[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 40 (Monday, March 2, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 10239-10240]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-5285]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service
Final Environmental Impact Statement for the General Management
Plan; Cape Cod National Seashore, Massachusetts
AGENCY: National Park Service, Department of the Interior (DOI).
ACTION: Notice of availability of the final environmental impact
statement for the General Management Plan.
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SUMMARY: Pursuant to Council on Environmental Quality regulations and
National Park Service policy, this notice announces the availability of
the final environmental impact statement (FEIS) for the General
Management Plan (GMP) for Cape Cod National Seashore, Barnstable
County, Massachusetts. (DOI #FES 98-5). In accordance with the National
Environmental Policy Act of 1969, the environmental impact statement
was prepared to assess the impacts of implementing the general
management plan.
This Final Environmental Impact Statement for the General
Management Plan describes alternatives for management actions at Cape
Cod National Seashore, the environment that would be affected by those
actions, and the environmental consequences of implementing alternative
actions. Three alternatives are presented, including the proposed
general management plan.
Alternative 1 is a continuation of current management, often
referred to as
[[Page 10240]]
the ``no-action'' alternative. Under this alternative the Park Service
would continue to manage the national seashore to protect natural and
cultural resources, while allowing for appropriate public use related
to those resources. Essentially no new development for public use would
be undertaken.
Alternative 2, the proposed plan, would guide the overall
management of Cape Cod National Seashore for the next 10 to 15 years.
The emphasis of the plan is on the management of natural and cultural
resources; public use and interpretation; coordination with nonfederal
landowners within the national seashore; administrative, maintenance,
and operational concerns; and working with local residents, town and
county officials and interested agencies and persons to resolve
problems of mutual concern. The plan is programmatic in that it gives
guidance and criteria for day-to-day decision making and for producing
more specific future action and development plans. It would seek to
maintain an appropriate balance between resource protection and public
use. More opportunities would be provided for the public to experience
the resources of the national seashore. Existing public use facilities
and attractions would be improved. No major new development, however,
is proposed , and the built environment or impacts from development
would be reduced where possible. Under alternative 2 there would be
more emphasis on preserving the ``timeless'' character of Cape Cod in
terms of natural and dynamic landscapes, historic architecture and
cultural landscapes, and customary activities. The National Park
Service would work in partnership with local communities and officials
to more effectively further educational and interpretive opportunities
and resource stewardship on the Outer Cape and to more successfully
address mutual problems and concerns, such as water quality, coastal
processes, and traffic congestion--concerns that transcend political
boundaries.
Alternative 3 builds on the approach of alternative 2, proposing
that national seashore managers play a more formal role in directing
efforts to protect and manage resources on the Cape through more
structured partnerships. Included are other reasonable actions that
could be implemented but that are significantly different from those
presented in either alternative 1 or 2, and they are often more costly.
The Park Service would initiate and enter into more formal agreements
with state and local agencies to improve collaboration and consistency
in day-to-day resource management. These actions are specific to
selected management topics only, not to each subject area.
The draft environmental impact statement was available for public
review from August 19, 1996 to December 31, 1996; comments and
responses on that document on that document are reprinted in volume 2.
The final environmental impact statement has been revised to reflect
substantive comments and concerns received during the comment period,
and the text has been refined and clarified where necessary.
DATES: The FEIS will be made available on February 27, 1998. Following
a 30-day no action period a Record of Decision documenting the agency's
decision will be issued.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Public reading copies of the FEIS will be
available for review at the following locations:
National Seashore Headquarters, 99 Marconi Site Road, Wellfleet, MA
02667
Town libraries in Chatham, Eastham, Orleans, Provincetown, Truro, and
Wellfleet
A limited number of copies of the FEIS can be obtained by writing
to: Ms. Maria Burks, Superintendent, Cape Cod National Seashore, 99
Marconi Site Road, Wellfleet, MA 02667, or by calling the front desk at
(508) 349-3785.
Dated: February 17, 1998.
Maria Burks,
Superintendent, Cape Cod National Seashore.
[FR Doc. 98-5285 Filed 2-27-98; 8:45 am]
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