Draft General Management Plan Amendment/Environmental Impact Statement, Tumacacori National Historical Park, Arizona, 38685 [2011-16643]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
• National Park Service

[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 127 (Friday, July 1, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Page 38685]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-16643]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service


Draft General Management Plan Amendment/Environmental Impact 
Statement, Tumacacori National Historical Park, Arizona

AGENCY: National Park Service, Department of Interior.

ACTION: Notice of Termination of Environmental Impact Statement for the 
General Management Plan, Tumacacori National Historical Park, in favor 
of an Environmental Assessment.

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SUMMARY: The National Park Service (NPS) is terminating preparation of 
an environmental impact statement (EIS) for the General Management 
Plan, Tumacacori National Historical Park, Arizona. A notice of intent 
to prepare the EIS for the Tumacacori National Historical Park General 
Management Plan was published in the January 9, 2009, Federal Register 
(Volume 74, Number 6). The National Park Service has since determined 
that an environmental assessment (EA) rather than an EIS is the 
appropriate level of environmental documentation for the plan.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Tumacacori National Historical Park 
Boundary Revision Act of 2002 (Pub. L. 107-218) added approximately 310 
acres to the boundary of the park to enhance the visitor experience at 
Tumacacori by developing access to these associated mission resources. 
A general management plan (GMP) will establish the overall management 
direction of the park including these new lands for the next 15 to 20 
years. The plan was originally scoped as an EIS. Publication of the 
Federal Register notice was followed with a newsletter to affected 
agencies and interested parties, and public meetings in Nogales, Tubac, 
and Tucson, Arizona. Few comments were received during the scoping 
process. No issues with the potential for controversial impacts were 
identified for the general management plan.
    The NPS planning team has developed three alternative management 
concepts for the addition lands. The ``No-Action'' concept would allow 
for the continuation of existing conditions, and the park would 
continue to be managed based on the GMP completed in 1996. This 1996 
plan did not address management in the lands added to the park in 2002. 
Current land uses, and activities would remain, and resources would not 
necessarily be well protected.
    Alternative 2 would focus on the restoration/rehabilitation of 
natural and cultural resources while providing a greater array of 
visitor opportunities that reflect the complex history of the Pimeria 
Alta, connections to the larger mission system, the significance of 
place, and the importance of natural resources to communities over 
time.
    Under Alternative 3, the Santa Cruz River would provide a 
foundation to connect the three units in Tumacacori National Historical 
Park to its many communities.
    In September 2010, the planning team issued a newsletter that 
described these alternatives. An open house was also held on October 6, 
2010, to talk about the alternatives. Few comments were received on the 
alternatives, and none of the comments will result in substantive 
changes in the alternatives or raised significant impacts of the 
alternatives.
    The two action alternatives propose only a few small facilities in 
areas that have been disturbed in the past. The alternatives focus 
primarily on improving the visitor experience, in rehabilitating the 
natural landscape, and in developing partnerships to improve 
management, resource protection, and cultural connections. Preliminary 
analysis of the alternatives has revealed no major or significant 
potential effects on the quality of the human environment, nor any 
potential for impairment of park resources and values. Most of the 
impacts of the alternatives are expected to be beneficial, while 
adverse impacts are expected to be mostly negligible to minor in 
magnitude, with the remainder being moderate.
    For these reasons, the National Park Service determined that the 
requisite conservation planning and environmental impact analysis 
necessary for the general management plan can appropriately be 
completed through preparation of an environmental assessment.

DATES: The draft general management plan/EA is expected to be 
distributed for public comment in early 2012. The National Park Service 
will notify the public by mail, local and regional media, Web site, and 
other means, of public review periods and meetings associated with the 
draft general management plan/EA; all announcements will include 
information on where and how to obtain a copy of the EA, how to comment 
on the EA, and the length of the public comment period. All public 
review and other written public information will be made available 
online at https://parkplanning.nps.gov/tuma.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Lisa Carrico, Superintendent, 
Tumacacori National Historical Park, P.O. Box 8067, Tumacacori, Arizona 
85640; telephone, (520) 398-2341; or by e-mail at TUMA_Superintendent@nps.gov.

    Dated: May 5, 2011.
John Wessels,
Regional Director, Intermountain Region, National Park Service.
[FR Doc. 2011-16643 Filed 6-30-11; 8:45 am]
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