[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 173 (Thursday, September 7, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 52820-52821]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-14783]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service


White-tailed Deer Management Plan/Environmental Impact Statement, 
Valley Forge National Historical Park, King of Prussia, PA

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare a White-tailed Deer Management 
Plan/Environmental Impact Statement, Valley Forge National Historical 
Park, King of Prussia, Pennsylvania.

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SUMMARY: Under the provisions of the National Environmental Policy Act 
of 1969, the National Park Service (NPS) will prepare a White-tailed 
Deer Management Plan/Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for Valley 
Forge National Historical Park (NHP), King of Prussia, Pennsylvania. 
The purpose of this plan and EIS is to support long-term protection, 
preservation, and restoration of native vegetation and other natural 
resources within the park. A scoping brochure will be prepared that 
details the issues identified to date, and possible alternatives to be 
considered. Brochures may be obtained from Kristina Heister, Natural 
Resources Manager, Valley Forge NHP or from the Valley Forge NHP Web 
site (http://www.nps.gov/vafo).

DATES: The NPS will accept comments from the public regarding this 
Notice of Intent until October 10, 2006. In addition, several public 
scoping meetings will be conducted in the Valley Forge area beginning 
in Fall 2006. Please check local newspapers, the park Web site or 
contact Kristina Heister.

ADDRESSES: Information will be available for public review and comment 
at the Valley Forge NHP library by appointment (Contact [email protected]), local public libraries, park Web site at http://www.nps.gov/vafo, and the Planning, Environment and Public Comment 
(PEPC) Web site at http://parkplanning.nps.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kristina Heister, Natural Resources 
Manager, Valley Forge NHP, 1400 North Outer Line Drive, King of 
Prussia, Pennsylvania 19406, or [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: A major purpose of Valley Forge National 
Historical Park is preservation of the ``cultural and natural resources 
that embody and commemorate the Valley Forge experience and the 
American Revolution.'' The purpose of this plan and environmental 
impact statement is to support long-term protection, preservation, and 
restoration of native vegetation and other natural resources within the 
park. A deer management plan is needed at this time to address browsing 
by an increasing number of deer over the past two decades and resulting 
changes in the species composition, abundance, and distribution of 
native plant communities and associated wildlife. The plan will also 
provide opportunities for coordinating management actions with other 
jurisdictional entities. The plan will develop an informed, 
scientifically-based approach to deer management that will maintain a 
white-tailed deer population within the park while ensuring the natural 
resources that support the purposes of Valley Forge National Historical 
Park remain in good condition.
    A set of objectives further describing the purpose of the plan will 
be included in the public scoping brochure. A list of preliminary 
alternatives that will be considered to meet the purpose and need, 
including continuation of current management (no-action alternative) 
also will be provided.
    Persons commenting on the purpose, need, objectives, preliminary 
alternatives, or any other issues associated with the plan, may submit 
comments by any one of several methods (see below). The dates and times 
of public scoping meetings will be advertised a minimum of 15 days in 
advance. Notice of the meetings will be posted in local newspapers, 
libraries, on the park Web site and the Planning, Environment and 
Public Comment (PEPC) Web site. In addition, a public scoping brochure 
will be mailed to interested parties.
    Comments may be mailed to Natural Resource Management, Valley Forge 
NHP, 1400 North Outer Line Drive, King of Prussia, Pennsylvania 19406 
or sent via the Internet at http://parkplanning.nps.gov. Please submit 
Internet comments as a text file 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 address in your Internet 
message. If persons commenting do not receive a receipt confirmation 
from the system, please contact Kristina Heister.
    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

[[Page 52821]]

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 30, 2006.
Mary Bomar,
Regional Director, Northeast Region.
 [FR Doc. E6-14783 Filed 9-6-06; 8:45 am]
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