[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 93 (Friday, May 12, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 30607-30608]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-11954]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service


Draft Legislative Environmental Impact Statement Timbisha 
Shoshone Homeland Death Valley National Park; Notice of Availability

SUMMARY: Pursuant to Sec. 102(2)c of the National Environmental Policy 
Act of 1969 (Public Law 91-190, as amended), and the Council on 
Environmental Quality regulations (40 CFR Part 1500-1508), at the 
request of the Department of the Interior, the National Park Service, 
in cooperation with the Bureau of Land Management, Fish and Wildlife 
Service, and the Bureau of Reclamation has prepared a Draft Legislative 
Environmental Impact Statement (LEIS) identifying and evaluating two 
alternatives for a Timbisha Shoshone Homeland within and around Death 
Valley National Park, California. Potential impacts and appropriate 
mitigation strategies are identified and

[[Page 30608]]

assessed for each alternative. Establishing the proposed Homeland would 
entail specific legislation. If approved, the plan will guide 
management actions in the transfer of lands and the development of 
cooperative agreements.

Proposal: The proposed Timbisha Shoshone Homeland (Alternative A-
Preferred) would transfer approximately 7,500 acres of federal lands 
(currently managed by Death Valley National Park and the Bureau of Land 
Management in California and Nevada) into trust with the Department of 
the Interior for the creation of a tribal homeland. Permission would be 
sought for acquisition of two parcels of approximately 120 acres of 
former Indian allotted lands in Saline Valley, California, and 
approximately 2,430 acres near Lida, Nevada, from private owners, as 
willing sellers.

Alternatives

    Alternative B maintains the status quo, as described in Chapter 3, 
Description of Environment and Affected Resources. It provides a 
baseline from which to compare and evaluate the magnitude of proposed 
changes, and to measure the foreseeable environmental effects of those 
changes. This no-action concept follows the guidance of the Council on 
Environmental Quality, which describes the no-action alternative as no 
change from the current management direction or level of management 
intensity.

Planning Background

    The draft Timbisha Shoshone Homeland LEIS was prepared pursuant to 
the National Environmental Policy Act. Although scoping is not required 
for the preparation of a LEIS, an understanding of public concerns was 
desired. Accordingly, a notice of availability was published in the 
National Register on April 19, 1999 announcing to the public the 
opportunity of commenting on the Draft Secretarial Report. The release 
of the report assisted the agencies in gathering public input, which 
aided in the analysis subsequently undertaken in preparing the LEIS. In 
addition, six public meetings were conducted and five informational 
meetings were held at the request of state congressional delegations 
and county commissioners and supervisors. Over 550 letters were 
received during the public review period providing details on a wide 
spectrum of regulatory, socioeconomic, and environmental issues. A 
Scoping Summary document was prepared to identify issues directly 
related to resource management and the regulatory process to be 
addressed in the LEIS. In October 1999, a copy of the 11-page Scoping 
Summary Document was mailed to everyone who attended the public 
meetings or commented during the process.

Public Meetings

    At this time, it is anticipated that four public meetings will be 
held during June, 2000. Confirmed dates, times, and locations will be 
posted on the internet (see below), and published in local and regional 
newspapers several weeks in advance. Participants are encouraged to 
review the document prior to attending a meeting. Representatives from 
the Department of Interior, Timbisha Shoshone Tribe, Death Valley 
National Park, and the Bureau of Land Management will attend all 
sessions to present the draft Timbisha Shoshone Homeland LEIS, to 
receive oral and written comments, and to answer questions.

Comments

    The draft Timbisha Shoshone Homeland LEIS will be sent directly to 
the project mailing list. Copies will be available at park headquarter 
at Furnace Creek, field offices of BLM Ridgecrest, California and 
Tonopah, Nevada, and at local and regional libraries. Also, volume 1 of 
the LEIS will be posted on the internet at http://www3.iwvisp.com/blm/report. Written comments must be postmarked or transmitted by e-mail 
not later than 60-days after EPA publishes its ``Friday listing'' of 
the filing of the LEIS (anticipated deadline being approximately July 
22, 2000) and should be addressed to the Superintendent, Death Valley 
National Park, P.O. Box 579, Death Valley, California 92328.
    All comments received will be available for public review in the 
parks library. If individuals submitting comments request that their 
name or/and address be withheld from public disclosure, it will be 
honored to the extent allowable by law. Such requests must be stated 
prominently in the beginning of the comments. There may also be 
circumstances wherein the NPS will withhold a respondent's identity as 
allowable by law. As always: NPS will make available to public 
inspection all submissions from organizations or businesses and from 
persons identifying themselves as representatives or officials of 
organizations and businesses, and anonymous comments may not be 
considered.

Decision Process

    Depending upon the degree of public interest and response from 
other agencies and organizations, at this time it is anticipated that 
the Final Timbisha Shoshone Homeland LEIS will be completed during the 
late summer-early fall of 2000. Availability of the document will be 
duly noticed in the Federal Register. Subsequently, notice of an 
approved Record of Decision would be published in the Federal Register 
not sooner than thirty (30) days after the final document is 
distributed. This is expected to occur by late fall 2000.
    The Department officials responsible for approval are: the 
Assistant Secretary for Fish, Wildlife and Parks; the Assistant 
Secretary for Land and Minerals Management; and the Assistant Secretary 
for Indian Affairs. It is anticipated that the proposal would be 
submitted by the Secretary of the Interior to Congress for 
consideration. If enacted, the National Park Service officials 
responsible for implementation would be the Superintendent, Death 
Valley National Park and the Regional Director, Pacific West Region; as 
well as the State Directors, Bureau of Land Management, Nevada and 
California; the Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs; and the Bureau 
of Indian Affairs, Central California Agency.

    Dated: May 5, 2000.
John J. Reynolds,
Regional Director, Pacific West Region.
[FR Doc. 00-11954 Filed 5-11-00; 8:45 am]
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