[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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