[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 66 (Friday, April 6, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 17180-17181]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-6451]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service


Draft General Management Plan/Environmental Impact Statement, 
John Day Fossil Beds National Monument, Grant and Wheeler Counties, OR; 
Notice of Termination of the Environmental Impact Statement

SUMMARY: The National Park Service is terminating preparation of an 
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the General Management Plan, 
John Day Fossil Beds, Oregon. A Notice of Intent to prepare an EIS for 
the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument General Management Plan was 
published in the Federal Register on September 24, 2004 (Vol. 69, No. 
185, Pages 57362-63). Based in part on the minimal nature of public 
response to the Notice of Intent, the National Park Service has since 
determined that an Environmental Assessment rather than an EIS is the 
appropriate environmental

[[Page 17181]]

documentation for this general management plan update.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This new general management plan (GMP) will 
update the overall direction for the national monument, setting broad 
management goals for managing the area over the next 15 to 20 years. As 
noted above, the GMP was originally scoped as an EIS. However, few 
public comments were received in the scoping process. No issues with 
the potential for controversial impacts were identified for the general 
management plan. The current GMP was approved in 1979.
    In the general management planning process the NPS planning team 
developed four preliminary alternatives for the national monument, none 
of which would result in substantial changes in the operation and 
management of the area. The three ``action'' alternatives primarily 
focus on maintaining and protecting paleontological and other 
resources, and expanding interpretation and visitor opportunities where 
appropriate. The alternatives vary in their treatment of the Cant Ranch 
cultural landscape, the management of the Hancock mammal quarry, and 
the development of new trails. Preliminary analysis of the alternatives 
has revealed no major (nor significant) potential effects on the 
quality of the human environment, nor any potential for impairment of 
park resources and values. Most of the impacts from the alternatives 
are expected to be negligible to minor in magnitude, with the remainder 
being of a minor to moderate level.
    For these reasons the NPS determined that the requisite 
conservation planning and environmental impact analysis necessary for 
updating the general management plan can appropriately be completed 
through preparation of an Environmental Assessment (EA). For further 
information about this determination or other aspects of the GMP 
process, please contact: James Hammett, Superintendent, John Day Fossil 
Beds National Monument, 32651 Highway 19, Kimberly, OR 97848 
(telephone: (514) 987-2333; e-mail: [email protected]).
    Decsion Process: The draft general management plan/EA is expected 
to be distributed for public comment in the fall/winter of 2007. The 
NPS will notify the public about release of the draft general 
management plan/EA by mail, local and regional media, Web site 
postings, and other means; all announcements will include information 
on where and how to obtain a copy of the EA, how to comment on the EA, 
and the length of the public comment period. Following due 
consideration of public comments and agency consults, at this time a 
decision is expected be made in the winter of 2008. The official 
responsible for the final decision on the GMP is the Regional Director; 
subsequently the responsible official for implementing the approved GMP 
is the Superintendent, John Day Fossil Beds National Monument.

    Dated: January 26, 2007.
Jonathan B. Jarvis,
Director, Pacific West Region.
[FR Doc. E7-6451 Filed 4-5-07; 8:45 am]
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