[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 118 (Monday, June 21, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Page 34397]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-13922]



[[Page 34397]]

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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service


Environmental Impact Statement for Hunting on the Cape Cod 
National Seashore

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of intent.

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SUMMARY: The National Park Service (NPS) will prepare an Environmental 
Impact Statement (EIS) assessing current hunting policy and potential 
alternative policies for effects on natural resources, user conflicts, 
socioeconomics, and social aspects of the Cape Cod National Seashore 
(CACO). The NPS will solicit public and agency comments regarding the 
proposed alternatives and the preferred alternative. The NPS will 
prepare a draft and a final EIS prior to preparing a Record of Decision 
(ROD).

DATES: The NPS, in conjunction with an interdisciplinary team of 
scientists, proposes the following general schedule to make the public 
aware of the timing of the public commenting periods. Through June 
2004, the NPS will conduct scoping meetings to solicit public and 
regulatory agency comments, to inform the public of the EIS, and to 
produce a final scoping report. Concurrently, the NPS and its 
interdisciplinary team will conduct studies, some of which are ongoing, 
to assess the consequences of the proposed alternatives. The NPS 
anticipates issuing a draft EIS in December 2004 for further public and 
agency comment during January-February 2005. Consideration of those 
comments and the results of any additional studies will be used to 
prepare a final EIS, which is anticipated to be issued in May 2005. A 
ROD will be prepared documenting the NPS decision, which is scheduled 
for August 2005.

ADDRESSES: Written comments should be addressed to Superintendent, Cape 
Cod National Seashore, 99 Marconi Station Site Road, Wellfleet, MA 
02667. Comments may also be electronically mailed to [email protected] (please note that there is an underscore ``--'' between 
the first and last names). The draft and final EIS documents and the 
ROD will be made available on the CACO Web site at http://www.nps.gov/caco/pphtml/documents.html. Comments and materials received are 
available on request for public inspection, by appointment, during 
normal business hours at the above address. The public is advised that 
individual names and addresses may be included as part of the public 
record.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Nancy Finley, Chief of Natural 
Resources Management (see address above) at 508-349-3785.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

Regulatory and Management Background of Hunting in CACO

    The legislation that created CACO (Pub. L. 87-126, Section 7c) 
authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to permit hunting and to 
prepare hunting regulations, subject to consultation with any other 
government agency having authority over hunting activities.

Current Hunting Policy

    Hunting has been a part of the fabric of life on Cape Cod for 
years. Traditional hunting experiences include waterfowl, white-tailed 
deer (Odocoileus virginianus), and small game hunting. Hunting for a 
variety of species is allowed on CACO in conformance with federal, 
state, and CACO regulationsand other migratory game bird hunting 
regulations, while the Massachusetts Division of Fish and Wildlife 
(MDFW) sets deer and small game hunting regulations. State regulations 
restrict hunting and possession of a loaded weapon within 500 feet of 
any building and within 150 feet of an established bicycle trail. Other 
selected areas are closed to hunting for safety or ecological reasons. 
All hunting is prohibited from March 1 through August 31 of each year. 
Ring-necked pheasants (Phasianus colchicus) are stocked by the MDFW in 
selected areas on CACO for hunting. This stocking program has been 
ongoing since the 1940's.

Hunting Policy and NEPA Compliance

    The CACO hunting policy was challenged by some citizens' groups 
regarding compliance with NEPA (the National Environmental Policy Act 
of 1969). The general hunting program is ongoing, but the pheasant 
stocking program was enjoined by court order. The effects of both of 
these programs on ecological parameters, hunter use, and socioeconomics 
will be studied and considered under a variety of alternatives during 
the EIS process.

Proposed Action

    The NPS is preparing an EIS and is in the process of soliciting 
agency and public comments, completing several studies on the effects 
of hunting on various parameters, and analyzing various proposed 
hunting policy alternatives.

Possible Alternatives

    The NPS will consider several alternatives regarding the hunting 
policies at CACO. These alternatives will be determined through the 
public and agency input or the scoping process. The No Action 
alternative, retaining current hunting management practices, is a 
requirement of NEPA and will be included in the EIS.

The Scoping Process

    The hunting program at Cape Cod National Seashore has been the 
subject of community discussion for some time. Aspects of hunting 
programs have been evaluated in the park's General Management Plan 
(GMP) and were subject to comment during the EIS for the GMP (1998). 
The hunting program was challenged by citizens' groups, and this 
challenge in court precipitated public comment and a public meeting 
March 21, 2001. An information meeting was conducted on May 11, 2004, 
where the community was informed about the park's hunting program. This 
input will be carried forward in the public scoping and will be 
considered as part of the public input.
    The NPS and the interdisciplinary team will schedule one public 
scoping meeting, which will be given advanced public notice. During 
this meeting the public will have the opportunity to provide comments 
on the proposed alternatives, studies, and NEPA process. The public 
will also have the opportunity to hear from the NPS and the 
interdisciplinary team regarding the purpose of the EIS, background 
relating to the alternatives, the CACO mission statement, hunting 
policy, cooperation with other agencies, and details of the ongoing 
studies. Other informal meetings will be held during the public scoping 
period to give the community the opportunity for more direct 
interaction with NPS on the issue. These public scoping meetings will 
be announced locally and in the Boston area through the news media and 
on the park's Web site.

Authority

    The EIS is being prepared to comply with NEPA (42 U.S.C. 
4332(2)(C)) and regulations issued by the President's Council on 
Environmental Quality (40 CFR Parts 1500-1508).

    Dated: June 15, 2004.
Bernard C. Fagan,
Deputy Chief, National Park Service Office of Policy.
[FR Doc. 04-13922 Filed 6-18-04; 8:45 am]
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