Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the Wilderness Stewardship Plan, Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks, California, 37346-37347 [2014-15363]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
• National Park Service

[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 126 (Tuesday, July 1, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 37346-37347]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-15363]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-PWR-PWRO-15353; PPPWSEKI00/PX.P0206452A.00.1]


Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the Wilderness 
Stewardship Plan, Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks, California

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability.

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SUMMARY: The National Park Service announces the availability of a 
Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the Wilderness Stewardship 
Plan, Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks, California. The plan is 
needed to provide management direction for two designated wilderness 
areas, several potential wilderness additions, and an area of proposed 
wilderness. The plan

[[Page 37347]]

provides the long-term vision for protecting wilderness character, 
incorporates new research findings, and uses a new interagency planning 
framework for preservation of wilderness character. The plan also 
replaces the current plans-of-record, the 1986 Backcountry Management 
Plan and its accompanying 1986 Stock Use and Meadow Management Plan.

DATES: All written comments must be postmarked or transmitted not later 
than 60 days from the date of publication in the Federal Register of 
the Environmental Protection Agency's notice of filing and release of 
the DEIS. Upon confirmation of this date, we will notify all entities 
on the project mailing list, and public announcements about the DEIS 
review period will be posted on the project Web site https://parkplanning.nps.gov/seki and distributed via local and regional press 
media.

ADDRESSES: Printed copies of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement 
for the Wilderness Stewardship Plan (DEIS/WSP) will be available at 
local public libraries (including Three Rivers, Visalia, Fresno, 
Bakersfield, Bishop and Lone Pine) and in electronic format online at 
https://parkplanning.nps.gov/seki. Written comments may be submitted 
directly to this Web site, or may be submitted by mail, hand delivered, 
or faxed to: Superintendent, Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks, 
Attn: DEIS/WSP, 47050 Generals Highway, Three Rivers, CA 93271, Fax: 
(559) 565-4202.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Please contact the Sequoia and Kings 
Canyon National Parks Office of Environmental Compliance and Planning 
at (559) 565-3102 to speak with an individual.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The DEIS/WSP provides direction for 
management of visitors and administrative activities within the parks' 
wilderness. The framework of this WSP is founded on defining the goals 
and objectives for wilderness management, defining wilderness character 
for the parks, describing future desired conditions for wilderness, 
developing visitor use capacity, and determining the types and levels 
of commercial activities that support wilderness purposes.
    The DEIS/WSP addresses visitor capacity, wilderness permitting, 
group size limits for people and stock, campfire regulations, camping 
locations and regulations, food storage requirements, human waste 
management, pack and saddle-stock regulations, stock grazing, 
maintenance of facilities and trails, and management of frontcountry 
facilities that support wilderness use. The DEIS/WSP also analyzes and 
determines the types and extent of commercial services that are 
``necessary for activities which are proper for realizing the 
recreational or other wilderness purposes of the areas,'' as required 
by Sec.  4(d)(5) of the Wilderness Act. The DEIS/WSP identifies and 
evaluates the environmental impacts of five alternatives: the no action 
alternative; and four action alternatives including a preferred 
alternative. Upon approval, the Final WSP/Final EIS would be 
implemented over a period of 15-20 years. The NPS is inviting public 
review of the DEIS to solicit feedback on the proposed alternatives and 
to gather ideas and concerns for consideration in the Final EIS.
    Email comments will not be accepted. Comments in any format (hard 
copy or electronic) submitted on behalf of others will not be accepted. 
Before including your address, phone number, email address, or other 
personal identifying information in your comment, you should be aware 
that your entire comment-including your personal identifying 
information-may be made publicly available at any time. While you can 
ask us in your comment to withhold your personal identifying 
information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we would be 
able to do so. All submissions from organizations and businesses, and 
individuals identifying themselves as representatives or officials of 
organizations or businesses, are made available for public inspection 
in their entirety.
    The DEIS/WSP identifies five alternatives: the no action 
alternative (Alternative 1) is the continuation of the existing 
management direction as provided by the 1986 Backcountry Management 
Plan and its accompanying 1986 Stock Use and Meadow Management Plan; 
Alternatives 2, 3, 4, and 5 (action alternatives) describe a range of 
reasonable and feasible approaches to meet the purpose and need for 
action and to achieve the DEIS/WSP objectives. The main variations 
across the alternatives lie in the key aspects of wilderness 
management--use levels, access and trails, stock use and grazing, and 
recreational and administrative infrastructure--which are driven by the 
different approach to management in each alternative. Each alternative 
serves visitor and/or operational needs in different ways.
    Alternative 2, the management preferred alternative, recognizes 
that Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks wilderness can be broadly 
categorized as: day use areas close to the frontcountry; popular 
overnight areas like the High Sierra, John Muir, and Pacific Crest 
trails; and low-use overnight areas like the Middle Fork of the Kings 
and the Hockett Plateau areas. It further recognizes that current and 
projected visitor use levels pose few threats to wilderness character 
in the low-use areas under current management, but there may be threats 
in the popular areas or in areas with sensitive resources that can be 
mitigated through targeted improvements to current management.
    Alternative 3 increases opportunities for primitive recreation by 
allowing additional use, which is mostly expected to occur at the most 
popular areas; however, allowing increased use could result in 
decreased opportunities for solitude wilderness-wide. In addition, the 
highest use areas would require additional development and restrictions 
on visitor behavior in order to preserve the natural quality of 
wilderness.
    Alternative 4 emphasizes the undeveloped and non-commercial 
qualities of Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks wilderness. The 
removal of development and reduction of commercial services would 
increase the self-reliant nature of wilderness recreation. In order to 
preserve the natural quality of wilderness, the amount of commercial 
use would be reduced.
    Alternative 5 enhances the quality of solitude available in Sequoia 
and Kings Canyon National Parks wilderness. The total numbers of 
permitted visitors and group sizes would be reduced. Reduced use would 
allow for a reduction in the levels of development and fewer 
restrictions on visitor behavior.
    Decision Process: All comments received on the DEIS/WSP will be 
duly considered in preparing the Final EIS, which at this time is 
expected to be available in early 2015. A Record of Decision would be 
prepared no sooner than 30 days after release of the Final EIS. Because 
this is a delegated EIS, the official responsible for approval of the 
Wilderness Stewardship Plan is the Regional Director, Pacific West 
Region, National Park Service; subsequently the official responsible 
for implementation of the approved Wilderness Stewardship Plan is the 
Superintendent, Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks.

    Dated: May 5, 2014.
Christine S. Lehnertz,
Regional Director, Pacific West Region.
[FR Doc. 2014-15363 Filed 6-30-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-FF-P