[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 113 (Wednesday, June 11, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 33111-33112]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-12839]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service


Off-Road Vehicle Management Plan (ORV Management Plan), 
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), Lake Meredith National Recreation 
Area, Texas

AGENCY: National Park Service, Department of the Interior.

ACTION: Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement 
(EIS) for an Off-Road Vehicle Management Plan (ORV Management Plan) for 
Lake Meredith National Recreation Area, Texas.

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SUMMARY: Pursuant to the National Environmental Act of 1969, 42 U.S.C. 
4332(2)(C), the National Park Service is preparing an Environmental 
Impact Statement for an Off-Road Vehicle Management Plan (ORV 
Management Plan) for Lake Meredith National Recreation Area, Texas. 
This effort will result in an ORV Management Plan/EIS that will be used 
to guide the management and control of ORVs at the Recreation Area for 
approximately the next 15 to 20 years. It will also form the basis for 
a special regulation that will regulate ORV use at the Recreation Area. 
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 soils, wetlands, wildlife, cultural 
resources, visitor experience, and public safety.
    Lake Meredith Recreation Area was established in 1964 for the 
administration of public recreational facilities at the Sanford 
Reservoir area, Canadian River project, Texas. In 1990 Congress 
designated Lake Meredith a National Recreation Area to ``provide for 
public outdoor recreation use and enjoyment of the lands and waters 
associated with Lake Meredith in the State of Texas, and to protect the 
scenic, scientific, cultural, and other values contributing to the 
public enjoyment of such lands and waters,'' (Pub. L. 101-628, 16 
U.S.C. 46Oeee, November 28, 1990). Lake Meredith offers many 
recreational uses including boating, swimming, fishing, hunting and ORV 
use. Lake Meredith currently has two areas designated as ORV areas, 
Rosita (~1,740 acres) and Blue Creek (~275 acres). These areas were 
designated by special regulation, 36 CFR 7.57. Both areas were utilized 
by the local community for recreational use prior to the establishment 
of the Sanford Reservoir Project in 1965.
    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 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 ORVs 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.'' Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) 36 
Sec.  4.10 requires that ``Routes and areas designated for off-road 
motor vehicle use shall be promulgated as special regulations.'' ``In 
addition, such routes and areas may only be designated in national 
recreation areas, national seashores, national lakeshores and national 
preserves.'' Therefore, in accordance with the Executive Order, the 
purpose of this plan/EIS is to manage ORV use in compliance with the 
Recreation Area's enabling legislation, NPS management policies, and 
other laws and regulations to ensure protection of the natural, 
cultural, and recreational values of the Recreation Area's environment 
for present and future generations.
    An ORV Management Plan is needed to address the inconsistent 
management of ORV use over time, address the impacts to both cultural 
and natural resources, and address ORV use outside of the authorized 
areas. Specifically, an ORV Management Plan is needed to: (1) Comply 
with Executive Orders 11644 and 11989 respecting ORV use, and with NPS 
laws, regulations (36 CFR 4.10), and policies to minimize impacts to 
Recreation Area resources and values; (2) Provide for sustainable 
recreational ORV use areas; (3) Address the lack of an approved plan, 
which has led to ORV use outside of authorized areas; (4) Address 
resource impacts resulting from ORV use; and (5) Address the change in 
numbers, power, range and capabilities of ORVs. The ORV Management 
Plan/DEIS will cover all lands administered by the NPS at the 
Recreation Area.
    Through internal scoping efforts, several draft objectives were 
outlined for the EIS:
    Visitor Use and Safety: Manage ORV use to minimize conflicts among 
different ORV users; promote safe

[[Page 33112]]

operation of ORVs and safety of all visitors.
    Management: Build stewardship through public awareness and 
understanding of NPS resource management and visitor use policy and 
responsibilities as they pertain to the recreation area and ORV 
management; develop a monitoring plan that allows the park to establish 
the number of ORVs the park is able to support.
    Park Operations: Identify needs and costs necessary to implement an 
ORV plan; minimize impacts to park operations and costs necessary to 
implement an ORV plan.
    Natural Resources: Minimize adverse impacts to threatened, 
endangered, and other protected species and their habitats; define 
effective strategies for soil erosion control and restoration of plant 
resources to support wildlife populations.
    Cultural Resources: Preserve and protect significant cultural 
resources within the recreation area; work with interested parties to 
identify cultural resources that could be adversely affected by ORV 
use.
    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.

DATES: The Park Service will accept comments from the public through 
July 11, 2008. 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 Recreation Area, NPS will be conducting 
public scoping meetings on July 8, 9, and 10, 2008. The NPS is planning 
to conduct the three meetings in Fritch, Dumas, and Amarillo, Texas, 
respectively. Representatives of the NPS will be available to discuss 
issues, resource concerns, and the planning process at each of the 
public meetings. The locations, times, and dates of the public meetings 
will be published in local newspapers and posted on the NPS Planning, 
Environment, and Public Comment (PEPC) Web site at http://parkplanning.nps.gov/LAMR.

ADDRESSES: Written comments or requests for information should be 
addressed to Superintendent, Cindy Ott-Jones, Lake Meredith National 
Recreation Area, Alibates Flint Quarries National Monument, P.O. Box 
1460, Fritch, Texas 79036-1460. In addition, comments may be entered 
on-line in the NPS PEPC Web site at http://parkplanning.nps.gov/LAMR. 
To comment using PEPC, select the ``Lake Meredith National Recreation 
Area ORV Management Plan and Regulation'' project, select 
``documents,'' select this ``Notice of Intent,'' and then select 
``comment'' and enter your comments. Further information about this 
project may also be found on the PEPC Web site listed above, including 
links to information about the NEPA planning process.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Superintendent, Cindy Ott-Jones, Lake 
Meredith National Recreation Area, Alibates Flint Quarries National 
Monument, P.O. Box 1460, Fritch, Texas 79036, by e-mail at Cindy [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: If you wish to comment on this project, you 
may submit your comments by any one of several methods. You may mail 
comments to Office of the Superintendent, Lake Meredith National 
Recreation Area and Alibates Flint Quarries National Monument, P.O. Box 
1460, Fritch, Texas 79036-1460. You may also comment via the Internet 
at http://parkplanning.nps.gov. If you do not receive a confirmation 
from the system that we have received your Internet message, contact 
the park directly at Office of the Superintendent, Cindy Ott-Jones at 
806-857-3151. Finally, you may hand-deliver comments to Lake Meredith 
National Recreation Area and Alibates Flint Quarries National Monument, 
419 E. Broadway, Fritch, Texas 79036.
    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.

    Date: May 28, 2008.
John T. Crowley,
Acting Regional Director, Intermountain Region, National Park Service.
 [FR Doc. E8-12839 Filed 6-10-08; 8:45 am]
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