[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 177 (Monday, September 14, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 49134-49135]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-24597]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service
Draft Environmental Impact Statement/General Management Plan;
Death Valley National Park; Inyo and San Bernardino Counties, CA; Nye
and Esmeralda Counties, Nevada; Notice of Availability
Summary
Pursuant to Sec. 102(2)(C) of the National Environmental Policy Act
of 1969 (Pub. L. 91-190, as amended), the National Park Service (NPS),
Department of the Interior, has prepared a Draft Environmental Impact
Statement (DEIS) identifying and evaluating potential impacts of a
proposed General Management Plan (GMP) for Death Valley National Park.
Death Valley is a unit of the National Park System, created by Congress
on October 31, 1994, in the California Desert Protection Act (CDPA).
The DEIS also includes a draft Land Protection Plan (LPP) that
addresses management options for non-federal lands that exist inside
the park boundary. This planning document and DEIS were initiated as a
component of the Northern and Eastern Mojave Planning Project, a
coordinated interagency effort involving the NPS, Bureau of Land
Management, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The DEIS identifies and
evaluates the environmental consequences of a proposed action and two
alternatives; appropriate mitigations are addressed. No significant
adverse environmental impacts are anticipated. The GMP will serve as
the overall management strategy for the next 10-15 years under which
more detailed activity or implementation plans are prepared.
Proposal
This DEIS presents the proposed management approach and two
alternatives for park management. The Proposed Action (Alternative 1)
seeks to extend existing management strategies that are in place for
the original smaller area (proclaimed a national monument on February
11, 1933), to the management of the resources within the new lands
added to the unit in 1994. It also strives to incorporate the NPS
mission and policies, and respond to the designation of 95% of the park
as Wilderness. This alternative addresses the removal of feral burros
and horses from the park in order to achieve the NPS mission of
managing the unit for native desert species. It also recognizes the
need to work cooperatively with the Bureau of Land Management on
adjacent land, where their mandate from Congress is to maintain viable
herds of wild horses and burros. Furthermore, this alternative strives
to balance the preservation of resources mission with specific mandates
from Congress for Death Valley, such as continuation of grazing on the
new lands. This alternative addresses grazing as a component of the
management. This alternative also identifies a number of activity-level
or site-specific issues, such as management of the Saline Valley Warm
Springs area and a Backcountry and Wilderness Management Plan. This
alternative seeks funding for purchase of private property from willing
sellers, and/or mineral interests where proposed uses conflict with the
primary mission of preserving resources and providing for visitor
enjoyment.
Alternatives
In addition to the proposal, the alternatives described and
analyzed are existing management (no action) and an optional management
approach. The Existing Management alternative (Alternative 2) describes
outcomes of continuing current management strategies. It is commonly
referred to as the no-action or status quo alternative. Under this
alternative, existing visitor and administrative support services and
facilities would be maintained in their current locations. There would
be no change in road maintenance, although some roads might be improved
if funding became available. No changes in recreation use would occur.
Land acquisition would focus on obtaining funds to acquire private
property and mineral interests from willing sellers only where proposed
uses conflict with the park mission. The Optional Management approach
(Alternative 3) provides for approval of the use of airstrips at Saline
Valley Warm Springs, designating campsites at the Warm Springs,
specifies acquisition of private land or mineral interests only in
sensitive habitats, and phases out the concession operation at
Stovepipe Wells.
Comments
Printed or CD-ROM copies of the DEIS are available for public
review at park headquarters, as well as at many public libraries and
federal offices in southern California and southern Nevada. In
addition, the document is posted on the internet at www.nps.gov/deva.
Inquiries and comments on the DEIS should be directed to:
Superintendent, Death Valley National Park, Furnace Creek, California
92328. The telephone number for the park is (760) 786-2331. All written
comments must be postmarked not later than 90 days after publication of
a notice of filing of the DEIS/GMP in the Federal Register by the
Environmental Protection Agency.
Public Meetings
The NPS will host a series of open houses to provide interested
individuals and organization representatives an opportunity to express
concerns, ask questions, view large scale maps and engage in dialogue
about the range or content of alternatives. Specific details will be
available at the internet site identified above or by calling the park.
This dialogue is intended to provide additional guidance to the NPS in
preparing a final EIS and plan amending the GMP and LPP. Written
comments will also be accepted at these workshops. All workshops are
scheduled for 6:00-9:00 p.m., as follows:
Monday, Oct. 19, Doubletree Inn, 191 Los Robles, Pasadena, CA
Tuesday, Oct. 20, Harvey House (Santa Fe Depot), 685 First St.,
Barstow, CA
Wednesday, Oct. 21, Hilltop Hotel, 2000 Ostrems Way, San Bernardino, CA
Thursday, Oct. 22, Needles Community Senior Center, 1699 Bailey Ave.,
Needles, CA
Friday, Oct. 23, Enterprise Public Library, 25 E. Shelbourne Ave., Las
Vegas, NV
Saturday, Oct. 24, Baker Senior Center, 73730C Baker Blvd., Baker, CA
[[Page 49135]]
Tuesday, Oct. 27, Death Valley Natl Park, Visitor Center Auditorium,
Furnace Creek, CA
Wednesday, Oct. 28, Eastern Sierra Fairgrounds, Sierra St. & Fair Dr.,
Bishop, CA
Thursday, Oct. 29, Boulder Creek RV Park, Hwy 395 (5mi s. of Lone
Pine), Lone Pine, CA
Friday, Oct. 30, Ridgecrest Public Library, 131 E. Las Flores,
Ridgecrest, CA
Decision
Following the formal DEIS review period all written comments
received will be considered in preparing a final plan. Currently the
Final EIS and GMP/LPP are anticipated to be completed during spring
1999. Their availability will be similarly announced in the Federal
Register. Subsequently a Record of Decision would be approved by the
Regional Director, Pacific West Region, no sooner than 30 (thirty) days
after release of the Final EIS. The responsible officials are the
Regional Director, Pacific West Region, and the Superintendent, Death
Valley National Park.
Dated: August 31, 1998.
John J. Reynolds,
Regional Director, Pacific West Region.
[FR Doc. 98-24597 Filed 9-11-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-70-P
