[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 184 (Thursday, September 22, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 58807-58808]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-24365]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[FRL-9469-9]
An Assessment of Decision-Making Processes: Evaluation of Where
Land Protection Planning Can Incorporate Climate Change Information--
Release of Final Report
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice of availability.
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SUMMARY: EPA is releasing a final report entitled An Assessment of
Decision-Making Processes: Evaluation of Where Land Protection Planning
can Incorporate Climate Change Information, (EPA/600/R-09/142F). The
document was prepared by the National Center for Environmental
Assessment within EPA's Office of Research and Development.
This report is a review of decision-making processes of selected
land protection programs. The goal of this report is to evaluate where
land protection planning can incorporate climate change impacts
information into programs. The assessment revealed that there are
several strategies that might be
[[Page 58808]]
useful for incorporating climate change information into decision
making. As part of a portfolio of adaptation strategies, land
protection may become more important for jurisdictions, particularly to
ameliorate climate change impacts on watersheds and wildlife.
DATES: The report was posted publically on September 22, 2011.
ADDRESSES: The report, An Assessment of Decision-Making Processes:
Evaluation of Where Land Protection Planning can Incorporate Climate
Change Information, is available via the Internet on the National
Center for Environmental Assessment's home page under the Recent
Additions and the Data and Publications menus at http://www.epa.gov/ncea. A limited number of paper copies are available from the
Information Management Team, NCEA, telephone: 703-347-8561; facsimile:
703-347-8691. If you are requesting a paper copy, please provide your
name, mailing address, and the document title.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For additional information, contact
the National Center for Environmental Assessment; Britta Bierwagen:
telephone: 703-347-8613; facsimile: 703-347-8694; or e-mail:
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Information About the Project/Document
The report, An Assessment of Decision-Making Processes: Evaluation
of Where Land Protection Planning can Incorporate Climate Change
Information, describes a review of the decision-making processes of
selected programs that protect land to evaluate how information about
climate change impacts information can be incorporated. The review
focuses on a sample of programs with goals to protect wildlife and
watersheds. This review demonstrates that while the land protection
programs sampled in this paper did not make acquisition decisions based
on climate change considerations directly, many of the criteria and
processes reviewed are sensitive to climate change impacts.
Incorporating adaptive strategies into existing decision-making
processes would not involve changing existing criteria so much as
incorporating climate change information into the evaluation of
existing criteria. Mechanisms for incorporating such information
include: (1) Developing decision-support tools for advisory committees;
(2) providing a variety of methods to preserve lands; (3) educating
elected officials who approve land protection decisions about the
climate change benefits; (4) engaging in strategic parcel selection;
(5) coordinating with land-use planning processes; and (6) developing
tools for evaluating and prioritizing land parcels for protection.
Incorporating climate change information in these decision-making
processes can assist with maintaining land protection goals over time,
such as wildlife, habitat and high water quality, as well as contribute
to climate change mitigation and adaptation.
Dated: September 9, 2011.
Darrell A. Winner,
Acting Director, National Center for Environmental Assessment.
[FR Doc. 2011-24365 Filed 9-21-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P