[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 70 (Thursday, April 11, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 17715-17716]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-8816]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service


Summary of Record of Decision; Re-analysis of Cumulative Impacts 
on the Sonoran Pronghorn; Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement

Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument; Arizona

    The Department of the Interior, National Park Service, has prepared 
a Record of Decision on the Final Supplemental Environmental Impact 
Statement, Re-analysis of Cumulative Impacts on the Sonoran Pronghorn 
for Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument. The Record of Decision 
includes a brief planning history, the alternatives considered, the 
methodology used in the decision-making process, findings of the 
supplement, findings on impairment of park resources and values, basis 
for the decision, a description of the environmentally preferred 
alternative, an overview of public and agency involvement in the 
decision-making process, and measures to minimize harm. This notice 
serves as a summary of the Record of Decision and does not constitute 
the decision document. For a copy of the Record of Decision, please 
contact Laurie Domler, Planning and Environmental Compliance, NPS 
Intermountain Region, P.O. Box 25287, Denver, CO 80225-0287, or by e-
mail at [email protected].

Planning History

    The General Management Plan/Development Concept Plan/Environmental 
Impact Statement (GMP/DCP/EIS) for Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument 
was completed in 1997. The GMP/DCP/EIS looked at a range of 
alternatives for management of park resources and visitation as well as 
the appropriateness and location of needed facilities. The NPS 
initially presented a range of three alternatives that were presented 
in Draft and Supplemental Environmental Impact Statements. A fourth 
alternative and the selected action, the New Proposed Action, was 
developed by combining concepts and actions from the other 
alternatives.
    During the general management planning process, the NPS entered 
into formal consultation with the United States Fish and Wildlife 
Service (USFWS) through its May 22, 1996 submittal of a biological 
assessment. The biological assessment examined the effects on four 
endangered species in the park, including the Sonoran pronghorn. The 
analysis of the Sonoran pronghorn indicated that there were no proposed 
actions in the GMP/DCP/EIS that would directly effect the pronghorn. 
However, it was found that increased visitor use may lead to indirect 
effects on the Sonoran pronghorn if human presence in the front- and 
backcountry causes an alternation in behavior and habitat use. The 
potential for increased traffic on Highway 85 was also examined. Past 
observations of pronghorn movements suggested that traffic along 
Highway 85 acts as a barrier to pronghorn, restricting their movements 
across the highway.

[[Page 17716]]

    The biological assessment concluded that existing and future road 
conditions along Highway 85 would continue to act as a barrier to 
pronghorn movements. It stated that `` . . . these actions may 
adversely affect Sonoran pronghorn if it leads to a reduction in 
genetic exchange and reduced viability, potentially eliminating 
populations from this portion of their range.'' The USFWS Biological 
Opinion concluded with a number of reasonable and prudent measures 
proposed to help reduce the impact on the Sonoran pronghorn. The USFWS 
issued a biological opinion on the NPS assessment on June 26, 1997. The 
opinion stated that the plan was ``'.not likely to jeopardize the 
continued existence of the Sonoran pronghorn.''
    A Record of Decision on the Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument 
General Management Plan/Development Concept Plan/Environmental Impact 
Statement selecting the New Proposed Action was signed on 28 January 
1998.
    On June 30, 1999, Defenders of Wildlife, et al., filed suit in 
Federal District Court (Defenders of Wildlife, et al. vs. Babbitt, et 
al., Civil Action No. 99-927) against the National Park Service, Bureau 
of Land Management, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), U.S. Air 
Force, U.S. Marine Corps, National Guard, and the U.S. Border Patrol, 
charging that those agencies violated the Endangered Species Act and 
the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) by failing to protect the 
Sonoran pronghorn. On February 12, 2001, the Court ruled, in part, that 
the USFWS issued Biological Opinions that failed to address the impact 
of each defendant's activities on the pronghorn when added to the 
environmental baseline. The Court also ruled that the NPS issued an 
Environmental Impact Statement (of the GMP/DCP/EIS) that failed to 
address the cumulative impacts of their activities on the Sonoran 
pronghorn, when added to other past, present, and reasonable 
foreseeable future actions, regardless of what agency undertakes those 
actions.

Alternatives Considered

    Pursuant to the Court order, the National Park Service re-evaluated 
cumulative impacts of the no action, and the selected action contained 
in the GMP/DCP/EIS and approved in the 1998 Record of Decision. In 
order to present the current environmental baseline at the monument, 
Alternative (A) Existing Conditions/No Action, was updated with those 
actions, authorized by the plan, that have either occurred since its 
approval or are currently underway. Alternative (B) The New Proposed 
Action, appears exactly as it did in the approved GMP/DCP/EIS.

Findings of the Supplement

    The National Park Service has found that both the no action 
alternative and the preferred alternative (Alternative B: The New 
Proposed Action), when combined with past, present, and foreseeable 
future federal and non-federal actions, would likely result in a 
continued, incremental reduction in the ability of Sonoran pronghorn to 
maintain a viable population in the United States. Although the NPS 
contributes to a fraction of the overall impact on Sonoran pronghorn, 
increasing human presence in the form of monument visitors; 
undocumented aliens; travelers on Highway 85; and law enforcement 
officers constitute the greatest amount of adverse impacts on the 
pronghorn that the monument adds to the cumulative scenario.

Findings on Impairment

    The cumulative impacts of this alternative have been determined to 
result in major adverse effects to the existing and future Sonoran 
pronghorn population in the United States. The loss of one or more 
Sonoran pronghorn would be a major adverse effect to a park resource. 
However, that loss would not be an impairment of park resources and 
values.

Basis of the Decision

    After careful consideration of the findings of the supplement, 
USFWS conservation measures and recommendations, and public comment, 
the NPS has decided to continue to implement the New Proposed Action 
alternative that was selected through the 1998 Organ Pipe Cactus 
National Monument GMP/DCP/EIS Record of Decision. This decision is 
based on the following factors:
     The alternative continues to best achieve applicable NPS 
laws and policies, including the dual statutory NPS mandate to ensure 
long-term natural and cultural resource preservation while allowing for 
appropriate levels of visitor use, appropriate means of visitor 
enjoyment, and improved operational efficiency ;
     The alternative continues to be the option that best 
reconciles the many needs and desires expressed by extremely diverse 
public interest groups, including neighboring communities; Native 
Americans; advocacy groups; regional, state, and national publics; and 
multiple local, state, and Federal permitting authorities and agencies;
     The conservation measures agreed upon by the NPS and the 
USFWS consist largely of modifications to park operations that are 
administrative in nature and are not the type of actions that would 
require amendments or revisions to the GMP/DCP/EIS.

Conclusion

    The Environmental Impact Statement provides the National Park 
Service findings of the cumulative impacts of past, present, and 
foreseeable future federal and non-federal actions on the Sonoran 
pronghorn. In addition, consultation between the National Park Service 
and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has resulted in conservation 
measures, approved in the November 16, 2001 Final Biological Opinion 
and included in the record, that are proposed to minimize the 
incidental take of Sonoran pronghorn. The continued implementation of 
the New Proposed Action alternative would not result in the impairment 
of park resources and would allow the National Park Service to conserve 
park resources and would allow the National Park Service to conserve 
park resources and provide for their enjoyment by visitors.

    Dated: March 11, 2002.
William E. Wellman,
Superintendent, Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument.
    Dated: March 15, 2002.
Karen P. Wade,
Director, Intermountain Region.
[FR Doc. 02-8816 Filed 4-10-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-70-P