Notice of Intent To Prepare a Comprehensive Conservation Plan and Environmental Assessment for Logan Cave National Wildlife Refuge in Benton County, AR
Note: EPA no longer updates this information, but it may be useful as a reference or resource.
[Federal Register: November 23, 2005 (Volume 70, Number 225)]
[Notices]
[Page 70878-70879]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr23no05-124]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
Notice of Intent To Prepare a Comprehensive Conservation Plan and
Environmental Assessment for Logan Cave National Wildlife Refuge in
Benton County, AR
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior
ACTION: Notice of intent.
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SUMMARY: The Fish and Wildlife Service, Southeast Region, intends to
gather information necessary to prepare a comprehensive conservation
plan and environmental assessment pursuant to the National
Environmental Policy Act of 1969 and its implementing regulations.
The National wildlife Refuge System Administration Act of 1966, as
amended by the National Wildlife Refuge System Improvement Act of 1997,
requires the Service to develop a comprehensive conservation plan for
each national wildlife refuge. The purpose in developing a
comprehensive conservation plan is to provide refuge managers with a
15-year strategy for achieving refuge purposes and contributing toward
the mission of the National Wildlife Refuge System, consistent with
sound principles of fish and wildlife management, conservation, legal
mandates, and Service policies. In addition to outlining broad
management direction on conserving wildlife and their habitats, plans
identify wildlife-dependent recreational opportunities available to the
public, including opportunities for hunting, fishing, wildlife
observation, wildlife photography, and environmental education and
interpretation.
The purpose of this notice is to achieve the following.
(1) Advise other agencies and the public of our intentions, and
(2) Obtain suggestions and information on the scope of issues to
include in the environmental document.
DATES: Special mailings, newspaper articles, and other media
announcements will be used to inform the public and state and local
government agencies of the opportunities for input throughout the
planning process. Open house style meeting(s) will be held throughout
the scoping phase of the comprehensive conservation plan development
process.
ADDRESSES: Comments, questions, and requests for more information
regarding the Logan Cave National Wildlife Refuge planning process
should be sent to: Ben Mense, Refuge Manager, Logan Cave National
Wildlife Refuge, 10448 Holla Bend Road, Dardanelle, Arkansas 72834;
Telephone 479/229-4300; Fax: 479/229-4302; Electronic mail:
ben_mense@fws.gov. To ensure consideration, written comments must be
received no later than January 9, 2006. Our practice is to make
comments, including names and addresses of respondents, available for
public review during regular business hours. Individual respondents may
request that we withhold their home addresses from the record, which we
will honor to the extent allowable by law.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Logan Cave National Wildlife Refuge was
established in 1989 under the Endangered Species Act of 1973. This 123-
acre Ozark Mountain refuge, which
[[Page 70879]]
includes a limestone-solution cave, is 20 miles west of Fayetteville,
Arkansas, and approximately 2 miles north of U.S. Highway #412.
The ecology of Logan Cave Refuge has been described as the highest-
quality cave habitat in the entire Ozark region. A spring-fed stream,
with an average water flow of 5 million gallons/day, extends the entire
length of the cave. The primary objectives of the refuge are to
properly administer, preserve, and develop the tract for protection of
a unique cave ecosystem that provides essential habitat for endangered
species, such as the gray bat and the Ozark cave crayfish, the
threatened Ozark cavefish, and other significant cave-dwelling wildlife
species.
Authority: This notice is published under the authority of the
National Wildlife Refuge System Improvement Act of 1997, Public Law 105-57.
Dated: November 2, 2005.
Cynthia K. Dohner,
Acting Regional Director.
[FR Doc. 05-23152 Filed 11-22-05; 8:45 am]
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