[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 40 (Friday, February 28, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 9713-9714]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-4812]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service


Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for 
the General Management Plan for the Virgin Islands Coral Reef National 
Monument

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that in accordance with the National 
Environmental Policy Act of 1969, the U.S. Department of the Interior, 
National Park Service will prepare an Environmental Impact Statement on 
the General Management Plan for the Virgin Islands Coral Reef National 
Monument. The statement will assess potential environmental impacts 
associated with various types and levels of visitor use and resources 
management within the park boundary. Specific issues to be addressed 
include the management of vessels, appropriate levels and types of 
visitor use in the park, desired conditions for the national monument's 
cultural and natural resources, and strategies and approaches needed to 
achieve and maintain those conditions. In cooperation with local, 
territorial, and other federal agencies, attention will also be given 
to cooperative management of resources outside the boundaries that 
affect the integrity of Virgin Islands Coral Reef National Monument.

DATES: Locations, dates, and times of scheduled public scoping meetings 
will be published in local newspapers and posted in local libraries. 
Information on scheduled meetings may also be obtained by contacting 
the Superintendent, Virgin Islands Coral Reef National Monument, 
telephone (340) 776-6201, extension 242. The purpose of the scoping 
process is to elicit public comment regarding the full spectrum of 
public issues and concerns. Representatives of the National Park 
Service will be available to discuss issues, resource concerns, and the 
planning process for the GMP and EIS at each of the public meetings.

[[Page 9714]]


ADDRESSES: Any comments or requests for information should be addressed 
to: Superintendent, Virgin Islands National Park, 1300 Cruz Bay Creek, 
St. John, Virgin Islands, 00830, Telephone: (340) 776-6201, extension 
242.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: John Barrett, National Park Service, 
Southeast Regional Office, (404) 562-3124, extension 637 or John King, 
Superintendent, Virgin Islands National Park, (340) 776-6201, extension 
242.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Virgin Islands Coral Reef National 
Monument, located in the submerged lands off the island of St. John in 
the U.S. Virgin Islands, contains all the elements of a Caribbean 
tropical marine ecosystem. The national monument designation furthers 
the protection of the scientific objects included in the Virgin Islands 
National Park, created in 1956 and expanded in 1962. The biological 
communities of the monument live in a fragile, interdependent 
relationship and include habitats essential for sustaining and 
enhancing the tropical marine ecosystem, including mangroves, sea grass 
beds, coral reefs, sand communities, shallow mud and fine sediment 
habitat, and algal plains. The monument contains several threatened and 
endangered species, which forage, breed, nest, or rest in the waters. 
Humpback whales, pilot whales, four species of dolphins, brown 
pelicans, roseate terns, least terns, and the hawksbill, leatherback, 
and green sea turtles all use portions of the monument. Countless 
species of reef fish, invertebrates, and plants utilize these submerged 
lands during their lives, and over 25 species of sea birds feed in the 
waters.
    This planning effort will evaluate a range of alternative methods 
to provide a quality visitor experience while maximizing protection of 
resources and operational efficiency. Public documents associated with 
the planning effort, including all newsletters, will be posted on the 
Internet through the park's Web site at http://www.nps.gov/viis.
    Our practice is to make the public comments we receive in response 
to planning documents, including names and home addresses of 
respondents, available for public review during regular business hours. 
If you wish for us to withhold your name and/or address, you must state 
this prominently at the beginning of your comment. Anonymous comments 
will be included in the public record. However, the National Park 
Service is not legally required to consider or respond to anonymous 
comments. 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.
    The draft and final environmental impact statement will be 
distributed to all known interested parties and appropriate agencies. 
Full public participation by federal, territory, and local agencies as 
well as other concerned organizations and private citizens is invited 
throughout the preparation process of this document.
    The responsible official for this environmental impact statement is 
the Regional Director, National Park Service, Southeast Region, 100 
Alabama Street SW., Atlanta, Georgia 30303.

    Dated: December 11, 2002.
W. Thomas Brown,
Acting Regional Director, Southeast Region.
[FR Doc. 03-4812 Filed 2-27-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-70-P