Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for a Public Use and Access Plan, 44345-44346 [E9-20672]

Agencies

• Valles Caldera Trust

[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 166 (Friday, August 28, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 44345-44346]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-20672]


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Notices
                                                Federal Register
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Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 166 / Friday, August 28, 2009 / 
Notices

[[Page 44345]]



VALLES CALDERA TRUST


Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for 
a Public Use and Access Plan

AGENCY: Valles Caldera Trust.

ACTION: Notice of Intent to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement.

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    Authority: The National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA), 
CEQ Regulations at 40 CFR parts 1500 through 1508, The Valles 
Caldera Preservation Act, Public Law 106-248, NEPA Procedures for 
the Valles Caldera National Preserve, 68 CFR 42460.

SUMMARY: The Valles Caldera Trust (the Trust) a wholly owned government 
corporation empowered to provide management and administrative services 
for the Valles Caldera National Preserve (the Preserve) intends to 
prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to analyze and disclose 
the potential impacts of a proposed stewardship action to develop 
facilities, infrastructure, and programs to provide public access to, 
and use of, the Preserve for recreation, education, scientific, 
commercial and other purposes; from this point forward referred to as 
public access and use. The proposal will address six elements 
associated with public access and use:
    1. Access--How do you enter the Preserve? After entering, where can 
you go and how do you get there?
    2. Capacity--How many visitors can be accommodated on the Preserve 
on an annual, seasonal, or daily basis?
    3. Activities--What types of activities and programs will be 
available?
    4. Development--What types of facilities and infrastructure should 
be developed? At what scale should development occur and where should 
it be located?
    5. Financing--What are the capital investment requirements for 
various levels of development? What are the annual operating costs? How 
much of the annual operating costs can be recovered through revenues 
generated by programs and activities?
    6. Values--What do we value most about the Preserve? How may those 
values be affected by development?
    All action alternatives will consider the location and construction 
of a visitor and interpretive center as the main point of access to the 
Preserve. The visitor and interpretive center would include connected 
ancillary facilities and infrastructure such as parking, interpretive 
trails and overlooks, and motorized access onto the Preserve. 
Programmatic direction to guide or prescribe the development of future 
programs facilities, and infrastructure facilities in support of public 
access and use will also be considered. The scale and location of 
development will vary between the alternatives.
    The construction of the visitor and interpretive center including 
the connected ancillary facilities and infrastructure would be 
scheduled following an implementing decision; approximately 12-18 
months following the publication of this notice. Programmatic direction 
would describe capacities and types of future visitor programs, and 
criteria for determining scale and location of future ancillary 
facilities. The actual construction of ancillary facilities such as 
campgrounds, cabins, lodging, additional parking, trails, picnic areas, 
restroom facilities, or other amenities developed in the Preserve's 
interior may require additional site-specific analysis compliant with 
NEPA.

DATES: This scoping process will culminate in the preparation of a 
draft EIS which will be made available for public comment. To ensure 
that the Trust has an opportunity to fully consider public comments in 
the development of the alternatives and determining the scope of the 
analysis and to facilitate the prompt preparation of the draft EIS, 
comments regarding the proposed stewardship action, Public Access and 
Use, are requested on or before October 15, 2009, 4:30 p.m. MDT.
    Two public meetings are currently scheduled:
    Monday, September 14, 2009, 5:30-8 p.m., Hilton Garden Inn, 5320 
San Antonio Dr., NE., Albuquerque, New Mexico.
    Tuesday, September 15, 2009, 5:30-8 p.m., Santa Fe Community 
College, 6401 S Richards Ave., Santa Fe, New Mexico.
    At least one additional meeting will be scheduled at the Trust's 
administrative offices located at 18161 State Highway 4, Jemez Springs, 
New Mexico. The date for this meeting is to be determined.
    To receive future notices regarding planning and decision making 
for public use and access, including the times and locations of public 
meetings, subscribe to the Trust's user maintained mailing list. To 
subscribe, access our Web site, https://www.vallescaldera.gov, and 
select the ``Mailing List'' tab from the upper left corner of the home 
page. You will be asked to select one or more topics of interest. Check 
``Project Planning and Decisions'' to receive updates on this planning 
effort.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments on public access and use planning by 
any of the following methods:
    E-mail: comments@vallescaldera.gov; include Public Access and Use 
as the subject.
    Agency Web site: An interactive Web site for public access and use 
planning is active. Simply visit our homepage at https://www.vallescaldera.gov and select the link provided or type in the 
complete URL: https://www.vallescaldera.gov/nepa/pages/introduction.aspx?id=096afd15-f2e5-4df0-84df-46151a07be62.
    Surface Mail: The Valles Caldera Trust, Attn: Public Access and 
Use, P.O.B. 359, Jemez Springs, NM 87025.
    Hand Delivery/Courier: Valles Caldera Trust, 18161 State Highway 4, 
Jemez Springs, New Mexico.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Contact Marie E. Rodriguez, Natural 
Resource Coordinator at mrodriguez@vallescaldera.gov, or 505/661-3333.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Valles Caldera National Preserve is 
located in north-central New Mexico in the Jemez Mountains, primarily 
in Sandoval County with a small inclusion in Rio Arriba County. The 
Preserve was acquired by the Federal government in 2000 with the 
signing of the Valles Caldera Preservation Act (Pub. L. 106-248). 
Besides acquisition of the land, the law established the Valles Caldera 
Trust, a wholly owned government corporation and non-profit 501(c)1 
organization to manage the Preserve. The Preserve and Trust are 
considered

[[Page 44346]]

an experiment in public land management. Purposes and goals include 
continued operation as a working ranch consistent with the protection 
and preservation of resources and provision public access for 
recreation and other purposes. The act also establishes that the Trust 
should strive to become financially self-sufficient where consistent 
with other goals and purposes.
    Since 2002, the Trust has been managing an interim program for 
public access and use of the Preserve. The interim program was 
developed in response to the Valles Caldera Preservation Act (Pub. L. 
106-248), which mandated that reasonable access to the Preserve for 
recreation would be provided within two years of Federal acquisition. 
The interim program provides a variety of regularly available outdoor 
recreation activities such as fishing, hiking, hunting, wildlife and 
scenic tours, wagon rides, horseback riding, as well as winter 
recreation activities. The interim program has also included 
opportunities for the public to enjoy and learn about the Preserve 
through an array of special events. Special events have included night 
sky adventures, youth and adult outdoor education seminars, photography 
workshops, mountain biking and running events and more recently, 
overnight opportunities such as weddings and workshops, which use the 
existing facilities on the Preserve. Universities, K-12 schools, and 
various educational and research entities have also had access to the 
Preserve on a case by case basis.
    Infrastructure development has been limited to road maintenance and 
upgrade activities necessary to provide safe access while protecting 
and preserving natural and cultural resources. Temporary facilities 
(portable buildings, portable toilets, etc.) have been used to 
facilitate public access and use of the Preserve.
    Prior to Federal acquisition, about 200-300 people visited the 
Preserve annually. Since Federal acquisition, that number has increased 
to an estimated 15,000 visitors annually. Visitors enjoy their 
experience on the Preserve but consistently request broader, less 
controlled access. In addition, the Preserve's unique setting within a 
basically intact volcanic crater offers unique opportunities for 
learning and inspiration. Interest in the Preserve as a portal to 
learning about and being inspired by nature is growing. With increasing 
interest from partners, the Trust sees opportunities to develop science 
and education programs which have local, regional, national, and global 
effects.
    In December 2006 the Trust initiated ``Phase I'' of comprehensive 
planning for public access and use. This phase was largely information 
gathering and included a series of public workshops, strategic level 
business planning and analysis, and assessing various sites on the 
Preserve to determine possible locations for a visitor and interpretive 
center and other ancillary facilities. Based on the information 
accumulated, the Trust is entering into ``Phase II'', planning and 
decision-making for public access and use.
    Based on the information accumulated, the Trust is proposing to 
establish a visitor and interpretive center within the boundary of the 
Preserve. The purpose of the center will be to expand public access and 
use on the Preserve while continuing to provide unique, high quality 
recreation, education, and interpretive experiences that impact the 
hearts and minds of our visitors. It is needed to facilitate broad 
access to the Preserve while protecting and preserving the natural, 
cultural, scientific, scenic, and recreational values of the Preserve. 
The design for the visitor and interpretive center will include parking 
and connected ancillary facilities such as interpretive trails, 
overlooks, and motorized access onto the Preserve.
    The Trust is also proposing to make programmatic decisions that 
will guide or prescribe future development of programs and facilities.
    Alternatives will be developed with input from the public that vary 
in the scale and location of the visitor and interpretive center and 
the capacities and types of programs that would be considered in the 
future.
    A variety of reference documents are available for viewing and 
downloading from the Trust's Web site https://www.vallescaldera.gov/about/trust/trust_ref.aspx.

    Dated: August 18, 2009.
Gary D. Bratcher,
Executive Director.
[FR Doc. E9-20672 Filed 8-27-09; 8:45 am]
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