Notice of Availability of Final Environmental Impact Statement on the Establishment of the Silvio O. Conte National Fish and Wildlife Refuge Within the Four-State Connecticut River Watershed of New England

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

Notice of Availability of Final Environmental Impact Statement on

the Establishment of the Silvio O. Conte National Fish and Wildlife

Refuge Within the Four-State Connecticut River Watershed of New England

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: This notice advises the public that the Final Environmental

Impact Statement (FEIS) on establishing the Silvio O. Conte National

Fish and Wildlife Refuge (refuge) in the Connecticut River watershed of

Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont and New Hampshire is available. The

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) proposes to work with private

landowners, state or local agencies and private organizations through

the existing Partners for Wildlife and Challenge Cost Share Programs.

The Service's major thrust through the year 2010 would focus on the use

of

[[Page 55853]]

voluntary efforts, developing partnerships, providing technical

assistance, and administering a cost-sharing grants program to help

other conservation interests carry out their land protection programs.

The Service would also initiate its own land protection program--using

a combination of easements, cooperative management agreement and fee

title acquisition--with emphasis on endangered, threatened, rare and

uncommon species and communities. Educational efforts would be carried

out in cooperation with the watershed's many environmental education

providers. This proposal would result in the establishment of a special

watershed-wide cooperative management and education program. This

notice is being furnished pursuant to the National Environmental Policy

Act (NEPA) regulations (40 CFR parts 1500-1508).

DATES: A Record of Decision can be approved after December 4, 1995.

ADDRESSES: A limited number of copies of either the complete FEIS, or a

summary of the FEIS, are available upon request from Larry Bandolin,

Project Leader, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 38 Avenue A, Turners

Falls, Massachusetts 01376.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Larry Bandolin, Project Leader, Telephone (413) 863-0209 or Fax (413)

863-3070.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The FEIS was prepared to fulfill the

requirements of the Silvio O. Conte National Fish and Wildlife Refuge

Act of 1991 (Act), Section 105. The Act's long-term purposes for

establishing a new refuge in the Connecticut River watershed are to:

(1) Conserve, protect, and enhance the Connecticut River watershed

populations of Atlantic salmon, American shad, river herring, shortnose

sturgeon, bald eagles, peregrine falcons, osprey, black ducks, and

other native species of plants, fish, and wildlife; (2) conserve,

protect, and enhance the natural diversity and abundance of plant,

fish, and wildlife species and the ecosystems upon which these species

depend within the refuge; (3) protect species listed as endangered or

threatened, or identified as candidates for listing, pursuant to the

Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended; (4) restore and maintain

the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of wetlands and other

waters within the refuge; (5) fulfill the international treaty

obligations of the United States relating to fish and wildlife and

wetlands; and (6) provide opportunities for scientific research,

environmental education, and fish and wildlife-oriented recreation and

access to the extent compatible with the other purposes stated in this

section. The FEIS describes five alternative ways to fulfill these

purposes. It also discusses the process used to develop them and the

environmental consequences of implementing each one. The first

alternative (No Action) would involve no new conservation efforts in

the watershed on the part of the Service. A second alternative (Private

Lands Work and Education) relies on the voluntary restoration and

enhancement of private lands through the Service's Partners for

Wildlife Program. A third alternative (Private Lands Work, Education

and Partnerships) relies on the voluntary restoration and enhancement

of private lands, developing partnerships, providing technical

assistance and establishing a cost-sharing grants program--through the

Service's Challenge Cost Share Program--to help other conservation

interests carry out their land protection programs. A fourth

alternative (Private Lands Work, Education, Partnerships and Land

Protection--The Service's Revised Proposed Action) is similar to the

third alternative, except that the Service would also acquire lands to

protect threatened or endangered, rare and uncommon species and

communities. Under the fifth alternative (Private Lands Work, Education

and Land Protection) the Service would establish a more traditional

national fish and wildlife refuge. All issues an concerns identified by

the public during scoping were considered and the most significant

analyzed in detail. The potential effects of each alternative on

agriculture and forestry, biological resources, local economies,

environmental education, public use and access, and water use and

quality are also described.

During the public review and comment period on the Draft

Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS), a series of afternoon walk-in

informational sessions and evening public meetings and hearings were

held in 16 different locations throughout the four-state Connecticut

River watershed. Meetings were held in four locations in Massachusetts;

four in Connecticut; four in Vermont; and four in New Hampshire in

June, 1995. During the public review and comment period the Service

received 348 written comments and seven petitions containing 897

signatures. Over 290 people attended the afternoon walk-in sessions and

over 700 attended the evening public meetings and hearings, including

94 who testified. All comments received, both written and verbal, were

taken into consideration during the preparation of the FEIS--to make

corrections or revisions--and have become part of the official record

for the project. The FEIS contains the Service's responses to comments

made by 150 federal or state agencies, private organizations and

individuals. Copies of the FEIS have been sent to all agencies and

individuals who commented on the DEIS and to all others who have

already requested copies, as well as all libraries within the

watershed. A summary of the FEIS has been sent to all other

organizations and individuals on the project mailing list.

Cathleen I. Short,

Acting Regional Director, Region 5, Hadley, Massachusetts.

[FR Doc. 95-27195 Filed 11-2-95; 8:45 am]

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