[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 195 (Wednesday, October 8, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Page 58130]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-24651]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service


General Management Plan, Environmental Impact Statement, Aztec 
Ruins National Monument, New Mexico

AGENCY: National Park Service, Department of the Interior.

ACTION: Notice of Intent to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement 
for the General Management Plan at Aztec Ruins National Monument.

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SUMMARY: Pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, 42 
U.S.C. 4332 (C) the National Park Service is preparing an Environmental 
Impact Statement for the General Management Plan at Aztec Ruins 
National Monument. This effort will result in a comprehensive general 
management plan that encompasses preservation of natural and cultural 
resources--especially extensive archeology, visitor use and 
interpretation, and facilities development, with the input of 
stakeholders and up to 26 southwestern American Indian tribes, who 
consider the park a sacred ancestral site. In cooperation with the City 
of Aztec Planning Department, attention will be given to factors 
outside the boundaries that affect the integrity of Aztec Ruins 
National Monument. Alternatives to be considered include no-action and 
a proposed action (to be determined). Other alternatives that might be 
developed will be determined via the planning process.
    Major planning interests and opportunities are to:
    [sbull] Seek the input of interested American Indian tribes 
throughout the planning process. This was not done when the previous 
General Management Plan was produced in 1989.
    [sbull] Determine long-term goals and objectives for resource 
management; visitor understanding, appreciation, and enjoyment; and 
facilities development in the nearly 300 acres of land that was added 
to the park boundaries in 1988, as well as in the original 27 acres; in 
view of inventories and knowledge about resources that have been 
acquired since the 1989 GMP, and with consideration of changing and 
projected operational needs for the future.
    [sbull] Reassess and make recommendations regarding the development 
that was prescribed in the 1989 GMP. Some of that development has not 
been implemented, and some development has occurred that departed from 
the prescriptions.
    [sbull] Explore partnership opportunities with neighbors, the City 
of Aztec, tribes, and others to protect resources within and 
surrounding the park, and to enhance opportunities for visitor 
enjoyment and understanding.
    [sbull] Develop a range of alternatives in conjunction with 
neighbors, oil and gas companies, and other interested parties, to 
minimize impacts to the visitor experience and park resources from 
possible development outside park boundaries and active gas wells 
within the park.
    A scoping information brochure has been prepared that highlights 
the planning interests and opportunities, describes how the public can 
provide input to the planning process, and invites public comment. 
Copies of that brochure may be obtained from the park Superintendent:
    Dennis L. Carruth, Aztec Ruins National Monument, 84 
County Road 2900, Aztec, NM 87410-9715, Tel: (505) 334-6174 x. 22, Fax: 
(505) 334-6372, E-mail: [email protected].
    People who would like to be placed on the park's mailing list for 
the project should contact the Superintendent.

DATES: Scoping meetings will be held to share information with the 
public about the GMP in the fall of 2003. Dates, times, and locations 
of those meetings can be obtained by contacting the Superintendent. The 
Park Service will accept scoping comments from the public for 30 days 
after the date of the last meeting.

ADDRESSES: Information will be available for public review and comment 
in the office of the Superintendent.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: If you wish to comment on the scoping 
brochure or on any other issues associated with the plan, you may mail 
your comments to the Superintendent, or send them to him via e-mail. 
Please include your name and return address with your comments. You may 
also hand-deliver comments to the Superintendent at his office in the 
park. 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.
    For further information contact the superintendent.

    Dated: July 24, 2003.
John Crowley,
Associate Regional Director.
[FR Doc. 03-24651 Filed 10-7-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-E7-P