[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 173 (Wednesday, September 6, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 54062-54064]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-22742]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service


Revised Draft Environmental Impact Statement and General 
Management Plan, Death Valley National Park, Inyo and San Bernardino 
Counties, California, Nye and Esmeralda Counties, Nevada; Notice of 
Availability

SUMMARY: Pursuant to section 102(2)(C) of the National Environmental 
Policy Act of 1969 (Pub. L. 91-190, as amended), the National Park 
Service, Department of the Interior, has prepared a Revised Draft 
Environmental Impact Statement (REIS) identifying and evaluating 
potential impacts of a proposed General Management Plan (GMP) for Death 
Valley National Park. This document provides updated and revised 
information that was prepared

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largely as a result of public comments on the original Draft EIS/GMP 
that was released in September 1998. Death Valley is a unit of the 
National Park System, created by Congress on October 31, 1994, in the 
California Desert Protection Act. The REIS/GMP also includes a draft 
Land Protection Plan (LPP) that addresses management options for non-
federal lands that exist inside the park boundary. The LPP and REIS 
were prepared as a component of the Northern and Eastern Mojave 
Planning Effort (NEMO), a coordinated interagency project involving the 
National Park Service (NPS), Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Fish 
and Wildlife Service. The NPS anticipates that this document could 
proceed separately from other components of this coordinated planning 
effort, and separate Records of Decision will be prepared accordingly. 
The REIS identifies and evaluates the environmental consequences of a 
proposed action and two alternatives. No significant adverse 
environmental impacts are anticipated. When approved 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 as 
appropriate.
    Proposal: This REIS/GMP presents the proposed management approach 
and two alternatives for the management of the park. The proposed 
action (Alternative 1) seeks to extend the existing management 
strategies that are in place for the previous national monument, and to 
apply the NPS mission and policies to the management of the resources 
within the new lands added to Death Valley in 1994 by the California 
Desert Protection Act. It also strives to incorporate the existing 
Congressional designation of 95% of the park as Wilderness into the 
management approach. 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. This alternative attempts to balance 
the preservation of resources mission with specific mandates from 
Congress. In Death Valley, the California Desert Protection Act 
provides for the continuation of grazing on the new lands. This 
alternative addresses grazing as a component of the management. This 
plan identifies a number of activity level plans needed to address site 
specific issues, such as the Saline Valley Warm Springs management and 
a backcountry/wilderness management plan. This alternative seeks 
funding for purchase of private property from willing sellers, or/and 
mineral interests where proposed uses conflict with the primary mission 
of preserving resources and providing for visitor enjoyment.
    Alternatives: In addition to the proposal, this conservation 
planning and environmental impact analysis process also addressed the 
alternative of continuing existing management (no action), and an 
optional management approach. The existing management alternative 
(Alternative 2) describes the continuation of current management 
strategies. It is also commonly referred to as the 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 approach (Alternative 3) provides for closure of the 
airstrips at Saline Valley Warm Springs, designating campsites at the 
Warm Springs, and specifies acquisition of private land or mineral 
interests only in sensitive habitats and the phase out of the 
concession operation at Stovepipe Wells.
    Comments: Printed or CD-ROM copies of the REIS 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 requests for copies may also be directed to: 
Superintendent, Death Valley National Park, Furnace Creek, California 
92328. The telephone number for the park is (760) 786-2331.
    Interested individuals, organizations, Tribes, and agencies wishing 
to express any new concerns about management issues and future land 
management direction are encouraged to address these to the 
Superintendent, Death Valley National Park. All written comments must 
be postmarked not later than December 8, 2000, and should be submitted 
to the address noted above.
    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 also may 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.
    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 dialog about the range or content of alternatives. This 
dialog 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. The public is 
invited to attend at any time during the open house posted hours. The 
workshops are scheduled as follows:

Friday, October 27th........  Barstow, CA.........  2:00-6:00 p.m.
Monday, October 30th........  Pasadena, CA........  6:00-9:00 p.m.
Tuesday, October 31st.......  San Bernardino, CA..  2:00-6:00 p.m.
Wednesday, November 1st.....  Needles, CA.........  2:00-6:00 p.m.
Thursday, November 2nd......  Las Vegas, NV.......  2:00-6:00 p.m.
Friday, November 3rd........  Baker, CA...........  2:00-6:00 p.m.
Monday, November 13th.......  Amargosa, CA........  2:00-6:00 p.m.
Tuesday, November 14th......  Furnace Creek, CA...  6:00-9:00 p.m.
Wednesday, November 15th....  Bishop, CA..........  6:00-9:00 p.m.
Thursday, November 16th.....  Lone Pine, CA.......  6:00-9:00 p.m.
Friday, November 17th.......  Ridgecrest, CA......  6:00-9:00 p.m.
 


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    Specific locations and other details will be available at the 
internet site identified above or by calling the park at (760) 786-
2331.
    Decision: Upon conclusion of the review period for the REIS/GMP, 
all written comments received will be duly considered in preparing a 
final plan. Currently the final EIS and GMP are anticipated to be 
completed during spring 2001. The availability of this final document 
will be similarly announced in the Federal Register. Subsequently a 
Record of Decision would be executed no sooner than 30 (thirty) days 
after release of the final EIS. The official responsible for approval 
of the GMP is the Regional Director, Pacific West Region; the official 
responsible for implementation of the approved GMP is the 
Superintendent, Death Valley National Park.

    Signed: August 28, 2000.
William C. Walters,
Deputy Regional Director, Pacific West Region.
[FR Doc. 00-22742 Filed 9-5-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-70-P