Denali Park Road Vehicle Management Plan Environmental Impact Statement, 46915-46916 [E8-18571]
Download as PDF
<![CDATA[
sroberts on PROD1PC70 with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 156 / Tuesday, August 12, 2008 / Notices
To address these priority issues, four
alternatives were developed and
evaluated during the planning process.
Alternative A continued current
refuge management activities and
programs. Under this alternative, the
refuge would continue to maintain 550
Florida scrub jay family groups across
15,000 acres, 11–13 nesting pairs of bald
eagles, and 6.3 miles of sea turtle
nesting beaches.
Alternative B expanded refuge
management actions on needs of
threatened and endangered species. The
refuge would aggressively manage for
Florida scrub jays, restoring and
maintaining 19,000–20,000 acres in
optimal condition to support 900 family
groups. Habitat management activities
would support the number of nesting
pairs of bald eagles to expand to 20,
with increased protection of nest sites,
development of artificial nesting
platforms, and increased cultivation of
future nest areas and nesting trees.
Alternative C focused refuge
management actions on the needs of
migratory birds. Current management
activities for threatened and endangered
species would remain the same or
would be decreased. The refuge would
manage intensively for waterfowl,
increasing the acres of impounded
wetlands managed to over 16,000 acres
and annually supporting targets of 250
breeding pairs of mottled duck, 60,000
lesser scaup, 25,000 dabbling ducks,
and 38,000 diving ducks. The refuge
would also intensively manage for
shorebirds, increasing to over 5,000
acres managed in impounded wetlands.
Alternative D, the Service’s preferred
alternative, takes a more landscape view
of the refuge and its resources, focusing
refuge management on wildlife and
habitat diversity. The refuge will
support 500–650 Florida scrub jay
family groups with 350–500 territories
in optimal conditions across 15,000–
16,000 acres. With active management,
the refuge will support 11–15 nesting
pairs of bald eagles; maintain 6.3 miles
of sea turtle nesting beaches; and
maintain 100 acres of habitat for the
southeastern beach mouse, while the
refuge population will serve as a source
for reintroduction of the beach mouse to
other sites. Manatee-focused
management will be re-established on
the refuge. The refuge will manage
15,000–16,000 acres in impounded
wetlands with a waterfowl focus and
will support targets of 250 breeding
pairs of mottled ducks, 60,000 lesser
scaup, 25,000 dabbling ducks, and
38,000 other diving ducks. Visitor
services, programs, and messages will
be focused on wildlife and habitat
diversity, while also including
VerDate Aug<31>2005
16:24 Aug 11, 2008
Jkt 214001
threatened and endangered species,
migratory birds, and climate change.
The actions outlined in the CCP and
in two included step-down plans
provide direction and guidance for
management of Merritt Island National
Wildlife Refuge. Successful
implementation will depend on
coordination and partnerships between
the public, the Service, and other
governmental agencies.
Authority: This notice is published under
the authority of the National Wildlife Refuge
System Improvement Act of 1997, Public
Law 105–57.
Dated: June 29, 2007.
Cynthia K. Dohner,
Acting Regional Director.
Editorial Note: This document was
received in the Office of the Federal Register
on August 5, 2008.
[FR Doc. E8–18411 Filed 8–11–08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310–55–P
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service
Denali Park Road Vehicle Management
Plan Environmental Impact Statement
National Park Service, Interior.
Notice of Intent to Prepare an
Environmental Impact Statement.
AGENCY:
ACTION:
SUMMARY: The National Park Service
(NPS) intends to prepare an
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)
to develop and implement a plan to
manage vehicles along the Denali park
road, including carrying capacity (the
maximum number of vehicles that can
be accommodated on the Denali park
road May–September). The goal of the
plan is to provide a high quality
experience for visitors while protecting
wilderness resource values, scenic
values, wildlife and other park
resources, and maintaining the unique
character of the park road. The plan will
comprehensively evaluate the existing
visitor transportation system to
determine its effectiveness in protecting
park resources and providing for visitor
access and enjoyment. Demand for bus
seats exceeds capacity in some cases
and trends indicate that visitation will
continue to increase. There is also a
need to accommodate the changing
demographics, interests, and needs of
visitors.
The EIS will evaluate a no action
alternative of maintaining the existing
vehicle management system on the
Denali park road including current bus
schedules, vehicle allocation, and
carrying capacity. The effectiveness of
the existing transportation system will
PO 00000
Frm 00047
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
46915
be assessed and used to guide
development of a range of action
alternatives.
Action alternatives will consider
potential changes to transportation
system components including carrying
capacity, and allocation of vehicle use
among shuttle buses, tours, inholders,
professional photographers, and
administrative vehicles. It will also
consider changes to bus scheduling and
spacing; the size and type of buses; tour
services; educational opportunities and
interpretive services; wildlife viewing
opportunities; and possibly other
factors. Alternatives may also consider
operational improvements such as the
quality of the buses, space for backpacks
and bicycles, communications,
accessibility and interpretive services
(both on the buses or prior to departure).
The NPS may consider utilizing an
adaptive management approach based
on a Before-After-Control-Impact (BACI)
experimental design to implement any
proposed changes. This BACI approach
would increase the ability to detect and
correct any future negative impacts on
visitor experience or park resources and
values caused by management actions.
The NPS will consider a wide range
of information including data collected
from the 1930’s to the present. Intensive
studies conducted over the last three
years on wildlife populations and
behavior, social science studies on
visitor experience, and extensive
modeling of traffic patterns on the park
road will be considered in the
development and analysis of
alternatives.
This EIS is being prepared in
accordance with the requirements of the
National Environmental Policy Act of
1969, as amended (42 U.S.C. 4331 et
seq.), and its implementing regulations
at 40 CFR part 1500.
Scoping: The planning team requests
input from interested federal and state
agencies, local governments, groups,
organizations, park visitors, and the
public. Written and verbal scoping
comments are being solicited. Further
information on this planning process
will be available through public scoping
meetings, press releases, and the park
Web site. Public scoping meetings will
be held in Anchorage, Denali Park,
Susitna Valley, and Fairbanks, Alaska in
2008. Additional locations may be
added as appropriate. Specific dates,
times, and locations of scoping meetings
will be announced in local media and
posted on the NPS Planning,
Environment, and Public Comment
(PEPC) Web site at https://
parkplanning.nps.gov/DENA.
Before including your address, phone
number, e-mail address, or other
E:\FR\FM\12AUN1.SGM
12AUN1
sroberts on PROD1PC70 with NOTICES
46916
Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 156 / Tuesday, August 12, 2008 / Notices
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 will be able to
do so.
DATES: Comments concerning the scope
of this project should be received on or
before September 30, 2008. The draft
EIS is projected to be available in early
2010.
ADDRESSES: Written comments may be
mailed to the address below. Electronic
comments may be submitted to the NPS
Planning, Environment, and Public
Comment (PEPC) Web site: https://
parkplanning.nps.gov/DENA. To
comment using PEPC, select the ‘‘Denali
Park Road Vehicle Management Plan’’,
then select ‘‘Open for Public Comment’’.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Adrienne Lindholm, Outdoor
Recreation Planner, Denali Planning,
240 West 5th Avenue, Anchorage, AK
99501, (907) 644–3613.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Denali
National Park contains one of the most
intact predator-prey ecosystems in the
world as well as one of the best
opportunities in North America to view
wildlife in its natural setting. Denali
National Park was established in 1917
as a game refuge and conserving wildlife
and protecting opportunities to view
wildlife remain its most important
values. Key resources and values
include: Wildlife populations, wildlife
habitat, and the processes and
components of the park’s natural
ecosystem; wilderness character,
wilderness resource values, and
wilderness recreational opportunities;
scenic and geologic values of Mount
McKinley and surrounding mountain
landscape; and visitor enjoyment and
inspiration from observing wildlife in
its natural habitat and other natural
features. Denali is now one of the most
visited subarctic national parks in the
world, with the vast majority of
visitation focused along the 90-mile
park road. Park managers must ensure
that Denali’s vehicle management plan
protects these critical resource values.
Before 1972, Denali visitation was low
because travelers arrived either by train
or by an arduous overland route on the
unimproved Denali Highway. In 1972
park visitation increased 100% in direct
response to the opening of the George
Parks Highway which created a direct
corridor from Anchorage to the park.
Anticipating this increase, park
managers implemented a mandatory
VerDate Aug<31>2005
16:24 Aug 11, 2008
Jkt 214001
visitor transportation system that same
year to minimize disturbances to
wildlife and scenery. This was one of
the first visitor transportation systems in
the national park system and it set the
standard for transportation systems in
other park units.
With the sustained growth in Alaska’s
tourism industry, Denali continues to be
a featured part of travelers’ itineraries.
To better manage the park experience in
light of increased pressures, the 1986
General Management Plan (GMP) for the
park established a limit of 10,512 motor
vehicle trips annually on the park road.
This limit, which affects the existing
allocation of vehicle trips (among tour
buses, shuttle buses, private vehicles,
administrative vehicles, and private
inholders and their guests) will be
comprehensively evaluated in this EIS.
The transportation system enabled
Denali to maintain vehicle use levels
below this figure while providing
visitors the opportunity to travel the
park road. However, visitation
continues to increase and demand
exceeds capacity in some cases. Trends
indicate that visitation will continue to
increase and that there will continue to
be a demand for access to Denali. There
is also a need to accommodate the
changing demographics, interests, and
needs of visitors. This will require a
comprehensive review of the current
system and evaluation of alternatives for
developing a system to better serve the
needs of visitors while protecting park
resources.
Dated: June 20, 2008.
Victor Knox,
Acting Regional Director, Alaska.
[FR Doc. E8–18571 Filed 8–11–08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310–PF–P
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service
Notice of Intent To Prepare a General
Management Plan and Environmental
Impact Statement for the Ice Age
National Scenic Trail Interpretive Site
and Cross Plains Unit of the Ice Age
National Scientific Reserve, WI
National Park Service,
Department of the Interior.
ACTION: Notice of Intent to Prepare a
General Management Plan and
Environmental Impact Statement for the
Ice Age National Scenic Trail
Interpretive Site and Cross Plains Unit
of the Ice Age National Scientific
Reserve, Wisconsin.
AGENCY:
SUMMARY: Pursuant to Section 102(2)(C)
of the National Environmental Policy
PO 00000
Frm 00048
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
Act of 1969, 42 U.S.C. 4332(2)(C), the
National Park Service (NPS) with the
Wisconsin Department of Natural
Resources (DNR), is preparing a General
Management Plan/Environmental
Impact Statement (GMP/EIS) for the Ice
Age National Scenic Trail (NST)
Interpretive Site and Cross Plains Unit
of the Ice Age National Scientific
Reserve in Wisconsin. The GMP/EIS
will prescribe the resource conditions
and visitor experiences that are to be
achieved and maintained in these areas
over the next 15 to 20 years.
To facilitate sound planning and
environmental assessment, the NPS
intends to gather information necessary
for the preparation of the GMP/EIS and
obtain suggestions and information from
other Agencies and the public on the
scope of issues to be addressed in the
GMP/EIS. Because the planning area
involves a complex of public lands with
different State and Federal designations,
the NPS is partnering with the
Wisconsin DNR in developing this plan.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will
participate in the planning team.
Comments and participation in this
scoping process are invited.
Participation in the planning process
will be encouraged and facilitated by
various means, including newsletters
and open house meetings. The NPS will
conduct public scoping meetings to
explain the planning process and to
solicit opinions about issues to address
in the GMP/EIS. Notification of all such
meetings will be announced in the local
press and in the NPS newsletters.
ADDRESSES: Additionally, if you wish to
comment on any issues associated with
the GMP/EIS, you may submit your
comments by any one of several
methods. You may mail or hand-deliver
comments to Superintendent, Ice Age
and North Country National Scenic
Trails, 700 Rayovac Drive, Suite 100,
Madison, Wisconsin 53711. You may
provide comments electronically by
entering them into the NPS’s Planning,
Environment and Public Comment Web
site https://parkplanning.nps.gov.
Information will be available for public
review and comment from the Office of
the Superintendent at the above
address.
Requests to be added to the project
mailing list should be sent to Manager,
Ice Age NST, 700 Rayovac Drive, Suite
100, Madison, Wisconsin 53711;
telephone 608–441–5610.
Before including your address,
telephone number, e-mail address, or
other personal identifying information
in your comments, you should be aware
that your entire comment (including
your personal identifying information)
E:\FR\FM\12AUN1.SGM
12AUN1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 156 (Tuesday, August 12, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 46915-46916]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-18571]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service
Denali Park Road Vehicle Management Plan Environmental Impact
Statement
AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of Intent to Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The National Park Service (NPS) intends to prepare an
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to develop and implement a plan to
manage vehicles along the Denali park road, including carrying capacity
(the maximum number of vehicles that can be accommodated on the Denali
park road May-September). The goal of the plan is to provide a high
quality experience for visitors while protecting wilderness resource
values, scenic values, wildlife and other park resources, and
maintaining the unique character of the park road. The plan will
comprehensively evaluate the existing visitor transportation system to
determine its effectiveness in protecting park resources and providing
for visitor access and enjoyment. Demand for bus seats exceeds capacity
in some cases and trends indicate that visitation will continue to
increase. There is also a need to accommodate the changing
demographics, interests, and needs of visitors.
The EIS will evaluate a no action alternative of maintaining the
existing vehicle management system on the Denali park road including
current bus schedules, vehicle allocation, and carrying capacity. The
effectiveness of the existing transportation system will be assessed
and used to guide development of a range of action alternatives.
Action alternatives will consider potential changes to
transportation system components including carrying capacity, and
allocation of vehicle use among shuttle buses, tours, inholders,
professional photographers, and administrative vehicles. It will also
consider changes to bus scheduling and spacing; the size and type of
buses; tour services; educational opportunities and interpretive
services; wildlife viewing opportunities; and possibly other factors.
Alternatives may also consider operational improvements such as the
quality of the buses, space for backpacks and bicycles, communications,
accessibility and interpretive services (both on the buses or prior to
departure). The NPS may consider utilizing an adaptive management
approach based on a Before-After-Control-Impact (BACI) experimental
design to implement any proposed changes. This BACI approach would
increase the ability to detect and correct any future negative impacts
on visitor experience or park resources and values caused by management
actions.
The NPS will consider a wide range of information including data
collected from the 1930's to the present. Intensive studies conducted
over the last three years on wildlife populations and behavior, social
science studies on visitor experience, and extensive modeling of
traffic patterns on the park road will be considered in the development
and analysis of alternatives.
This EIS is being prepared in accordance with the requirements of
the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended (42 U.S.C.
4331 et seq.), and its implementing regulations at 40 CFR part 1500.
Scoping: The planning team requests input from interested federal
and state agencies, local governments, groups, organizations, park
visitors, and the public. Written and verbal scoping comments are being
solicited. Further information on this planning process will be
available through public scoping meetings, press releases, and the park
Web site. Public scoping meetings will be held in Anchorage, Denali
Park, Susitna Valley, and Fairbanks, Alaska in 2008. Additional
locations may be added as appropriate. Specific dates, times, and
locations of scoping meetings will be announced in local media and
posted on the NPS Planning, Environment, and Public Comment (PEPC) Web
site at https://parkplanning.nps.gov/DENA.
Before including your address, phone number, e-mail address, or
other
[[Page 46916]]
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 will be
able to do so.
DATES: Comments concerning the scope of this project should be received
on or before September 30, 2008. The draft EIS is projected to be
available in early 2010.
ADDRESSES: Written comments may be mailed to the address below.
Electronic comments may be submitted to the NPS Planning, Environment,
and Public Comment (PEPC) Web site: https://parkplanning.nps.gov/DENA.
To comment using PEPC, select the ``Denali Park Road Vehicle Management
Plan'', then select ``Open for Public Comment''.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Adrienne Lindholm, Outdoor Recreation
Planner, Denali Planning, 240 West 5th Avenue, Anchorage, AK 99501,
(907) 644-3613.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Denali National Park contains one of the
most intact predator-prey ecosystems in the world as well as one of the
best opportunities in North America to view wildlife in its natural
setting. Denali National Park was established in 1917 as a game refuge
and conserving wildlife and protecting opportunities to view wildlife
remain its most important values. Key resources and values include:
Wildlife populations, wildlife habitat, and the processes and
components of the park's natural ecosystem; wilderness character,
wilderness resource values, and wilderness recreational opportunities;
scenic and geologic values of Mount McKinley and surrounding mountain
landscape; and visitor enjoyment and inspiration from observing
wildlife in its natural habitat and other natural features. Denali is
now one of the most visited subarctic national parks in the world, with
the vast majority of visitation focused along the 90-mile park road.
Park managers must ensure that Denali's vehicle management plan
protects these critical resource values.
Before 1972, Denali visitation was low because travelers arrived
either by train or by an arduous overland route on the unimproved
Denali Highway. In 1972 park visitation increased 100% in direct
response to the opening of the George Parks Highway which created a
direct corridor from Anchorage to the park. Anticipating this increase,
park managers implemented a mandatory visitor transportation system
that same year to minimize disturbances to wildlife and scenery. This
was one of the first visitor transportation systems in the national
park system and it set the standard for transportation systems in other
park units.
With the sustained growth in Alaska's tourism industry, Denali
continues to be a featured part of travelers' itineraries. To better
manage the park experience in light of increased pressures, the 1986
General Management Plan (GMP) for the park established a limit of
10,512 motor vehicle trips annually on the park road. This limit, which
affects the existing allocation of vehicle trips (among tour buses,
shuttle buses, private vehicles, administrative vehicles, and private
inholders and their guests) will be comprehensively evaluated in this
EIS. The transportation system enabled Denali to maintain vehicle use
levels below this figure while providing visitors the opportunity to
travel the park road. However, visitation continues to increase and
demand exceeds capacity in some cases. Trends indicate that visitation
will continue to increase and that there will continue to be a demand
for access to Denali. There is also a need to accommodate the changing
demographics, interests, and needs of visitors. This will require a
comprehensive review of the current system and evaluation of
alternatives for developing a system to better serve the needs of
visitors while protecting park resources.
Dated: June 20, 2008.
Victor Knox,
Acting Regional Director, Alaska.
[FR Doc. E8-18571 Filed 8-11-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-PF-P
