[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 215 (Tuesday, November 6, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 56116-56117]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-27761]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service


General Management Plans, Draft Environmental Impact Statements, 
Sunset Crater Volcano, Walnut Canyon, and Wupatki National Monuments, 
Arizona

AGENCY: National Park Service, Department of the Interior.

ACTION: Availability of draft environmental impact statements and 
general management plans for Sunset Crater Volcano, Walnut Canyon, and 
Wupatki National Monuments.

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SUMMARY: Pursuant to section 102(2)(C) of the National Environmental 
Policy Act of 1969, the National Park Service announces the 
availability of draft Environmental Impact Statements and General 
Management Plans (DEIS/GMP) for Sunset Crater Volcano, Walnut Canyon, 
and Wupatki National Monuments, Arizona.

Dates: The DEIS/GMPs will remain available for public review on or 
after January 7, 2002. No public meetings are scheduled at this time.

Comments: If you wish to comment, you may submit your comments by any 
one of several methods. You may mail comments to Superintendent, 
Flagstaff Area National Monuments, 6400 N. Hwy 89, Flagstaff, Arizona 
80004. You may also comment via the Internet to [email protected]. 
Please submit Internet comments either as an ASCII file avoiding the 
use of special characters and any form of encryption, as a Microsoft 
Word file, or as a Word Perfect file. Please also include your name and 
return address in your Internet message. If you do not receive a 
confirmation from the system that we have received your Internet 
message, contact us directly by calling Christine Maylath at 303-969-
2851. Finally, you may hand-deliver comments to Intermountain Support 
Office-Denver, 12795 W. Alameda Parkway, Lakewood, CO (room 20) or to 
the park address above. Our practice is to make comments, including 
names and home addresses of respondents, available for public review 
during regular business hours. Individual respondents may request that 
we withhold their home address from the record, which we will honor to 
the extent allowable by law. There also may be circumstances in which 
we would withhold from the record a respondent's identity, as allowable 
by law. If you wish us to withhold your name and/or address, you must 
state this prominently at the beginning of your comment. We will make 
all submissions from organizations or businesses, and from individuals 
identifying themselves as representatives or officials of organizations 
or businesses, available for public inspection in their entirety.

Addresses: Copies of the DEIS/GMP are available from the 
Superintendent, Flagstaff Area National Monuments, 6400 N. Highway 89, 
Flagstaff, Arizona. Public reading copies of the DEIS/GMP will be 
available for review at the following locations:

Office of the Superintendent, Flagstaff Area National Monuments, 6400 
N. Hwy 89, Flagstaff, Arizona 80004, Telephone: 928-526-1157
Planning and Environmental Quality, Intermountain Support Office--
Denver, National Park Service, 12795 W. Alameda Parkway, Lakewood, CO 
80228, Telephone: (303) 969-2851
Office of Public Affairs, National Park Service, Department of 
Interior, 18th and C Streets NW., Washington, DC 20240, Telephone: 
(202) 208-6843

Supplementary Information: These general management plans will guide 
the management of the Sunset Crater Volcano, Walnut Canyon, and Wupatki 
National Monuments for the next 10 to 15 years. The Sunset Crater 
Volcano DEIS/GMP considers four alternatives--a no-action and three 
action alternatives, including the NPS preferred alternative. The 
preferred alternative would provide increased educational opportunities 
and diverse experiences both within and outside of park boundaries. The 
park would be viewed as a destination for education and learning. 
Partnerships with the U.S. Forest Service, affiliated tribes, and 
educational institutions would provide interpretation and more 
consistent management of sites and features outside the park that are 
primary to the park's purpose. Boundaries would be adjusted for ease of 
management and to better protect geologic features. Most existing uses 
would continue. The park would remain day-use only, with 24-hour access 
on FR545, and visitor use would be spread throughout more resources. A 
new multiagency visitor center would be built near US89 to serve as the 
primary location to orient and serve visitors, and the existing visitor 
center would be adapted for use as an education center.
    Three alternatives were considered in the Walnut Canyon DEIS/GMP--a 
no-action and two action alternatives, including the NPS preferred 
alternative. The preferred alternative would preserve untrailed 
expanses, unfragmented natural systems, and relatively pristine 
conditions throughout much of the park. It would protect Walnut Canyon 
as a critical wildlife corridor. Visitation would be managed with the 
goal of providing quality learning opportunities in an intimate 
atmosphere while maintaining the health of the canyon ecosystem. The 
natural soundscape and tranquil setting of the canyon would be enhanced 
through strategic placement of facilities. The park would remain day-
use only, with recreational uses of the western end prohibited. Efforts 
would be made to provide a broader range of educational offerings, and 
a greater number of archeological sites would be available for 
visitation.
    The Wupatki DEIS/GMP considers five alternatives--a no-action and 
four action alternatives, including the NPS preferred alternative. The 
preferred alternative would include significant resources and 
landscapes north of the park within park boundaries, retain existing 
motorized sightseeing, focus on existing major visitor use areas, 
provide visitor orientation at the existing visitor center and at a new 
contact station at the north entrance, and diversify visitor 
experiences via new trails, new interpretive media and activities, and 
guided hikes to some cultural sites.
    All three environmental impact statements assess impacts to 
archeological resources; historic character of the built environment; 
long-term integrity of ethnographic resources, natural systems and 
processes, and geological resources; threatened, endangered, and 
sensitive species; visitors' ability to experience park

[[Page 56117]]

resources; park neighbors, local, state, and tribal land management 
plans and land/resource managing agencies; and operational efficiency.

For Further Information: Contact Superintendent, Flagstaff Area 
National Monuments at the above address and telephone number.

    Dated: August 30, 2001.
Michael Sunder,
Acting Director, Intermountain Region, National Park Service.
[FR Doc. 01-27761 Filed 11-5-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-70-P