[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 124 (Wednesday, June 26, 1996)] [Notices] [Pages 33102-33103] From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] [FR Doc No: 96-16247] ----------------------------------------------------------------------- DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE Department of the Army Revised Army-Wide Guidelines for the Management of the Red- Cockaded Woodpecker on Army Installations AGENCY: Department of the Army, DoD. ACTION: Notice of availability. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- SUMMARY: The Department of the Army has prepared an environmental assessment (EA) and a draft finding of no significant impact (FNSI) for assessing the impacts associated with its revision to Army-wide guidelines for the management of the red-cockaded woodpecker (RCW) on Army installations. The new guidelines will replace existing guidelines approved in 1994. The RCW is a federally listed endangered species found on seven Army installations in the southeastern United States: Fort Bragg and Sunny Point Military Ocean Terminal, North Carolina; Forts Stewart, Benning and Gordon Georgia; Fort Jackson, South Carolina; and Fort Polk, Louisiana. The following Army installations do not currently have RCWs but have sites indicating past RCW presence: Forts Rucker and McClellan, Alabama; Camp Shelby, Mississippi; and Louisiana Army Ammunition Plant, Louisiana. The purpose of the revision is to improve the effectiveness of Army-wide RCW management in compliance with the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA) while maintaining the Army's ability to train and prepare soldiers for military conflict. The revised guidelines will be used by Army installations as baseline standards in preparing their RCW management plans. In the revised guidelines, the Army identified measures which should increase RCW populations on military installations while simultaneously enhancing the realism of military training conducted on military installations with RCW populations. As part of the guidelines revision process, the Army has prepared an EA in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA), the regulations published by the Council on Environmental Quality, and the Army's NEPA implementing regulations--Army Regulation 200-2, Environmental Effects of Army Actions, dated December 23, 1988. Additionally, the Army has prepared a biological assessment under the ESA to assess the effects of the revised guidelines on endangered and threatened species. The Army announced commencement of the guidelines revision process in the Federal Register on March 13, 1996, and invited public participation (61 FR 10330). One comment was received from the public during the process and has been addressed in the EA. The data, analyses, and conclusions developed through the course of the revisions process, and incorporated and documented in the EA, provide the basis for the conclusion that the guidelines will not have a significant impact upon the environment. The Army has documented and explained this conclusion in a draft FNSI and will implement the revised Army RCW management guidelines, upon completion of consultation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in accordance with the ESA. APPROVAL DATE: The Army shall publish the draft FNSI in its present form, as final, 30 days after publication of this notice unless the public identifies significant new issues of environmental concern. Upon publication of the final FNSI and completion of the ESA, Section 7 process, the Army shall immediately proceed with implementation of the revised guidelines. ADDRESSES: Written comments or requests to obtain a copy of the EA and draft FNSI, with draft RCW management guidelines and biological assessment attached, may be forwarded to: Headquarters, Department of the Army, Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations and Plans, ATTN: DAMO- TRS (Army Endangered Species Team), Washington, DC 20310-0400. [[Page 33103]] FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Questions regarding this action may be directed to: Major Mark R. Lindon, Army Endangered Species Team, (703) 695-2452; Mr. Phil Pierce, Army Endangered Species Team, (703) 693-0678; or Major Thomas E. Ayres, Army Endangered Species Team, (703) 696-1572. Raymond J. Fatz, Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army (Environment, Safety and Occupational Health) OASA (I, L&E). [FR Doc. 96-16247 Filed 6-25-96; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 3710-08-M