[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 184 (Monday, September 23, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 59530-59531]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-24053]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service


Draft General Management Plan/Environmental Impact Statement 
(GMP/EIS), Chickasaw National Recreation Area, Oklahoma

AGENCY: National Park Service, Department of the Interior.

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an environmental impact statement 
for a General Management Plan, Chickasaw National Recreation Area, 
Oklahoma.

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SUMMARY: Under the provisions of the National Environmental Policy Act, 
the National Park Service is preparing an environmental impact 
statement (EIS) for a general management plan for Chickasaw National 
Recreation Area. The environmental impact statement will be approved by 
the Director, Intermountain Region.
    The general management plan (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 plan will prescribe desired 
resource conditions and visitor experiences that are to be achieved and 
maintained throughout the park. Based on the desired conditions, the 
plan 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 protection of natural and 
cultural resources, water resources, management of the cultural 
landscape, appropriate range of visitor uses, facility developments, 
traffic patterns and circulation, staff needs, education and 
interpretive efforts, park partnerships, and external pressures on the 
park. In cooperation with local, state, tribal, and other federal 
agencies, attention will also be given to cooperative efforts to 
address issues that affect the integrity of Chickasaw National 
Recreation Area, such as the management of water resources.
    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.
    As the first phase of the 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

[[Page 59531]]

address, including the suitable range of alternatives and appropriate 
mitigating measures, and the nature and extent of potential 
environmental impacts.

DATES: Written comments on the scope of the general management plan/
environmental impact statement will be accepted for 60 days beyond the 
publication of this Notice of Intent. In addition, public scoping 
sessions will be held at Sulphur and surrounding communities in the 
fall of 2002. Locations, dates, and times of these meetings will be 
provided in local and regional newspapers, a scoping newsletter to be 
mailed in September, and on the Internet at www.nps.gov/chic.

ADDRESSES: Written comments or requests to be added to the project 
mailing list should be directed to: John F. (Rick) Shireman, 
Superintendent, Chickasaw National Recreation Area, 1008 W. 2nd, 
Sulphur, OK 73086, telephone (580) 622-3161, extension 1-200; e-mail: 
[email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION: Contact Superintendent, John F. (Rick) 
Shireman, Chickasaw National Recreation Area, 1008 W. 2nd, Sulphur, OK 
73086, telephone (580) 622-3161, extension 1-200. General information 
about Chickasaw National Recreation Area is available on the Internet 
at http://www.nps.gov/chic.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Please submit Internet comments as a text 
file avoiding the use of special characters and any form of encryption. 
Be sure to include your name and return street address in your Internet 
message.
    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 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. 
However, 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.

    Dated: August 21, 2002.
Michael D. Synder,
Acting Director, Intermountain Region.
[FR Doc. 02-24053 Filed 9-20-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-70-P