prairie Pothole (IA, MN, MT, ND, SD)

303–236–8145 extension 605

Rainwater Basin (KS, NE) 308–382–

8112

San Francisco Bay (San Francisco Bay

in CA) 510–286–6767

Upper Mississippi River-Great Lakes

(IA, IL, IN, KS, MI, MN, MO, NE,

OH, WI) 612–713–5433

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The

Council has two U.S. conservation

grants programs for acquisition,

restoration, and enhancement of

wetlands. Any individual or

organization who has a long-term,

partner-based project with matching

funds can apply. The focus of this

notice is standard grant proposals for

requests from $51,000 to $1,000,000 per

proposal. A separate notice will be

issued later this year for small grant

proposals for requests up to $50,000 per

proposal.

This notice provides general

instructions to develop and submit a

NAWCA standard grant proposal. In

order to complete a proposal correctly,

consult the web site at http://

northamerican.fws.gov/nawcahp.html

for detailed instructions. If you cannot

access the web site or want a printed

version of the complete instructions or

a personal computer disk that contains

proposal forms, contact the Council

Coordinator.

We prepare the instructions to assist

partners in developing proposals that

comply with NAWCA. The NAWCA

established the Council, a Federal-Stateprivate body that recommends projects

to the Migratory Bird Conservation

Commission (MBCC) for final approval

and requires that proposals contain a

minimum 1:1 ratio of non-Federal

matching funds to grant funds. ‘‘Match’’

(as referred to throughout this

document) can be cash, in-kind services,

or land acquired/title donated for

wetlands conservation purposes.

Paperwork Reduction Act: In

accordance with the Paperwork

Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501), the

Office of Management and Budget has

assigned clearance number 1018–0100

to this information collection authorized

by the North American Wetlands

Conservation Act of 1989, as amended

(16 U.S.C. 4401 et seq.). The information

collection solicited is necessary to gain

a benefit in the form of a grant, as

determined by the Council and MBCC,

is necessary to determine the eligibility

and relative value of wetland projects,

results in an approximate paperwork

burden of 400 hours per application,

and does not carry a premise of

confidentiality. Your response is

voluntary. An agency may not conduct

or sponsor, and a person is not required

to respond to, a collection of

information unless it displays a

currently valid OMB control number.

The public is invited to submit

comments on the accuracy of the

estimated average burden hours for

application preparation and to suggest

ways in which the burden may be

reduced. Comments may be submitted

to: Information Collection Clearance

Officer, Mail Stop 224 ARLSQ, U.S. Fish

and Wildlife Service, Washington, DC

20240 and/or Desk Officer for Interior

Department (1018–0100), Office of

Information and Regulatory Affairs,

Office of Management and Budget, New

Executive Office Building, Washington,

DC 20503.

Standard Grant Instructions

Detailed instructions are available at

the NAWCA web site at http://

northamerican.fws.gov/nawcahp.html.

Proposal Definition. A standard grant

proposal is a 4-year plan of action

supported by a NAWCA grant and

matching partner funds to conserve

wetlands and wetlands-dependent fish

and wildlife through acquisition

(including easements and land title

donations), restoration, and/or

enhancement (including creation).

Match must be non-Federal and at least

equal the grant request (referred to as a

1:1 match). Match is eligible up to 2

years prior to the year the proposal is

submitted, and grant and match funds

are eligible during the 2-year future

Grant Agreement period.

Proposal Format. The Summary has a

specific format. With the exception of

the one-page Cover Page, Matching

Contributions Plan, SF 424, SF 424B

and SF424D, and 2-page Summary,

there are no page number limitations.

The ultimate size of the proposal will

depend on its complexity, but we

request that you attempt to minimize

the size of the proposal. Each page

should be no larger than 8.5 by 11

inches. It is suggested, but not required,

that maps be in color. Neither the

original proposal, nor required copies,

should be permanently bound. A

proposal contains the following

sections: Project Officer’s Page and

Checklist; Summary; Purpose, Scope,

and Milestones; Budget, Matching

Contributions Plan (optional), and Tract

Information; Technical Assessment

Questions; Funding Commitment

Letters; Location Information; Standard

Form 424 and Attachments.

Proposal Project Officer’s Page and

Checklist. This part contains the

following sections: Proposal Title and

State(s); Date Submitted; Future

Proposals; Project Officer Information;

Project Officer’s Checklist; and

Comments on the NAWCA Program.

The Project Officer administers the

Grant Agreement and is ultimately

responsible for complying with Federal

regulations. Correspondence is sent only

to the Project Officer. Each proposal can

have only one Project Officer, who must

belong to the grant recipient’s

organization. The U.S. standard grant

agreement provisions should be

reviewed before a proposal is submitted,

so the grant agreement is available via

the NAWCA web site at http://

northamerican.fws.gov/NAWCA/

grant.html

Proposal Summary. The Summary is

a digest of information that is detailed

in the rest of the proposal. The

Summary is the only narrative material

provided to the Council and MBCC, so

it must be descriptive and succinct. The

Summary contains the following

sections: Proposal Title and States;

Counties and Congressional Districts;

Costs and Acres Summary; and

Narrative.

Proposal Purpose, Scope, and

Milestones. Use this section to describe

how all the pieces of the proposal fit

together to form a solid wetlands and

migratory bird conservation proposal

that should be funded under the North

American Wetlands Conservation Act

(NAWCA).

Proposal Budget, Matching

Contributions Plan, and Tract

Information. The Budget Table displays

activities and costs broken out by grant

funding and partner funding according

to cost categories (personnel and travel,

appraisals, fee title acquired, fee title

donated, easements and leases acquired

and donated, materials and equipment,

contracts, management agreements

Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 32 / Thursday, February 15, 2001 / Notices 10509

acquired and donated). The Budget

Narrative contains the justification for a

grant request over $1,000,000, eligibility

information about partner matching

funds/work, and detailed cost

information (by the same cost categories

listed above) for grant and partner funds

for each tract in the proposal. A sample

Budget Table and Budget Narrative are

available on the web site. If you have

contributions made in the early phases

of a multi-phase project and sufficient

NAWCA proposals cannot be submitted

before the match is more than 2 years

old, you may request approval to use the

match in the future by submitting a onepage Matching Contributions Plan

(Match Plan) with a proposal. A Match

Plan is optional, but if submitted must

include match that is eligible at the time

the proposal is submitted, be submitted

with a proposal, may be approved only

(in writing) if the proposal with which

it is submitted is funded, and should

show use of the match over a period no

greater than 5 years.

Technical Assessment Questions. The

Council uses seven Technical

Assessment Questions to evaluate and

select proposals. Additional selection

factors, include site visit results and

available funding. The questions,

subparts, and point values follow.

Questions 1 and 2 include priority lists

of species, so you need to refer to the

web site or the Council Coordinator’s

office to complete a proposal. Answer

the questions for the completed

proposal and all tracts in the proposal

(grant and match).

1. How does the proposal contribute

to the conservation of waterfowl habitat

(high-priority species, other priority

species, other waterfowl)? 15 points

2. How does the proposal contribute

to the conservation of other wetlanddependent or wetland-associated

migratory birds (NAWCA priority

species, other wetland-dependent

birds)? 15 points

3. How does the proposal benefit the

North American Waterfowl Management

Plan and contribute to sites that have

been recognized for wetland values

(Joint Ventures, Waterfowl Habitat

Areas of Concern, specially recognized

areas)? 15 points

4. How does the proposal relate to the

National status and trends of wetlands

types (acres of decreasing, stable, and

increasing wetlands types; acres of

uplands)? 10 points

5. How does the proposal contribute

to long-term conservation of wetlands

and associated habitats (acres accruing

benefits in perpetuity, for 26–99 years,

for 10–25 years, and for less than 10

years)? 15 points

6. How does the proposal contribute

to the conservation of habitat for

Federally listed, proposed and

candidate endangered species, Statelisted species, and other wetlanddependent fish and wildlife (Federal

species, State species, other wetlanddependent fish and wildlife)? 10 points

7. How does the proposal satisfy the

partnership purpose of the North

American Wetlands Conservation Act

(ratio of the non-Federal match to the

grant request, non-Federal partners who

contribute 10 percent of the grant

request, partner categories, important

partnership aspects)? 20 points

Funding Commitment Letters. Send

signed commitment letters from all

match partners, including the grant

recipient and private landowners (if

providing funds or land as match), with

the proposal. No letters will be accepted

before the proposal is received, and the

only letters that will be accepted after

the proposal is received are originals of

signed copies that were sent with the

proposal. The proposal will be returned

if the 1:1 match is not documented by

partner letters. Letters must document

the exact contribution level identified in

the proposal and whether the

contribution is in cash, goods, services,

or land; the partner’s responsibility in

the proposal’s implementation,

including land donations; how the

partner was involved in proposal

planning; and that the partner is fully

aware of how the contribution will be

spent.

Location Information. State a central

point location for the proposal in terms

of latitude and longitude and provide

8.5 by 11-inch color (preferred) maps

that give the following information: (1)

Location of the tracts within State(s) and

counties where grant and match funds

will be spent and location of land

matches; (2) Location of acquisition

priority areas if specific tracts cannot be

given; (3) Location of major water

control structures and other restoration/

enhancement features; (4) Location of

natural features, such as rivers or lakes,

to show how the proposal fits into the

natural landscape; and if applicable, (5)

Show where the proposal is in relation

to a larger wetlands conservation

project. The proposal title should be on

each map.

Standard Form 424 ‘‘Application for

Federal Assistance’’ and Assurances

Forms B ‘‘Non-construction’’ and D

‘‘Construction.’’ All applicants, except

the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, must

send an SF 424 and the B, D, or both

Assurances forms with the proposal. All

applicants must comply with the laws

listed on the Assurances forms. The

forms are available via the Internet at

http://www.gsa.gov/forms/ or from the

Council Coordinator.

Exhibits and Examples. Examples of

various sections of a proposal, lists of

eligible and ineligible activities and

costs, general process information about

the NAWCA program, and people and

organizations who may be contacted for

assistance are available via the web site

or from the Council Coordinator and

should be consulted at some time in the

proposal development process.

Blank Proposal Forms. The following

forms are available from the web site for

you to download and use to develop a

proposal: A blank proposal form

developed using Microsoft Word, a

blank proposal form using Word Perfect,

and a blank Budget Table using

Microsoft Excel.

Dated: February 5, 2001.

Marshall P. Jones, Jr.,

Acting Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife

Service.

[FR Doc. 01–3880 Filed 2–14–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310–55–P

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[AZ–910–0777–26–241A]

State of Arizona Resource Advisory

Council

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management,

Interior.

ACTION: Arizona Resource Advisory

Council Tour notice.

SUMMARY: This notice announces a tour

of the Arizona Resource Advisory

Council (RAC). A pre-tour briefing will

be conducted on March 16, 2001 from

8–9 a.m. at the BLM Safford Field Office

located at 711 14th Avenue, Safford,

Arizona. BLM staff will provide a

review of the Standards for Rangeland

Health and Guidelines for Grazing

Administration (S&Gs) and the

implementation process. After the onehour briefing, BLM staff and RAC will

tour a BLM grazing allotment called

Johnny Creek near Safford. The tour

objectives are to provide the RAC with

field training on resource evaluation

and on-the-ground S&G application. In

addition, the RAC will travel to the San

Simon Valley to learn about the

planning effort set to begin on the San

Simon Watershed. The tour will

conclude between 3–4 p.m.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Deborah Stevens, Bureau of Land

Management, Arizona State Office, 222