[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 6 (Tuesday, January 9, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Page 1027]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-00182]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
National Estuarine Research Reserve System
AGENCY: Office for Coastal Management, National Ocean Service, National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of public comment period for the Jacques Cousteau
National Estuarine Research Reserve Management Plan revision.
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FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Nina Garfield at (240) 533-0817 or Kim
Texeira at (240) 533-0781 of NOAA's Office for Coastal Management, 1305
East-West Highway, N/ORM5, 10th floor, Silver Spring, MD 20910.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATON: Notice is hereby given that the Office for
Coastal Management, National Ocean Service, National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce is announcing a
thirty-day public comment period for the Jacques Cousteau National
Estuarine Research Reserve Management Plan revision. Pursuant to 15 CFR
921.33(c), the revised plan will bring the reserve into compliance. The
Jacques Cousteau Reserve revised plan will replace the plan approved in
2009.
The revised management plan outlines the administrative structure;
the research/monitoring, stewardship, education, and training programs
and priorities of the reserve; plans for a proposed future boundary
expansion through inclusion of past and future land acquisition; and
facility development priorities to support reserve operations.
The Jacques Cousteau Reserve takes an integrated approach to
management, linking research and education, coastal training, and
stewardship functions. The Rutgers University has outlined how it will
administer the reserve and its core programs by providing detailed
actions that will enable it to accomplish specific goals and
objectives. Since the last management plan, the reserve has: Provided
technical expertise to coastal communities to reduce risks to natural
hazards; expanded monitoring programs; installed a sentinel site for
monitoring marsh ecosystem response to sea level rise; upgraded
exhibits; conducted training workshops; implemented K-12 education
programs; purchased a marsh; installed a trail; and promoted
reclamation of ghost crab pots.
The total number of acres within the boundary is 116,116 acres,
which is a modification of the original 114,665 acres identified in the
previous management plan. The revised acreage is a result of updated
mapping techniques rather than a boundary expansion resulting from
inclusion of new habitats. The revised management plan will serve as
the guiding document for the Jacques Cousteau Reserve for the next five
years.
NOAA's Office Coastal Management will be conducting an
environmental analysis in accordance with the National Environmental
Policy Act on the proposed approval of the Reserve's revised management
plan. The public is invited to provide comment or information about any
potential environmental impacts of the proposed action, and these
comments will be used to inform the decision making process.
View the Jacques Cousteau Reserve Management Plan revision at
(https://jcnerr.org/JCNERR_MNGMTPLAN_2018to2023.pdf) and provide
comments to the Reserve's Assistant Manager, Lisa Auermuller
([email protected]).
Keelin Kuipers,
Acting Deputy Director, Office for Coastal Management National Ocean
Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
[FR Doc. 2018-00182 Filed 1-8-18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-08-P