[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 202 (Monday, October 20, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 54467-54468]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-27732]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service


Final Environmental Impact Statement for General Management Plan/
Development Concept Plans, Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, 
Arizona; Notice of Availability

SUMMARY: The National Park Service (NPS), Department of the Interior, 
has prepared a Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) for the 
General Management Plan and Development Concept Plans (GMP/DCP) for 
Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, Arizona. This document is an 
abbreviated FEIS. The contents of this abbreviated document must be 
integrated with the Draft EIS (1995) and the Supplemental EIS (1996) in 
order to reflect completely the proposed action, its alternatives, and 
full analysis of environmental factors. As an aid to readers, the FEIS 
contains a guide to finding the most relevant portions of each 
document, along with a summary of anticipated activities to clarify the 
proposed action to all concerned.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Four alternatives were considered. The 
proposed action, detailed in the SEIS, is entitled the New Proposed 
Action Alternative. In response to public comments on the SEIS, the 
proposed action is further clarified in the FEIS. Except for factual 
corrections (detailed in the Errata section), there are no substantive 
changes in activities proposed initially in the SEIS. However,

[[Page 54468]]

reasonable and prudent mitigation measures are added, resulting from 
formal consultation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on the 
endangered Sonoran pronghorn, the lesser long-nosed bat, and the 
recently listed cactus ferruginous pygmy-owl. The concept of the 
proposed action is two-fold: within the region, enact principles of the 
Man and the Biosphere (MAB) program by adopting a regional perspective 
to improve visitor services and conserve resources; and within the 
monument, improve management capabilities to enhance visitor 
opportunities and protect resources and wilderness values. The effect 
desired from implementing these actions is to enhance protection, 
understanding, and recognition of Sonoran desert ecosystems and further 
strengthen relations with the Tohono O'odham Nation, Mexico, and other 
neighbors of the monument. Under the proposed plan, the NPS would seek 
redesignation of the monument as Sonoran Desert National Park. No 
tolls, traffic re-routes, or speed limit reductions are proposed for 
State Route 85.
    In addition to the proposed action, three other alternatives are 
presented (which are detailed in the SEIS). The Existing Conditions/No 
Action Alternative would basically continue the existing management 
situation. The Former Preferred Future Alternative proposed adding 
2,130 acres to the National Wilderness Preservation System, and called 
for significant cultural resource preservation efforts and new 
facilities in several locations within the monument. The New Ideas 
Alternative proposed 3,650 acres for wilderness, and existing or new 
park facilities would be relocated at or outside the monument boundary.

REVIEW COPIES: Copies of the FEIS will be available for on-site review 
as follows: (1) Office of Public Affairs, National Park Service, 
Department of the Interior, 18th and C Streets, NW, Washington, DC 
20240, (202) 208-6843; (2) Planning Team Leader, Denver Service Center, 
National Park Service, 12795 W. Alameda Parkway, Denver, CO 80225-0287, 
(303) 969-2273; and (3) Superintendent, Organ Pipe Cactus National 
Monument, Route 1, Box 100, Ajo, AZ 85321, (520) 387-7661. A limited 
number of copies for distribution are available on request from either 
the Superintendent or Planning Team Leader.

DECISION: A Record of Decision will be approved no sooner than 30 days 
after the Environmental Protection Agency's filing of their receipt of 
this FEIS in the Federal Register. The National Park Service officials 
jointly responsible for the decision will be the Regional Directors of 
the Intermountain and the Pacific West Regions. Subsequently, the 
officials responsible for implementing the plan will be the Regional 
Director, Intermountain Region and the Superintendent, Organ Pipe 
Cactus National Monument.

    Dated: October 1, 1997.
John J. Reynolds,
Pacific West Region.
[FR Doc. 97-27732 Filed 10-17-97; 8:45 am]
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