United States Department of the Interior
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
United States Department of the Interior OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY WASHINGTON, B.C. 20240 SEP 14 Dear Mr. President: It is with pleasure that I recommend the establishment of Lostwood Wilderness within the Lostwood National Wildlife Refuge, North Dakota, as a part of the National Wilderness Preservation System. Section 3(c) of the Wilderness Act (approved September 3, 1964; 78 Stat. 890, 892; 16 U.S.C. 1132(c)), directs the Secretary of the Interior to review roadless areas of 5>000 acres or more in the national parks, monuments, and other units of the National Park System, wildlife refuges, and game ranges, and report to the President his recommenda- tion as to the suitability of each such area for preservation as wilderness. The Act further directs the President to advise the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives of his recommendation with respect to the designation of each such area as wilderness. A recommendation of the President for designation as wilderness shall}. T3ecome effective only if so provided by an Act of Congress. This Department has recently completed its review of such a roadless area in Lostwood National Wildlife Refuge. Based upon this review, we recommend 5>577 acres within the national wildlife refuge "be designated as wilderness. Lostwood National Wildlife Refuge, which contains 26,7^7 acres, is one of the northernmost national wildlife refuges and is located in the "Coteau" region of northwestern North Dakota. This is an area of sharply rolling hills, covered with native prairie grasses, with thousands of small natural ponds and marshes nestled between them. This pothole country is a prime waterfowl production habitat. Blue-winged teal, mallards, gadwall, scaup, pintail and redheads are the most common nesting waterfowl. Coots and siia.rp-tail~grouse are abundant, and the grasslands are also the nesting site for many other species of Thirds. Rare and endangered species are represented by the whQoping_£rane., peregrine falcon and the greater prairie chicken. Some of the more common mammals found in the refuge include the porcupine, racoon, badger, and white-tailed deer. This proposal presents a rare opportunity v- to set aside a unique piece of natural prairie with a multitude of wildlife inhabitants. x • vl V Some mineral deposits exist within the area of the proposed wilderness. These include lignite beds two to five feet thick at a depth of 110 to Ulf-5 feet and a UO-foot bed of potash at a depth of 10,000 feet, but development of these limited deposits would appear to be commercially unfeasible. There is a possibility of some oil and gas within the wilderness area, but this could be obtained without entering the wilder- ness area by slant drilling from adjacent land. In accordance with the requirements of the Wilderness Act, notice of a public hearing of the wilderness proposal was issued by the Department. All interested local, State, and Federal agencies and officials were notified of the hearing which was held in Bowbells, North Dakota. Analyses of the hearing records and written comments received, together with the letters received from other Federal agencies, are contained in the enclosed report of the Department. A majority of all comments regarding the wilderness proposal were favorable, and many comments were directed toward a revision of the preliminary wilderness boundaries. All of these comments were taken into consideration before the final determination of the wilderness boundaries was made. Complete records have been compiled and are available for inspection by the public. On the basis of our review, I believe that the roadless area identified herein in Lostwood National Wildlife Refuge is suitable for designation as wilderness. Enclosed is a draft bill which, if enacted, would in- corporate this area into the National Wilderness Preservation System. A draft environmental impact statement, as required by section 102(2)(c) of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, is enclosed. Respectfully yours, ^/Secretary of the Interior The President The White House Washington, D. C. 20500 Enclosures A B I L L To designate certain lands in the Lostwood National Wildlife Refuge, Burke and Mountrail Counties, North Dakota, as wilderness. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That, in accordance with section 3(c) of the Wilderness Act of September 3, 196U, (78 Stat. 890, 892; 16 U.S.C. 1132(c)), certain lands in the Lostwood National Wildlife Refuge, North Dakota, which comprise about five thousand five hundred and seventy-seven acres and which are depicted on a map entitled "Lostwood Wilderness Proposal" and dated August 1971, are hereby designated wilderness. The map shall be on file and available for public inspection in the offices of the Bureau of Sport Fisheries and Wildlife, Department of the Interior. SEC. 2. As soon as practicable after this Act takes effect, a map of the wilderness area and a description of its boundaries shall be filed with the Interior and Insular Affairs Committees of the United States Senate and House of Representatives, and such map and description shall have the same force and effect as if included in this Act: Provided, however, That correction of clerical and typographical errors in such legal description and map may be made. SEC. 3. The area designated by this Act as wilderness shall be known as the "Lost-wood Wilderness" and shall be administered by the Secretary of the Interior in accordance with the applicable provisions of the Wilderness Act governing areas designated by that Act as wilderness areas, except that any reference in such provisions to the effective date of the Wilderness Act shall be deemed to be a reference to the effective date of this Act, and any reference to the Secretary of Agriculture shall be deemed to be a reference to the Secretary of the Interior. 'SYNOPSIS OF A . 'LOSTWOOD WILDERNESS PROPOSAL -» ' A. BACKGROUND . - The Lostwood Wilderness Proposal comprises 5,577 acres of the 26,747 acre Lostwood National Wildlife Refuge. The entire refuge was considered but did not meet the criteria of a wilderness area for various reasons listed below. The Wilderness area as outlined in the Bureau's proposal would be useful for wildlife as well as wilderness. Lostwood National ','ildlife Refuge was established by Executive Order 7171 on September 4, 1935 as a refuge and breeding grounds for migratory birds and other wildlife. Lands were acquired under the following authorities: Resettlement Administration Executive Order 7027 of April 30, 1935 - 21,458 acres; 6 million dollar fund, Public Lav; 148, Title VII, 74 Congress June 15, 1935 - 1,170 acres; Migratory Bird Hunting Stamp Act (48 Stat. 451) March 16, 1934 - 720 acres; and Emergency Conservation Work Fund Executive Order 6724, May 28, 1934 - 1,218 acres. The prime beneficiaries of the refuge were to be the puddle ducks though some diving ducks, Canada geese, sharp-tailed grouse, jack rabbit, and many other species of wildlife also benefit. Among the rare or endangered species benefiting are the whooping crane, peregine falcon, burrowing owl and prairie chicken. Lostwood Refuge is located in the "Coteau" region of Mountrail and Burke Counties, North Dakota. The refuge lies adjacent to the west side of State Highway 8 midway between Stanley and Bowbells. The types of public uses on the refuge include: .. Cattle grazing . ...spring and summer. Grouse hunting during state season Hungarian partridge hunting during state season Deer hunting during state season Fur bearer trapping during state season Bird watching year around School groups spring and fall Study projects year around Photography year around Botanists and Ecologists spring and fall It .is expected these uses will continue about as before, but in addition there will be some hiking if the wilderness proposal is approved. The biggest change within the proposal will be the elimination of all mo- torized equipment and the phasing out of the 5 grazing units. With the grazing removed, the studies of waterfowl production (and other wildlife species) can proceed on a area of non-use of sufficient size to reduce outside influences to a minimum. Developments on the other portions of the refuge will be undertaken for waterfowl while the Wilderness area will be used as the control. * Controlled burning will need to be carefully planned and executed to re- turn the Wilderness area to a true wilderness condition favoring native plants. This can be done by burning a firebreak on the refuge outside of the Wilderness area and then burning off a portion of wildlife area each year. The prime objective of waterfowl production must always receive first consideration in these considerations. The wilderness proposal is located in the nine sections in the northwest corner of the refuge. As a result of tVie public hearing, the east boundary of the proposal was moved eastward to the roadway which runs roughly nar- -2- alclel to the proposed boundary on the section lines. This will increase • x -the size of the proposal to approximately 5,577 acres. B. DESCRIPTION Lostwood National Wildlife Refuge is one of the most northern national wildlife refuges in the contiguous United States. The Wilderness Pro- posal is likewise, for it is located in the northwest corner of the refuge. Here in the most secluded portion of the refuge, the nine most typical sections of Coteau pothole area are found. The area is bounded on the north by county road and on the west by the west boundary of the refuge which is the west boundaries of Sections 19, 30 and 31 in T 160 N, R 19 W in Burke County, North Dakota. The southern boundary of the unit is the graveled road which meanders roughly east and west slightly north of the south lines of Sections 31, 32 and 33 of T 160 N and R 19 U.