[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