Notice2024-31631
Charles M. Russell Wetland Management District (MT); Draft Comprehensive Conservation Plan
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
January 14, 2025
Issuing agencies
Interior DepartmentFish and Wildlife Service
Abstract
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.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 90 Issue 8 (Tuesday, January 14, 2025)</title>
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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 [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[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 <a href="https://www.fws.gov/refuge/charles-m-russell-wetland-management-district">https://www.fws.gov/refuge/charles-m-russell-wetland-management-district</a>. 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:
<bullet> Email: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#beddd3ccfed8c9cd90d9d1c8"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="f4979986b4928387da939b82">[email protected]</span></a>;
<bullet> U.S. mail: Cortez Rohr, District Manager, 333 Airport
Road, Lewistown, MT 59457; or
<bullet> 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 <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#6e0b02020f31190f090b000b1c2e08191d40090118"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="dfbab3b3be80a8beb8bab1baad9fb9a8acf1b8b0a9">[email protected]</span></a>. 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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