[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 217 (Thursday, November 8, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 56575-56576]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-27695]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service


Draft Environmental Impact Statement/General Management Plan 
Channel Islands National Park, CA; Notice of Intent

SUMMARY: In accordance with section 102(c) of the National 
Environmental Policy Act of 1969, the National Park Service is 
preparing a general management plan (GMP) and an environmental impact 
statement (EIS) for Channel Islands National Park. The GMP will 
establish the overall direction for the park, setting broad management 
goals for managing the area over the next 15 to 20 years. The GMP will 
prescribe desired resource conditions and visitor experiences that are 
to be achieved and maintained throughout the park. Based on the desired 
conditions, the GMP will outline the kinds of resource management 
activities, visitor activities, and developments that would be 
appropriate in the park. Among the topics that will be addressed are 
ecosystem management, preservation of natural and cultural resources, 
landscape restoration, island access, road and trail systems, facility 
and staff needs, research needs and opportunities, and education and 
interpretive efforts. In cooperation with local, state, tribal, and 
other federal agencies, attention will also be given to cooperative 
management of resources outside the boundaries that affect the 
integrity of Channel Islands National Park.
    Some of the issues the GMP/EIS may address are: levels and 
appropriateness of access to and within the park (including the extent 
and character of the existing road systems), infrastructure needs 
(including administration and support functions), conflicts between 
cultural and natural resource management, management of marine 
resources across jurisdictional boundaries, developments on 
floodplains, and uses of historic structures.
    A range of reasonable alternatives for managing the park, including 
a no-action and preferred alternative, will be developed through the 
planning process and included in the EIS. The EIS will evaluate the 
potential environmental impacts of the alternatives. An environmentally 
preferred alternative will be identified, and any potential impairments 
to park values will also be disclosed.
    Comments: As the first phase of the conservation planning and EIS 
process, the National Park Service is beginning to scope the issues to 
be addressed in the GMP/EIS. All interested persons, organizations, and 
agencies are encouraged to submit comments and suggestions regarding 
the issues or concerns the GMP/EIS should address, including the 
suitable range of alternatives and appropriate mitigating measures, and 
the nature and extent of potential environmental impacts. Written 
comments may be mailed to the address below, and comments may also be 
submitted via email to [email protected]. Please submit 
Internet comments as a text file and avoid the use of special 
characters and any form of encryption. Be sure to include name and 
return postal mailing address in any Internet message. All comments 
must be postmarked or transmitted not later than December 31, 2001.
    In addition, three public scoping sessions will be held at Ventura, 
Santa Barbara, and Los Angeles during the week of November 12, 2001, 
affording an additional early comment opportunity. Locations, dates, 
and times of these meetings will be provided in local and regional 
newspapers, a scoping newsletter to be mailed in late October 2001, and 
via the Internet at www.nps.gov/chis. A third opportunity to comment 
will be provided in response to the scoping newsletter. The newsletter 
will describe the planning process and schedule, note the park's 
purposes and significance, and outline issues identified to date.
    All comments received will become part of the public record and 
copies of comments, including any names and home addresses of 
respondents, may be released for public inspection. Individual 
respondents may request that their home addresses be withheld from the 
public record, which will be honored to the extent allowable by law. 
Requests to withhold names and/or addresses must be stated prominently 
at the beginning of the comments. Anonymous comments will not be 
considered. Submissions from organizations or businesses, and from 
individuals identifying themselves as representatives or officials of 
organizations or businesses, will be made available for public 
inspection in their entirety.

ADDRESSES: Written comments, general park information requests, or 
requests to be added to the project mailing list should be directed to: 
Superintendent, Channel Islands National Park, 1901 Spinnaker Drive, 
Ventura, CA 93001-4354, telephone (805) 658-5777.

Decision Process: The subsequent availability of the draft GMP/EIS will 
be announced by Federal Register notice and in local and regional news 
media. A draft GMP/EIS is anticipated to be completed and available for 
public review during the summer of 2003. The final GMP/EIS is expected 
to be completed approximately one year later. A record of decision will 
be published in the Federal Register no sooner than thirty days after 
distribution of the final GMP/EIS. The responsibility for approving the 
GMP/EIS has been delegated to the National Park Service, and the 
responsible official is John J. Reynolds, Regional Director, Pacific 
West Region. The official responsible subsequently for implementation 
will be the Superintendent, Channel Islands National Park.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Superintendent, Channel Islands 
National Park, 1901 Spinnaker Drive, Ventura, CA 93001-4354; telephone 
(805) 658-5730. General information about Channel Islands National Park 
is available on the Internet at http://www.nps.gov/chis.


[[Page 56576]]


    Dated: September 13, 2001.
Patricia L. Neubacher,
Acting Regional Director, Pacific West.
[FR Doc. 01-27695 Filed 11-7-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-70-P