[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 172 (Wednesday, September 6, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 52575-52576]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 06-7441]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service


Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for 
a White-tailed Deer Management Plan, Cuyahoga Valley National Park, 
Ohio

AGENCY: National Park Service, Department of the Interior.

ACTION: Notice of Intent.

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SUMMARY: Under the provisions of the National Environmental Policy Act 
of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), the National Park Service (NPS) is 
preparing an environmental impact statement (EIS) for the White-tailed 
Deer Management Plan for Cuyahoga Valley National Park (Cuyahoga). The 
purpose of the plan/EIS is to develop a deer management plan that 
supports long-term protection, preservation, and restoration of native 
species and other park resources. A scoping brochure has been prepared 
that details the issues identified to date and preliminary alternatives 
to be considered. Copies of that information may be obtained by mail 
from Cuyahoga Valley National Park, 15610 Vaughn Road, Brecksville, 
Ohio 44141, telephone 330-650-5071, extension 1, or the Planning, 
Environment and Public Comment (PEPC) Web site at http://www.parkplanning.nps.gov/cuva. Once on the PEPC site, click on the link 
titled Cuyahoga Valley National Park Deer Management Plan/EIS.

DATES: To be most helpful to the scoping process, comments should be 
received within 60 days from the date this noticed is published in the 
Federal Register. In addition, the NPS intends to conduct public 
scoping open houses at the park. Please check local newspapers; the 
park's Web site http://www.nps.gov/cuva; or contact the name listed 
below to find out when and where these open houses will be held.

ADDRESSES: Information will be available for public review and comment 
at the park headquarters located at 15610 Vaughn Road, Brecksville, 
Ohio 44141.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Lisa Petit, Chief of Science and 
Resource Management, Cuyahoga Valley National Park, telephone, 330-650-
5071, extension 1.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under the provisions of the National 
Environmental Policy Act of 1969, the NPS is preparing an EIS for a 
White-tailed Deer Management Plan for Cuyahoga Valley National Park. 
The purpose of this plan and environmental impact statement is to 
develop a deer management plan that supports long-term protection, 
preservation, and restoration of native species and other park 
resources. A deer management plan is needed at this time to ensure 
that: Deer do not become the dominant force in the ecosystem, adversely 
impacting forest regeneration, sensitive vegetation and other wildlife; 
natural distribution, abundance, and diversity of plant and animal 
species do not continue to be adversely affected by the large number of 
white-tailed deer in Cuyahoga Valley National Park; declining forest 
regeneration is addressed and deer browsing does not continue at a 
level that eliminates or reduces forest regeneration, and that adverse 
changes to wildlife habitat and forest structure and composition do not 
occur over time; the park's cultural landscape preservation goals and 
mandates are not compromised by the large number of white-tailed deer 
in Cuyahoga Valley National Park; and the protection of park resources 
and values benefits from coordination with other jurisdictional 
entities currently implementing deer management actions.
    There are a number of objectives for this plan. One objective is to 
develop and implement informed, scientifically defensible vegetation 
and wildlife impact levels and corresponding measures of deer 
population size that would serve as thresholds for taking adaptive 
management actions within the park. The plan would also ensure that 
deer behavior, including browsing, trampling, and seed dispersal, does 
not adversely affect: Natural abundance, distribution, and diversity of 
native herbaceous and woody plant species; native vegetative species of 
concern, including rare, threatened or endangered species; and native 
vegetative species through dispersal, spread, and facilitation of 
exotic, invasive species. A third objective is to maintain a healthy 
white-tailed deer population within the park while protecting other 
park resources. In addition, the plan would ensure that deer behavior 
does not adversely affect the cultural landscape. Finally, the plan 
would enhance public awareness and understanding of NPS resource 
management issues, policies, and mandates, as they pertain to deer 
management; and ensure visitors the opportunity to view healthy deer in 
the natural environment at population levels that do not adversely 
impact visitors' enjoyment of other native species in the natural 
landscape.
    Preliminary alternatives that will be considered to meet the 
purpose and need include: Landscape management, fencing, reproductive 
control, direct reduction, and a combination of these management 
strategies. The continuation of current management (no action 
alternative) will also be analyzed.
    If you wish to comment on the scoping brochure or on any other 
issues associated with the plan, you may submit your comments by any 
one of several methods. You may submit your comments online through the 
NPS Planning, Environment and Public Comment (PEPC) Web site at http://www.parkplanning.nps.gov/cuva. Once on the PEPC Web site, click on the 
link titled Cuyahoga Valley National Park Deer Management Plan/EIS. 
Please submit Internet comments as text files, avoiding the use of 
special characters and any form of encryption. Please put ``Deer 
Management'' in the subject line and include your name and return

[[Page 52576]]

address in your message. If you do not receive a confirmation from the 
system that we have received your Internet message, contact Dr. Lisa 
Petit at 330-650-5071, extension 1, or [email protected]. You may 
also mail comments to Resource Management, Cuyahoga Valley National 
Park, at the address given above. To aid in the scoping process, 
comments should be received within 60 days of the beginning of the 
public comment period.
    Our practice is to make comments, including names, home addresses, 
home phone numbers, and e-mail addresses of respondents, available for 
public review. Individual respondents may request that we withhold 
their names and/or home addresses, etc., but if you wish us to consider 
withholding this information you must state this prominently at the 
beginning of your comments. In addition, you must present a rationale 
for withholding this information. This rationale must demonstrate that 
disclosure would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of privacy. 
Unsupported assertions will not meet this burden. In the absence of 
exceptional, documentable circumstances, this information will be 
released. We will always make submissions from organizations or 
businesses, and from individuals identifying themselves as 
representatives of or officials of organizations or businesses, 
available for public inspection in their entirety.

    Dated: August 29, 2006.
Ernest Quintana,
Regional Director, Midwest Region.
[FR Doc. 06-7441 Filed 9-5-06; 8:45 am]
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