[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 248 (Tuesday, December 28, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 77772-77773]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-28287]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR


National Park Service

AGENCY: National Park Service.

ACTION: Notice of availability of the draft wilderness and backcountry 
management plan/draft environmental impact statement, Isle Royale 
National Park, Michigan.

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SUMMARY: Pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, 42 
U.S.C. 4332(2)(C), the National Park Service (NPS) announces the 
availability of a draft wilderness and backcountry management plan/
environmental impact statement (WBMP EIS) for Isle Royale National Park 
(ISRO), Michigan.

DATES: There will be a 60-day public review period for comments on this 
document. Comments on the draft WBMP EIS must be received no later than 
60 days after the Environmental Protection Agency publishes its notice 
of availability in the Federal Register.

ADDRESSES: Copies of the draft WBMP EIS or a summary document are 
available by request by writing to Phyllis Green, Superintendent, Attn: 
WBMP, Isle Royale National Park, 800 East Lakeshore Drive, Houghton, 
Michigan 49931, or by e-mail message at [email protected]. The 
document can be picked up at the park's headquarters at the same 
address, or viewed over the Internet at the park's Web site at http://www.nps.gov/isro/home.htm. Copies of the draft or summary document will 
be sent to over 500 interested parties, as well as to public libraries 
throughout Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jean Battle, Chief of Resource 
Management, Isle Royale National Park, 800 East Lakeshore Drive, 
Houghton, Michigan 49931, 906-487-9080 extension 34 or [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The NPS management policies require the 
superintendent of each park containing wilderness resources will 
develop and maintain a wilderness management plan to guide the 
preservation, management, and use of these resources. The IRSO's

[[Page 77773]]

wilderness was designated in 1976, and the park does not have an 
approved wilderness management plan. The purpose of this draft WBMP EIS 
is to satisfy that requirement and bring ISRO into compliance with NPS 
policies. This draft WBMP EIS does not propose any changes in 
wilderness boundaries within ISRO, but it does propose formalizing and 
implementing some changes in how that wilderness is managed. The draft 
plan proposes several alternatives for management actions that would 
achieve the goals of wilderness management in the park consistent with 
The Wilderness Act and NPS policies. The primary issues being addressed 
in the plan that may result in management changes include: managing 
permitting for overnight camping and boating in the park, managing 
organized day tours in the park, managing campfires, the maintenance or 
removal of fire towers, the maintenance or removal of picnic tables in 
wilderness campgrounds, the use of treated lumber for trail 
maintenance, and the application of the minimum tool decision tree to 
determining the appropriate tools for maintenance, research, and other 
management practices within the park's wilderness.
    Persons wishing to comment may do so by any one of several methods. 
They may mail comments to the Superintendent, Attn: WBMP, Isle Royale 
National Park, 800 East Lakeshore Drive, Houghton, Michigan 49931, or 
call the Chief of Resource Management at 906-487-9080 extension 34. 
They may comment via e-mail to [email protected] (include name and 
return address in the e-mail message). Finally, they may hand-deliver 
comments to park headquarters at 800 East Lakeshore Drive, Houghton, 
Michigan.
    The NPS practice is to make comments, including names and home 
addresses of respondents, available for public review during regular 
business hours. Individual respondents may request 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. However, we will not 
consider anonymous comments.
    We will make all submissions from organizations or businesses, and 
from individuals identify themselves as representatives or officials of 
organizations or businesses, available for public inspection in their 
entirety.

    Dated: November 5, 2004.
Ernest Quintana,
Regional Director, Midwest Region.
[FR Doc. 04-28287 Filed 12-27-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-92-P