[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 74 (Wednesday, April 16, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 20711-20712]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-7983]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service


Notice of Availability of Draft General Management Plan/
Environmental Impact Statement/Wilderness Study for Sleeping Bear Dunes 
National Lakeshore.

AGENCY: National Park Service, Department of the Interior.

ACTION: Notice of Availability of Draft General Management Plan/
Environmental Impact Statement/Wilderness Study for Sleeping Bear Dunes 
National Lakeshore.

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SUMMARY: Pursuant to Section 102(2)(C) of 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 General Management Plan/
Environmental Impact Statement/Wilderness Study (GMP/EIS/WS) for 
Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, Michigan.

DATES: The draft GMP/EIS/WS will remain available for public review for 
45 days following the publishing of the notice of availability in the 
Federal Register by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Public 
meetings will be held during the 45-day review period on the GMP/EIS/WS 
in Benzie, Lelanau, and Grand Traverse Counties, Michigan, in early 
summer 2008. In concert with one of the public meetings, a hearing on 
the wilderness study will be conducted consistent with Section 3(d)(1) 
of the Wilderness Act. Specific dates and locations will be announced 
in local and regional media sources of record and on the national 
lakeshore's Web site.
    You may submit your comments by any one of several methods. You may 
comment via the Internet through the national lakeshore's Web site at 
http://www.nps.gov/slbe; simply click on the GMP page. You may also 
comment via the Internet through the NPS Planning, Environment, and 
Public Comment Web

[[Page 20712]]

site (http://parkplanning.nps.gov); simply click on the link to 
Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. You may mail comments to 
Superintendent Shultz, Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, 9922 
Front Street, Empire, Michigan 49630-9797. You may contact the 
Superintendent by facsimile at 231-326-5382. Finally, you may hand-
deliver comments to the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore 
headquarters at the address above.

ADDRESSES: Copies of the draft GMP/EIS/WS are available from the 
Superintendent, Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, 9922 Front 
Street, Empire, Michigan 49630-9797.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This GMP/EIS/WS will guide the management of 
the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore for the next 25 years. The 
draft GMP/EIS/WS considers five draft conceptual alternatives--a no-
action and four action alternatives, including the NPS preferred 
alternative. The draft GMP/EIS/WS assesses impacts to a variety of 
natural resources, a variety of cultural resources, visitor 
opportunities and use, wilderness character, socioeconomics, and NPS 
operations.
    The NPS preferred alternative manages the national lakeshore 
primarily for preservation of its natural resources and for the 
opportunities it provides for visitor enjoyment of the natural, 
cultural and recreational resources in scenic outdoor settings. In 
addition, the Wilderness Act, the enabling legislation for the national 
lakeshore, and the NPS management policies require that all lands 
administered by the NPS at the national lakeshore be evaluated for 
their suitability for inclusion within the national wilderness 
preservation system. The purpose of the wilderness study, incorporated 
into the GMP/EIS is to determine if and where lands and waters within 
the national lakeshore should be proposed for wilderness designation. 
The study identifies possible wilderness configurations within the park 
and evaluates their effects. The NPS preferred alternative proposes 
32,200 acres for wilderness designation. Based on the findings of this 
study, a formal wilderness proposal will be submitted to the Director 
of the NPS for approval and subsequent consideration by the U.S. 
Department of the Interior, the President of the United States, and 
Congress under the provisions of the Wilderness Act.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Superintendent Shultz, Sleeping Bear 
Dunes National Lakeshore, at the address or telephone number above.
    Before including your address, telephone number, electronic mail 
address, or other personal identifying information in your comments, 
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 comments to withhold your personal 
identifying information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we 
will be able to do so. We will make all submissions from organizations 
or businesses, from individuals identifying themselves as 
representatives or officials of organizations or businesses, available 
for public inspection in their entirety.

    Dated: March 12, 2008.
Ernest Quintana,
Regional Director, Midwest Region.
[FR Doc. E8-7983 Filed 4-15-08; 8:45 am]
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