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Baker Final Ccp.Pdf Baker Island National Wildlife Refuge Comprehensive Conservation Plan FINDING OF NO SIGNIFICANT IMPACT Baker Island National Wildlife Refuge Comprehensive Conservation Plan Unincorporated U.S. Territory, Central Pacific Ocean The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) has completed the Comprehensive Conservation Plan (CCP) and Environmental Assessment (EA) for Baker Island National Wildlife Refuge (Refuge). The CCP will guide management of the Refuge for the next 15 years. The CCP and EA describe the Service’s preferred alternative for managing the Refuge and its effects on the human environment. Decision Following comprehensive review and analysis, the Service selected Alternative B in the draft EA for implementation because it is the alternative that best meets the following criteria: Achieves the mission of the National Wildlife Refuge System. Achieves the purposes of the Refuge. Will be able to achieve the vision and goals for the Refuge. Maintains and restores the ecological integrity of the habitats and plant and animal populations at the Refuge. Addresses the important issues identified during the scoping process. Addresses the legal mandates of the Service and the Refuge. Is consistent with the scientific principles of sound wildlife management. Can be implemented within the projected fiscal and logistical management constraints associated with the Refuge’s remote location. As described in detail in the CCP and EA, implementing the selected alternative will have no significant impacts on any of the natural or cultural resources identified in the CCP and EA. Public Review The planning process incorporated a variety of public involvement techniques in developing and reviewing the CCP. This included three planning updates, meetings with partners, and public review and comment on the planning documents. The details of the Service’s public involvement program are described in the CCP. Conclusions Based on review and evaluation of the information contained in the supporting references, I have determined that implementing Alternative B as the CCP for management of Baker Island National Wildlife Refuge is not a major Federal action that would significantly affect the quality of the human environment within the meaning of section 102(2) (C) of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969. Accordingly, the Service is not required to prepare an environmental impact statement. This Finding of No Significant Impact and supporting references are on file at the Pacific Remote Islands National Wildlife Refuge Complex, 300 Ala Moana Blvd, Room 5-211, Honolulu, Hawaii, 96850 and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Division of Planning and Visitor FONSI – i Baker Island National Wildlife Refuge Comprehensive Conservation Plan Table of Contents CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION Introduction..................................................................................................................................1-1 The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service .............................................................................................1-1 National Wildlife Refuge System ................................................................................................1-1 National Wildlife Refuges in the Pacific .....................................................................................1-4 Refuge Establishment, Purpose and Boundary............................................................................1-6 Regional and Ecosystem Conservation Plans............................................................................1-11 Refuge Vision Statement ...........................................................................................................1-12 Refuge Goals..............................................................................................................................1-13 CHAPTER 2: PLANNING PROCESS, PURPOSE AND NEED, AND ISSUES Planning Process ..........................................................................................................................2-1 Purpose and Need ........................................................................................................................2-1 Planning Issues and Opportunities...............................................................................................2-2 CHAPTER 3: MANAGEMENT DIRECTION Overview......................................................................................................................................3-1 Goals, Objectives, Strategies, and Rationale ...............................................................................3-4 CHAPTER 4: REFUGE AND RESOURCE DESCRIPTION Geographic/Ecosystem Setting ....................................................................................................4-1 Climate.........................................................................................................................................4-1 Global Climate Change................................................................................................................4-3 Geology and Soils........................................................................................................................4-7 Hydrology ....................................................................................................................................4-9 Air and Water Quality..................................................................................................................4-9 Environmental Contaminants.......................................................................................................4-9 Terrestrial Vegetation and Habitats ...........................................................................................4-10 Terrestrial Wildlife.....................................................................................................................4-11 Marine Habitats, Fish and Wildlife............................................................................................4-12 Threatened and Endangered Species .........................................................................................4-17 Invasive Species ........................................................................................................................4-17 Wilderness Resources ................................................................................................................4-17 Archaeology and Paleontology..................................................................................................4-18 Recent Cultural History .............................................................................................................4-19 Socio-economics........................................................................................................................4-21 i Baker Island National Wildlife Refuge Comprehensive Conservation Plan APPENDICES Appendix A. Glossary of Terms and Acronyms Appendix B. Species Lists Appendix C. References Appendix D. Planning Team Members Appendix E. Quarantine Protocol Appendix F. Wilderness Review Appendix G. Statement of Compliance Appendix H. Plan Implementation and Costs Appendix I. Consultation and Coordination Appendix J. Responses to Comments List of Figures Figure 1.1 National Wildlife Refuges in the Pacific………………………………………… 1-5 Figure 1.2 Baker Island National Wildlife Refuge: Geographic Location and Boundary… 1-8 ii Baker Island National Wildlife Refuge Comprehensive Conservation Plan Chapter 1: INTRODUCTION Introduction This document is a Comprehensive Conservation Plan for Baker Island National Wildlife Refuge (Baker). The CCP guides management of refuge operations, site visitation, and habitat restoration for the 15-year life of the plan. Guidance within the CCP is in the form of goals, objectives, strategies (Chapter 3), and wilderness study findings (Appendix F). The CCP was revised as appropriate based upon public comments. The refuge manager of the Pacific Remote Islands National Wildlife Refuge Complex (Remotes Complex) in Honolulu, Hawaii, is responsible for implementing the CCP. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Baker is managed by the Service, within the U.S. Department of the Interior. The Service is the primary Federal entity responsible for conserving and enhancing the Nation’s fish and wildlife populations and their habitats. Although the Service shares this responsibility with other Federal, State, tribal, local, and private entities, the Service has specific trust resource responsibilities for migratory birds, threatened and endangered species, certain anadromous fish, certain marine mammals, coral reef ecosystems, wetlands, and other special aquatic habitats. The Service also has similar trust responsibilities for the lands and waters it administers to support the conservation and enhancement of all fish and wildlife and their associated habitats. National Wildlife Refuge System President Theodore Roosevelt established Pelican Island, Florida as the first national wildlife refuge in 1903. Since that time, the number of refuges has expanded to include 548, totaling approximately100 million acres. These refuges, found in every state and several U.S. Territories, are administered collectively as a national system of lands with the specific mandate of managing for “wildlife first.” This System is the largest collection of lands specifically managed for fish and wildlife conservation in the Nation and perhaps the world. The “wildlife first” mandate of the System
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