[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 126 (Monday, June 30, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Page 36843]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-14818]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Announcement of Chesapeake Bay Maryland National Estuarine
Research Reserve Revised Management Plan Including a Boundary Expansion
AGENCY: Estuarine Reserves Division, Office of Ocean and Coastal
Resource Management, National Ocean Service, National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of Approval and Availability of the Final Revised
Management Plan for the Chesapeake Bay Maryland National Estuarine
Research Reserve.
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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that the Estuarine Reserves Division,
Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management, National Ocean
Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), U.S.
Department of Commerce has approved the revised management plan, which
includes an expansion of the boundary of the reserve, for the
Chesapeake Bay Maryland National Estuarine Research Reserve.
The Chesapeake Bay Maryland National Estuarine Research Reserve has
three sites: Monie Bay, Jug Bay, and Otter Point Creek. Monie Bay was
designated as part of the National Estuarine Research Reserve in 1985
and Jug Bay and Otter Point Creek were designated in 1990 pursuant to
Section 315 of the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972, as amended, 16
U.S.C. 1461. The reserve has been operating under a management plan
approved in 1990. Pursuant to 15 CFR Section 921.33(c), a state must
revise their management plan every five years. The submission of this
plan brings the reserve into compliance and sets a course for
successful implementation of the goals and objectives of the reserve. A
boundary expansion, new facilities, and updated programmatic objectives
are notable revisions to the 1990 approved management plan.
The revised management plan outlines the administrative structure;
the education, stewardship, and research goals of the reserve; and the
plans for future land acquisition and facility development to support
reserve operations. Since 1990, the reserve has added a coastal
training program that delivers science-based information to key
decision makers in the Chesapeake Bay. The reserve has realized many
aspects of the 1990 plan, including the completion of the Anita C.
Leight Center in Harford County. This facility provides classrooms, lab
space, exhibit space and office space and has allowed the
implementation of research, education and volunteer activity at the
Otter Point Creek component of the reserve.
This management plan calls for a boundary expansion at two reserve
sites: 1,345 acres are incorporated into the Jug Bay component site and
approximately 32 acres will be incorporated into the Otter Point Creek
site. The Otter Point Creek component will expand its land area from
443 to 475 acres. The land increase consists of two forested parcels
adjacent to the current boundary that will serve as a buffer for core
estuarine habitat and will also provide an important access point for
monitoring and education programming. The expansion at Jug Bay includes
land on both sides of the Patuxent River, increasing the acreage of
this site from 491 to 1,836. The original boundary for this component
site included a portion of the county-owned parks. This expansion
incorporates a larger portion of those parks to become designated as
part of the National Estuarine Research Reserves. West of the Patuxent
River, the reserve will add 455 acres of wetlands and buffer lands that
will enhance the protection of core reserve lands and will enhance the
research and monitoring. East of the Patuxent River, the reserve will
be expanded by 890 acres to increase the level of protection
surrounding the river and expand the area available for reserve
programming.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Michael Migliori at (301) 563-1126 or
Laurie McGilvray at (301) 563-1158 of NOAA's National Ocean Service,
Estuarine Reserves Division, 1305 East-West Highway, N/ORM5, 10th
floor, Silver Spring, MD 20910. For copies of the Chesapeake Bay
Management Plan revision, visit http://www.dnr.state.md.us/bay/cbnerr/.
Dated: June 12, 2008.
David M. Kennedy,
Director, Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management, National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
[FR Doc. E8-14818 Filed 6-27-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-08-P