[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 1 (Tuesday, January 3, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Pages 145-146]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-32231]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Notice of Availability of Final Comprehensive Management Plan/
Development Concept Plan and Final Environmental Impact Statement for
City of Rocks National Reserve, Idaho
AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: Pursuant to section 102(2)(C) of the National Environmental
Policy Act of 1969 (P.L. 91-190, as amended), the National Park
Service, Department of the Interior, has prepared a Final Comprehensive
Management Plan/Development Concept Plan/Environmental Impact Statement
(FCMP/DCP/EIS) that describes and analyzes a proposal and two
alternatives for the management, use, and development of City of Rocks
National Reserve, Cassia County, Idaho. The FCMP/DCP/EIS is two
documents bound together in one volume--the FCMP/DCP which describes
the proposal in detail; and the FInal EIS, which presents the proposal
and two alternatives, along with the analysis of the environmental
consequences of the respective implementations.
The Draft Comprehensive Management Plan/Development Concept Plan/
Environmental Impact Statement was released for public review on
November 30, 1993 (58 FR 228), and the public comment period closed
February 1, 1994. During this period, three public meetings were held;
written comments were also received. The FCMP/DCP/EIS contains
responses to the comments received and modifications to the text as
needed in response to the comments.
The proposal, which constitutes the comprehensive management plan
for the reserve, calls for the preservation and interpretation of
exceptional and important natural and cultural resources and the
management of recreational use to protect and maintain the reserve's
scenic quality. The plan's focus is on remnants of the California
Trail, distinctive rock outcrops and associated habitats, and a
historic rural setting reminiscent of the American West, while
accommodating the traditional use of livestock grazing, trailing, sport
hunting, and recreation. Uses would be directed to different zones to
minimize conflicts among potentially incompatible activities. Grazing
and recreational use would be managed to avoid unacceptable degradation
of resource values, placing greatest emphasis on protection of historic
fabric, natural rock surfaces, habitats for species of special concern,
and riparian areas and wetlands. Portions of the reserve would remain
in private ownership, and some public land would remain under grazing
allotments, where traditional ranching activities would perpetuate the
historic rural setting existing at the time of the reserve's
establishment. Private commercial and residential development would be
regulated by county zoning ordinances and may be limited by the
acquisition of interests in lands on an opportunity basis necessary to
protect reserve resources. Implementation of the proposal would be a
partnership among the National Park Service, the Idaho Department of
Parks and Recreation, the Cassia County commissioners, and private
landowners.
An overview of changes that have been made in the proposal since
the draft plan includes:
(1) The decision on how climbing would occur outside the foreground
of the California Trail would be deferred to the climbing management
plan;
(2) Some additional areas would be closed to grazing to protect
wetland and riparian areas. Some decisions on where grazing would occur
would be deferred to the grazing management plan;
(3) Prescriptions for uses of zones, subzones, and areas within the
subzones would be eliminated in favor of more general guidance;
(4) The proposed road around the south end of the reserve would be
eliminiated;
(5) The Twin Sisters formation would be managed to emphasize
resource protection and to exclude active recreational uses, including
climbing, picnicking, and camping; and
(6) A Statement of Findings on Wetlands has been added. A more
detailed list of changes are in the plan summary and in appendix I.
The alternatives under consideration, in addition to the proposal,
include the no-action alternative, which would continue to emphasize
unrestricted private use and public recreational use, sometimes to the
detriment of exceptional cultural and natural values, and an
alternative that would emphasize the preservation and interpretation of
the California Trail and the rock outcrops to the exclusion of
traditional land use and the historic rural setting.
Major impact topics assessed for the proposed action and
alternatives [[Page 146]] include the Cultural/Visual Environment,
Natural/Visual Environment, and Socioeconomic Environment.
supplementary information: The no-action period on this final plan and
environmental impact statement will end 30 days after the Environmental
Protection Agency has published a notice of availability of the FCMP/
DCP/EIS in the Federal Register. For further information, contact:
Regional Director, National Park Service, Pacific Northwest Region, 909
First Ave., Seattle, WA 98104-1060, (206) 220-4010.
Copies of the FCMP/DCP/EIS will be available at City of Rocks
National Reserve, P.O. Box 169, Almo, ID 83312. Additional copies will
be available for inspection at the following locations: Twin Falls
Public Library, 434 2nd Street East, Twin Falls, ID; Burley Public
Library, 1300 Miller Ave., Burley, ID; Boise Public Library, 715 S.
Capital Blvd., Boise, ID; Community Library, Ketchum, ID; Pocatello
Public Library, 812 E. Clark, Pocatello, ID; Idaho State University
Library, Pocatello, ID; Weber County Library, 2464 Jefferson Ave.,
Ogden, UT; Whitmore Library, 2197 E. 7000 S., Salt Lake City, UT; Utah
State Library, 2150 S. 300 W., Suite 16, Salt Lake City, UT; the
Department of the Interior Library and at the National Park Service
Public Affairs Office, 1849 C Street NW., Washington, DC; and the
National Park Service, Pacific Northwest Regional Office, 909 First
Ave., Seattle, WA.
Dated: December 21, 1994.
William C. Walters,
Deputy Regional Director, Pacific Northwest Region, National Park
Service.
[FR Doc. 94-32231 Filed 12-30-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-70-M
