[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 237 (Monday, December 11, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 71552-71553]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-20961]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service


Notice of Intent (NOI) To Prepare a Draft Environmental Impact 
Statement (DEIS) for an Off-Road Vehicle Management Plan (ORV 
Management Plan) for Cape Hatteras National Seashore, NC

SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given in accordance with the National 
Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA), 42 U.S.C. 4332, and Council on 
Environmental Quality regulations, 40 CFR 1506.6, that the U.S. 
Department of the Interior, National Park Service (NPS), will prepare 
an ORV Management Plan/EIS. The ORV Management Plan/EIS will be used to 
guide the management and control of ORVs at Cape Hatteras National 
Seashore (the Seashore), North Carolina, for approximately the next 10 
to 15 years. It will also form the basis for a special regulation that 
would regulate ORV use at the Seashore. The ORV Management Plan/EIS 
will assess potential environmental impacts associated with a range of 
reasonable alternatives for managing ORV impacts on park resources such 
as threatened and endangered species, soils, wetlands, wildlife, and 
cultural resources. Socioeconomic impacts and effects on visitor 
experience and public safety will also be analyzed.

DATES: To determine the scope of issues to be addressed in the ORV 
Management Plan/EIS and to identify significant issues related to the 
ORV management at the Seashore, the NPS will conduct public scoping 
meetings in North Carolina at Buxton, Kill Devil Hills, and Raleigh, 
North Carolina and in Washington, DC. Representatives of the NPS will 
be available to discuss issues, resource concerns, and the planning 
process at each of the public meetings. When public scoping meetings 
have been scheduled, their locations, dates, and times will be 
published in local newspapers and posted on the NPS Planning, 
Environment and Public Comment (PEPC) Web site at http://parkplanning.nps.gov/CAHA.

ADDRESSES: Written comments or requests for information should be 
addressed to Mike Murray, Superintendent, Outer Banks Group, 1401 
National Park Drive, Manteo, North Carolina 27954. Comments may also be 
hand delivered to Mike Murray, Superintendent, Outer Banks Group, 1401 
National Park Drive, Manteo, North Carolina. In addition comments may 
be entered on-line in the NPS PEPC Web site at http://parkplanning.nps.gov/CAHA. To comment using PEPC, select the ``Cape 
Hatteras National Seashore ORV Management Plan/DEIS project,'' select 
``documents,'' select this ``Notice of Intent,'' and then select 
``Comment'' and enter your comments.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mike Murray, Superintendent, at 252-
473-2111, extension 148. E-mail [email protected]. Further 
information about this project may also be found on the PEPC Web site 
at http://parkplanning.nps.gov/CAHA including links to information 
about the NEPA planning process and the regulatory negotiation process.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The ORV use on the Seashore beaches predates 
establishment of the park in 1953. The ORVs (mostly 4-wheel drive 
pickup trucks and sport utility vehicles) are used to provide vehicular 
access onto the Seashore beaches for recreational and commercial 
purposes, including surf fishing, surfing, sunbathing, swimming, bird 
watching, scenic driving, commercial fishing, etc. Ranger counts of 
ORVs on the beach have reached as high as 2,200 a day on summer holiday 
weekends.
    Executive Order 11644, issued in 1972 and amended by Executive 
Order 11989 in 1977, states that Federal agencies allowing ORV use must 
designate the specific areas and trails on public lands on which the 
use of ORVs may be permitted, and areas in which the use of ORVs may 
not be permitted. Agency regulations to authorize ORV use shall provide 
that designation of such areas and trails will be based upon the 
protection of the resources of the public lands, promotion of the 
safety of all users of those lands, and minimization of conflicts among 
the various uses of those lands. Executive Order 11644 was issued in 
response to the widespread and rapidly increasing use of ORV on the 
public lands--``often for legitimate purposes but also in frequent 
conflict with wise land and resource management practices, 
environmental values, and other types of recreational activity.'' 
Therefore, in accordance with the Executive Order, the purpose of this 
action is to develop an ORV Management Plan/EIS that considers 
alternative management strategies consistent with the park's enabling 
legislation, and park mandates for preservation of resources and 
values.
    An ORV Management Plan is needed because lack of an approved plan 
over time has led to inconsistent management of ORV use. As the 
popularity of the Seashore continues to grow, conflicts between 
visitors who

[[Page 71553]]

seek access to the Seashore by means of an ORV and those desiring a 
variety of other experiences has increased. Related to the need to 
provide consistency in ORV management is the need to provide 
consistency in resource protection in areas of ORV use, particularly as 
required under the Endangered Species Act of 1973. Compounding these 
issues, the Seashore is also subject to dynamic weather-related events 
that continually change the beach, and sometimes limit the area that 
can be accessed safely by ORVs. Therefore, the need for action is to: 
(1) Provide a comprehensive plan that complies with Executive Orders 
11644 and 11989 respecting ORV use, and with laws (e.g. the NPS Organic 
Act, park enabling legislation, Endangered Species Act, Migratory Bird 
Treaty Act), NPS regulations (36 CFR 4.10), and policies to minimize 
impacts to park resources and values; and, (2) Develop and assess a 
range of options within the plan that provides for a variety of visitor 
experiences, including access for ORV use, to the degree these 
experiences are consistent with the park's enabling legislation.
    The ORV Management Plan/EIS will cover lands administered by the 
NPS on Bodie, Hatteras, and Ocracoke Islands on the Outer Banks of 
North Carolina. The 5,880 acre Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge 
(Refuge), located at the northern end of Hatteras Island, is part of 
the Seashore, but is administered for refuge purposes by the U.S. Fish 
and Wildlife Service (USFWS) in accordance with the National Wildlife 
Refuge System Administration Act, 16 U.S.C. 668dd et seq. The USFWS is 
responsible for determining whether ORVs are compatible with the 
purposes of the Refuge; therefore Refuge lands are excluded from the 
Seashore ORV Management Plan/EIS.
    During initial internal scoping the NPS interdisciplinary team 
identified a number of draft objectives for the ORV Management Plan/
EIS, including:
    Management Methodology: Identify criteria to designate appropriate 
ORV use areas and routes.
    Visitor Use and Experience: Manage ORV use to allow for a variety 
of visitor use experiences. Minimize conflicts between ORV use and 
other uses. Provide for ORV use for those activities consistent with 
park resource conservation as recognized under the Seashore's enabling 
legislation.
    Threatened, Endangered, and Species of Special Concern: Provide 
protection for threatened, endangered, and sensitive species and their 
habitats from adverse impacts related to ORV use.
    Because the management of ORVs at the Seashore has been 
controversial, the NPS has arranged through an interagency agreement 
with the U.S. Institute for Environmental Conflict Resolution for a 
neutral facilitation team to assess the feasibility of using negotiated 
rulemaking to reach a consensus agreement among interested parties that 
may be used as a basis for an NPS ORV special regulation. Based on the 
feasibility assessment, the NPS is developing a Notice of Intent to 
Establish a Negotiated Rulemaking Committee which would be published 
separately in the Federal Register for public comment. If a committee 
is established, the negotiated rulemaking and NEPA planning processes 
would be conducted concurrently.
    Before including your address, phone number, e-mail address, or 
other personal identifying information in your comment, you should be 
aware that your entire comment--including your personal identifying 
information--may be made publicly available at any time. While you can 
ask us in your comment to withhold your personal identifying 
information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be 
able to do so.
    The draft and final ORV Management Plan/EIS will be made available 
to all known interested parties and appropriate agencies. Full public 
participation by Federal, State, and local agencies as well as other 
concerned organizations and private citizens is invited throughout the 
preparation process of this document.
    The responsible official for this ORV Management Plan/EIS is 
Patricia A. Hooks, Regional Director, Southeast Region, National Park 
Service, 100 Alabama Street, SW., 1924 Building, Atlanta, Georgia 
30303.

    Dated: December 1, 2006.
Paul B. Hartwig,
Acting Regional Director, Southeast Region.
 [FR Doc. E6-20961 Filed 12-8-06; 8:45 am]
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