A federal register notice was published to announce the Intent to Conduct Scoping Meetings for the Revision of Boundaries, Regulations and Zoning Scheme for Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary and Key West and Great White Heron National Wildlife Refuges; and to Prepare an Environmental Assessment or Draft Environmental Impact Statement.
Scheme for Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary and Key West and Great White Heron National Wildlife Refuges; and to Prepare an Environmental Assessment or Draft Environmental Impact Statement.
This review of existing regulations and marine zoning may result in changes to regulations, marine zoning, such as altering
boundaries of current zones, creating new zones, or amending the regulations that apply to individual zones, and possibly sanctuary boundaries. The review will also include the FWS's Backcountry Management Plan and associated regulations, as authorized by the FWS and State of Florida Management Agreement for Submerged Lands within Boundaries of the Key West and Great White Heron National Wildlife Refuges, to evaluate substantive progress toward implementing the backcountry management goals for the refuges.
DATES: All comments on issues related to the boundaries, regulations and zoning scheme of Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary and the agreement for submerged lands within boundaries of the Key West and Great White Heron National Wildlife Refuges and associated regulations will be considered if received on or before June 29, 2012. See SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section in read more has dates, times, and locations of the public scoping meetings.
ADDRESSES: Comments may be submitted by any of the following methods:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov.
Submit electronic comments via the Federal eRulemaking Portal, FDMS
Docket Number NOAA-NOS-2012-0061.
Mail: Sean Morton, Sanctuary Superintendent, Florida Keys
National Marine Sanctuary, 33 East Quay Road Key West, Florida 33040
and Anne Morkill, Refuge Manager, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 28950
Watson Blvd., Big Pine Key, FL 33043.
Instructions: All comments received are a part of the
public record and will be generally posted to http://www.regulations.gov without change. All Personal Identifying
Information (for example, name, address, etc.) voluntarily submitted by
the commenter may be publicly accessible. Do not submit confidential
business information or otherwise sensitive or protected information.
NOAA will accept anonymous comments (enter N/A in the required fields
to remain anonymous). Attachments to electronic comments will be
accepted in Microsoft Word, Excel, WordPerfect, or Adobe PDF file
formats only.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sean Morton, Sanctuary Superintendent,
FKNMS, Telephone: (305) 809-4700 x233 or Anne Morkill, Refuge Manager,
USFWS, Telephone: (305) 872-2239 x209.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In accordance with the National Marine
Sanctuaries Act, as amended, (NMSA) (16 U.S.C. 1431 et seq.) and the
National Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act of 1966 (16 U.S.C.
668dd-668ee) as amended by the National Wildlife Refuge System
Improvement Act of 1997, the Office of National Marine
Sanctuaries (ONMS) of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration (NOAA) and the National Wildlife Refuge System of the
Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) have initiated a review of Florida Keys
National Marine Sanctuary (FKNMS or sanctuary) boundaries, regulations
and zoning scheme. Collectively, NOAA and FWS will make revisions to
the sanctuary boundaries, regulations and zoning scheme and backcountry
management agreement as necessary to fulfill the purposes and policies
of the NMSA, the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary and Protection
Act (FKNMSPA; Pub. L. 101-605), and the National Wildlife Refuge System
Improvement Act of 1997 (NWRSIA; Pub. L. 105-57). The review is being
undertaken in response to several factors, including community interest
in examining management and conservation strategies, the need to adapt
sanctuary and refuge management to changing conditions such as emerging
threats to resources, recent scientific findings showing degraded
habitat and how resources may be improved with various long-term
management efforts, and legal requirements. More information about this
process can be found at http://floridakeys.noaa.gov/review/welcome.html.
Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary
The NMSA (16 U.S.C. 1431 et seq.) authorizes the Secretary of
Commerce to designate and protect areas of the marine environment with
special national significance due to their conservation, recreational,
ecological, historical, scientific, cultural, archeological,
educational, or esthetic qualities as national marine sanctuaries.
Management of national marine sanctuaries has been delegated by the
Secretary of Commerce to NOAA's Office of National Marine Sanctuaries
(ONMS). Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary (FKNMS) was designated
by Congress in 1990 through the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary
Protection Act (FKNMSPA, Pub. L. 101-605). FKNMS extends approximately
250 statute miles southwest from the southern tip of the Florida
peninsula, and is composed of both state and Federal waters. The
sanctuary's marine ecosystem supports over 6,000 species of plants,
fishes, and invertebrates, including the Nation's only living coral
reef that lies adjacent to the continent. The area includes one of the
largest seagrass communities in this hemisphere. The primary goal of
the sanctuary is to protect the marine resources of the Florida Keys.
Other goals of the sanctuary include facilitating human uses that are
consistent with the primary objective of resource protection as well as
educating the public about the Florida Keys marine environment.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), a
federal agency within the Department of Commerce, administers FKNMS.
With 60 percent of its protected area located in Florida state waters,
the sanctuary is jointly managed by NOAA and the State of Florida under
a co-trustee agreement. Under this agreement, NOAA's primary management
partner is the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP).
Any amendments to the management plan will be submitted and reviewed
pursuant to the State of Florida's clearinghouse process. Any
amendments to sanctuary regulations require the approval of the
Governor on behalf of and with the approval of the Florida Trustees
(the Governor and Cabinet of the State of Florida act as the Board of
Trustees of the Internal Improvement Trust Fund) in order to be
effective in State waters and submerged lands, except for merely
editorial amendments, technical corrections, and emergency regulations.
In FKNMS, NOAA regulates the following: Injuring coral; fishing;
discharges and deposits; impacts to the seafloor, including from
dredging and dumping; discharges of sewage from vessels; vessel
operations, including personal watercraft and airboats, that cause
injuries to resources, humans or property; anchoring on coral; wakes
near residential shorelines; vessel operations near diving/use of dive
flags; releasing exotic species; damage to markers, buoys and
scientific equipment; injuring historical resources; use of explosives
and electric charges; harvest of marine life species except as allowed
by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission; and
activities in specified zones. Information on sanctuary regulations can
be found online at http://floridakeys.noaa.gov/regs/welcome.html?s=management.
The types of zones currently in place in the sanctuary are:
ecological reserves, sanctuary preservation areas, wildlife management
areas, existing management areas, and special-use areas. A more
detailed description of sanctuary zones can be found online at http://floridakeys.noaa.gov/zones/types.html. In addition, the FKNMS revised
management plan is available for download at http://floridakeys.noaa.gov/mgmtplans/2007.html.
Key West and Great White Heron National Wildlife Refuges
In the Key West and Great White Heron National Wildlife Refuges,
the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) may implement restrictions to
minimize wildlife disturbance and habitat destruction in state waters
from non-wildlife-dependent activities under a joint management
agreement with the State of Florida for submerged lands. The FWS
protects backcountry resources in state waters with limits on access/
operation of vessels, jet skis, and air boats; buffer zones; water
skiing; and aircraft water landings. The FWS backcountry management
plan is available for download at http://www.fws.gov/nationalkeydeer/backcountry.html. Additional information about the management goals and
objectives for the Key West and Great White Heron National Wildlife
Refuges is described in the Lower Florida Keys National Wildlife
Refuges Comprehensive Conservation Plan, available for download at
http://www.fws.gov/southeast/planning/CCP/LowerFLkeysFinalPg.html.
NOAA and the FWS anticipate that completion of the revised
boundaries, regulations, zoning scheme, backcountry management plan and
concomitant documents will require approximately forty-eight months
from the date of publication of this notice of intent. This joint
review process will occur concurrently with a public process under the
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA; 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.). This
notice confirms that NOAA and FWS will coordinate their
responsibilities under section 106 of the National Historic
Preservation Act (NHPA, 16 U.S.C. 470) with the ongoing NEPA process,
pursuant to 36 CFR 800.8(a). Therefore, the NEPA documents and public
and stakeholder meetings associated with this process are also intended
to meet the section 106 requirements.
Sanctuary Advisory Council
Sanctuary advisory councils are community-based advisory groups
established to provide advice and recommendations to the
superintendents of the national marine sanctuaries. Councils also serve
as liaisons between their constituents in the community and
sanctuaries. Sanctuary advisory councils provide advice about sanctuary
operations and projects, including education and outreach, research and
science, regulations and enforcement, and management planning. They are
particularly critical in helping a sanctuary during reviews of regulatory actions such as this zoning
review. Council members provide expertise on both the local community
and sanctuary resources, strengthen connections with the community, and
help build increased stewardship for sanctuary resources.
The advisory council for Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary has
recommended the following goals and objectives to the sanctuary
superintendent for this review:
A. To improve the diversity of natural biological communities in
the Florida Keys to protect, and, where appropriate restore and enhance
natural habitats, populations and ecological processes overall and in
each of these subregions Tortugas, Marquesas, Lower, Middle, and Upper
Keys.
- Reduce stresses from human activities by establishing areas that
restrict access to sensitive wildlife populations and habitats. - Protect large, contiguous, diverse and interconnected habitats
that provide natural spawning, nursery, and permanent residence areas
for the replenishment and genetic protection of marine life and protect
and preserve all habitats and species. - Improve/maintain the condition of the biologically structured
habitats including:
a. Coral Reef
i. Inshore Patch Reef
ii. Mid-Channel Patch Reef
iii. Offshore Patch Reef
iv. Reef Margin/Fore Reef
v. Deep Reef
b. Seagrass Bed
c. Hardbottom
d. Coastal Mangrove
4. Increase abundance and condition of selected key species
including corals, queen conch, long spined sea urchin, apex predatory
fish, birds and sea turtles.
B. To facilitate to the extent compatible with the primary
objective of resource protection, all public and private uses of the
resources of these marine areas not prohibited pursuant to other
authorities.
- Minimize conflicts among uses compatible with the National
Marine Sanctuary. - Prevent heavy concentrations of uses that degrade Sanctuary
resources. - Provide undisturbed monitoring sites for research and control
sites to help determine the effects of human activities. - Achieve a vibrant ecologically sustainable ecosystem and
economy.
a. Apply the best available science and balanced, conservation
based management.
The sanctuary advisory council has also recommended the following
guiding principles to the sanctuary superintendent for this review:
- The regulation/zoning review of Florida Keys National Marine
Sanctuary should be conducted with the recognition that there are
bordering and overlapping marine management regimes in place, and that
these regimes must be considered when contemplating changes to the
regulation/marine zoning structure for Florida Keys National Marine
Sanctuary. - All areas of Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary should be
classified as part of a specific zone, therefore the current
``unzoned'' area should be classified as a recognized zone type such as
``general use area'' or ``multiple use area''. - Each habitat type should be represented in a non-extractive
marine zone in each of the biogeographically distinct sub regions of
Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary to achieve replication. The
subregions identified were the Tortugas, Marquesas, and Lower, Middle,
and Upper Keys. - Information on resilient reef areas that can serve as refugia
should be taken into account in zoning changes. - Temporal zoning should be considered as a tool for protecting
spawning aggregations and nesting seasons. - The size of individual non-extractive zoned areas, the
cumulative total area included in non-extractive zones, and their
spatial relationship with one another matter greatly in achieving the
resource protection purposes of Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary.
Members of the public are encouraged to contact the current council
members who represent their areas of interest, as one of the roles of
the members is to serve as a liaison between the sanctuary and members
of the community. Contact information for advisory council members can
be found at: http://floridakeys.noaa.gov/sac/members.html.
Review Process
In accordance with Section 304(e) of the NMSA, 16 U.S.C. 1431 et
seq., the NOAA ONMS is initiating a review of the sanctuary boundaries,
regulations and zoning scheme to evaluate the substantive progress made
toward implementing the management plan and goals for the sanctuary. In
accordance with Section 4 of National Wildlife Refuge System
Administration Act of 1966 (NWRSAA; 16 U.S.C. 668dd et seq.), the ONMS
and the FWS are also jointly initiating a review of the FWS backcountry
management plan for the Key West and Great White Heron National
Wildlife Refuges to evaluate the substantive progress made toward
implementing the goals and objectives. ONMS and the FWS anticipate
drafting revised boundaries, regulations, zoning scheme, backcountry
management agreement and concomitant documents as a result of this
review. The current management plan for FKNMS was completed by NOAA in
2007. Contained within it is the FKNMS marine zoning action plan. It
describes the five types of zones in the sanctuary, goals and
objectives for marine zoning, and implementation strategies and
actions. This review implements the marine zoning and regulatory action
plans and strategies of the current management plan. The current FWS
backcountry management plan and associated agreement for the Key West
and Great White Heron National Wildlife Refuges was signed in 1992; it
may be reviewed and revised every 5 years, although no prior reviews
have occurred since the original plan was completed and the associated
management agreement with the State of Florida is due to expire in
2017. The FWS, FKNMS and the State of Florida are reviewing the
backcountry management agreement for potential revision and renewal.
There are several reasons for undertaking this review:
Community and sanctuary advisory council interest in
reexamining sanctuary management and conservation strategies, expressed
during and subsequent to management plan reviews;
Periodic evaluation of regulations and sanctuary zones
ensures they continue to function best for dynamic natural resources
and evolving human uses;
The Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary Condition
Report 2011 shows human actions continue to degrade the habitat and
living resources of the sanctuary, but habitat and resources may be
improved with long-term management efforts, regulatory compliance, and
community involvement;
Emerging threats to the resources were largely
unanticipated when the regulations were first issued and need to be
addressed; and
Reviews of the sanctuary and refuge backcountry management
plans are required by law.
- The review process is composed of five primary stages:
(1) Information collection and characterization, including public
scoping meetings;
(2) Recommendation of the advisory council of Florida Keys National
Marine Sanctuary on revised boundaries, a revised zoning scheme and associated
regulations, with possible working groups and public workshops;
(3) Preparation and release of draft revised boundaries, zoning
scheme, backcountry management agreement, environmental evaluation,
and, if appropriate, regulations or amendments to current regulations;
(4) Public review and comment on the draft boundaries and zoning
scheme, proposed regulatory amendments, and other documents mentioned
above; and
(5) Preparation and release of final revised boundaries, zoning
scheme, backcountry management agreement, environmental evaluation,
and, if appropriate, regulations.
NOAA and the FWS anticipate that the completion of the boundaries,
zoning scheme, backcountry management agreement and concomitant
documents will require approximately forty-eight months.
At this time, NOAA and FWS are opening a public scoping period to:
- Solicit public comments on the boundaries, regulations and
zoning scheme of Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary; and the
submerged lands within the boundaries of the Key West and Great White
Heron National Wildlife Refuges and associated regulations; and - Help determine the scope of issues to be addressed in the
preparation of boundaries, a zoning scheme, a backcountry management
agreement, and an environmental assessment or environmental impact
statement (EIS), pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act
(NEPA).
To that end, NOAA and FWS will conduct a series of scoping meetings
in the Florida Keys and south Florida to collect public comment. These
scoping meetings will also help determine the scope of issues to be
addressed in the preparation of an environmental assessment or EIS
pursuant to the NEPA, 43 U.S.C. 4321 et seq. The public scoping meeting
schedule is presented below.
Public Scoping Meetings
The public scoping meetings will be held on the following dates and
at the following locations beginning at 4 p.m. unless otherwise noted:
1. Marathon, Florida
Tuesday, June 19, 2012
Monroe County Government Center, Emergency Operations Center/Board
of County Commissioners Meeting Room, 2798 Overseas Highway, Marathon,
FL 33050.
2. Key Largo, Florida
Wednesday, June 20, 2012
Key Largo Library, 101485 Overseas Hwy., Tradewinds Shopping
Center, Key Largo, FL 33037.
3. Key West, Florida
Thursday, June 21, 2012
Doubletree by Hilton Hotel Grand Key Resort--Key West Tortuga
Ballroom, 3990 S. Roosevelt Blvd., Key West, FL 33040.
4. Miami, Florida
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
Florida International University, Modesto A. Monique Campus Graham
University Center, Room GC 243, 11200 SW. 8th St., Miami, FL 33199.
5. Fort Myers, Florida
Wednesday, June 27, 2012
Joseph P. Alessandro Office Complex, Rooms 165 C and D, 2295
Victoria Ave., Fort Myers, FL 33901.
Consultation Under National Historic Preservation Act
This notice confirms that NOAA and the FWS will coordinate their
responsibilities under section 106 of the National Historic
Preservation Act (NHPA, 16 U.S.C. 470) with the ongoing NEPA process,
pursuant to 36 CFR 800.8(a) including the use of NEPA documents and
public and stakeholder meetings to also meet the section 106
requirements. The NHPA specifically applies to any agency undertaking
that may affect historic properties. Pursuant to 36 CFR 800.16(1)(1),
historic properties includes: ``any prehistoric or historic district,
site, building, structure or object included in, or eligible for
inclusion in, the National Register of Historic Places maintained by
the Secretary of the Interior. The term includes artifacts, records,
and remains that are related to and located within such properties. The
term includes properties of traditional religious and cultural
importance to an Indian tribe or Native Hawaiian organization and that
meet the National Register criteria.''
In coordinating its responsibilities under the NHPA and NEPA, NOAA
and the FWS intend to identify consulting parties; identify historic
properties and assess the effects of the undertaking on such
properties; initiate formal consultation with the State Historic
Preservation Officer, the Advisory Council of Historic Preservation,
and other consulting parties; involve the public in accordance with
NOAA's NEPA procedures, and develop in consultation with identified
consulting parties alternatives and proposed measures that might avoid,
minimize or mitigate any adverse effects on historic properties and
describe them in any environmental assessment or draft environmental
impact statement.
Condition Report
In preparation for this review, NOAA has produced a Florida Keys
National Marine Sanctuary Condition Report 2011. The Condition Report
provides a summary of resources and their conditions; pressures on
those resources; the current condition and trends of water, habitat,
living resources; maritime archeological resources; human activities
that affect those resources; and management responses to pressures that
threaten the integrity of the marine environment. The report serves as
a supporting document for the review process, to inform constituents of
the current status of sanctuary resources.
An electronic copy of the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary
Condition Report 2011 is available to the public on the Internet at:
http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/science/condition/fknms/welcome.html.
Scoping Comments
Scoping meetings provide an opportunity to make direct comments to,
and share information with, NOAA and the FWS on the boundaries, zones,
and regulations of the entire sanctuary, and the management of and
regulations for resources associated with the submerged lands of the
Key West and Great White Heron National Wildlife Refuges. We encourage
the public to participate and welcome any comments on the scope, types,
and significance of issues related to the sanctuary's boundaries and
zoning scheme, the FWS's backcountry management plan, and associated
regulations. In particular, we are interested in hearing about the
public's view on the potential management within specified zones in the
sanctuary/submerged lands with the two refuges for the next ten to
fifteen years.