Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
Notice of availability of draft comprehensive conservation plan and environmental impact statement for Lake Umbagog National Wildlife Refuge; request for comments.
The Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) announces the availability for review of the Draft Comprehensive Conservation Plan and Environmental Impact Statement for Lake Umbagog National Wildlife Refuge (NWR). The Service prepared the Draft CCP/EIS in compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 and the National Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act of 1966, as amended by the National Wildlife Refuge System Improvement Act of 1997. We request public comments.
The Draft CCP/EIS will be available for public review and comment until close of business on August 20, 2007.
You may obtain copies of the draft CCP/EIS on compact diskette or in print by writing to Nancy McGarigal, Refuge Planner, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 300 Westgate Center Drive, Hadley, Massachusetts 01035, or by electronic mail at
For more information, or to get on the project mailing list, contact Nancy McGarigal, Refuge Planner, at the address above, by telephone at 413–253–8562, by fax at 413–253–8468, or by e-mail at
The National Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act of 1966, as amended
We established Lake Umbagog NWR with its first land purchase in 1992. Its purposes are to provide long-term protection for unique wetlands, threatened and endangered species and migratory birds of conservation concern, and sustain regionally significant concentrations of wildlife.
This 20,513-acre refuge lies in Coos County, New Hampshire, and Oxford County, Maine. It contains widely diverse types of upland and wetland habitat around the 8,500-acre Umbagog Lake. Since establishing the refuge, we have focused primarily on conserving lands within its approved boundary; monitoring the occupancy and productivity of common loon, bald eagle, and osprey nesting sites, and protecting them from human disturbance; conducting baseline biological inventories; and providing wildlife-dependent recreational opportunities.
The Draft CCP/EIS evaluates three alternatives, which address 18 major issues identified during the planning process. Several sources generated those issues: The public, State or Federal agencies, other Service programs, and our planning team. The draft describes those issues in detail. Highlights of the alternatives follow.
Regarding our visitor services programs, we would continue to conduct hunting, wildlife observation and photography, and limited environmental education and interpretation programs as staffing and funding allow. We would continue planning to extend our only trail, the Magalloway River Trail, and make it an accessible, self-guided, interpretive trail. We would also continue to allow snowmobiling on designated trails that are part of an established trail system, and allow remote lake camping at 12 sites, and river camping at 2 sites under a reservation system administered for us by the New Hampshire Division of State Parks and Recreation. We would continue our annual community outreach by participating in the “Umbagog Wildlife Festival” and “Take Me Fishing” events. Finally, we would continue to pursue the acquisition from willing sellers of the 6,392 acres of important wildlife habitat that lies within our currently approved acquisition boundary.
We would adapt those strategies to those results to ensure full resource protection. We would also manage furbearers.
We would expand three of our existing priority public use programs, and formally open the refuge for fishing. We would develop new infrastructure to facilitate wildlife observation, nature photography, and interpretation. Those include the construction of several new walking trails with observation platforms, interpretative signs, and roadside areas for viewing wildlife. Our hunting program would not change. We would continue to allow remote lake camping at 12 sites on refuge lands, but would close and restore the 2 sites on the river. Snowmobiling would continue on existing, designated trails, but we would not expand it.
We would enhance local and regional partnerships consistent with our mission. Those would include visitor contact facilities, regional wildlife trails and auto-tours, land conservation, and wildlife habitat management. We would pursue the establishment of a Land Management Research Demonstration (LMRD) site on the refuge to promote research and development of applied management practices, primarily for the benefit of refuge focal species and other resources of concern in the Northern Forest.
In addition to our acquisition of land in Alternative A, Alternative B includes expanding the refuge by 49,718 acres by combining 65 percent fee-simple acquisition with 35 percent conservation easement acquisition from willing sellers. All of those lands are contiguous with refuge land and undeveloped. They consist of high-quality, important wildlife habitat in an amount and distribution to provide us with management flexibility in achieving refuge habitat goals and objectives. Collectively, they would form a land base that affords vital links to other conserved lands in the Upper Androscoggin River watershed. Finally, they would fully complement and enhance the Federal, State and private conservation partnerships actively
We would offer the same variety of programs as in Alternative B. However, we would promote more dispersed, low-density, undeveloped backcountry experiences. The only new infrastructure developments would be located at the new administrative facility. If necessary in order to promote a back-country experience in our hunting and fishing programs, we would develop a permit system, limit access, and designate hunting and fishing areas. We would continue to allow snowmobiling and remote lake camping as in Alternative B. However, we would place additional restrictions on the activities allowed at campsites to promote low-density management.
Alternative C would also include the LMRD program and furbearer management. It also builds off the proposal in Alternative A to include a refuge expansion of 76,304 acres, acquired in fee simple from willing sellers. We designed this proposal to protect and conserve large, contiguous blocks of habitat exceeding 25,000 acres and connect them to other conserved lands in the Upper Androscoggin River watershed. As in Alternative B, those expansion lands consist of high-quality, important wildlife habitat; occur in an amount and distribution that provide us the management flexibility to achieve refuge habitat goals and objectives; and, fully complement and enhance the land management of adjacent conservation partners.
After we evaluate and respond to public comments on this Draft CCP/EIS, we will prepare a Final CCP/EIS and announce its availability in the
This document was received at the Office of the Federal Register on June 26, 2007.