[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 156 (Tuesday, August 12, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 46916-46917]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-18572]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service


Notice of Intent To Prepare a General Management Plan and 
Environmental Impact Statement for the Ice Age National Scenic Trail 
Interpretive Site and Cross Plains Unit of the Ice Age National 
Scientific Reserve, WI

AGENCY: National Park Service, Department of the Interior.

ACTION: Notice of Intent to Prepare a General Management Plan and 
Environmental Impact Statement for the Ice Age National Scenic Trail 
Interpretive Site and Cross Plains Unit of the Ice Age National 
Scientific Reserve, Wisconsin.

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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) with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR), is 
preparing a General Management Plan/Environmental Impact Statement 
(GMP/EIS) for the Ice Age National Scenic Trail (NST) Interpretive Site 
and Cross Plains Unit of the Ice Age National Scientific Reserve in 
Wisconsin. The GMP/EIS will prescribe the resource conditions and 
visitor experiences that are to be achieved and maintained in these 
areas over the next 15 to 20 years.
    To facilitate sound planning and environmental assessment, the NPS 
intends to gather information necessary for the preparation of the GMP/
EIS and obtain suggestions and information from other Agencies and the 
public on the scope of issues to be addressed in the GMP/EIS. Because 
the planning area involves a complex of public lands with different 
State and Federal designations, the NPS is partnering with the 
Wisconsin DNR in developing this plan. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife 
Service will participate in the planning team. Comments and 
participation in this scoping process are invited. Participation in the 
planning process will be encouraged and facilitated by various means, 
including newsletters and open house meetings. The NPS will conduct 
public scoping meetings to explain the planning process and to solicit 
opinions about issues to address in the GMP/EIS. Notification of all 
such meetings will be announced in the local press and in the NPS 
newsletters.

ADDRESSES: Additionally, if you wish to comment on any issues 
associated with the GMP/EIS, you may submit your comments by any one of 
several methods. You may mail or hand-deliver comments to 
Superintendent, Ice Age and North Country National Scenic Trails, 700 
Rayovac Drive, Suite 100, Madison, Wisconsin 53711. You may provide 
comments electronically by entering them into the NPS's Planning, 
Environment and Public Comment Web site http://parkplanning.nps.gov. 
Information will be available for public review and comment from the 
Office of the Superintendent at the above address.
    Requests to be added to the project mailing list should be sent to 
Manager, Ice Age NST, 700 Rayovac Drive, Suite 100, Madison, Wisconsin 
53711; telephone 608-441-5610.
    Before including your address, telephone number, e-mail address, or 
other personal identifying information in your comments, you should be 
aware that your entire comment (including your personal identifying 
information)

[[Page 46917]]

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, or 
organizations or businesses available for public inspection in their 
entirety.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Superintendent, Ice Age and North 
Country National Scenic Trails, 700 Rayovac Drive, Suite 100, Madison, 
Wisconsin 53711; telephone 608-441-5610.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The primary purpose of the Ice Age NST is to 
create an outstanding 1,000-mile hiking trail that follows the terminal 
moraines and other landscape features left by the last glacial advance 
and retreat approximately 10,000 years ago. The Ice Age National 
Scientific Reserve (Reserve), a companion project to the Ice Age NST, 
is a network of nine units that contain clusters of the most 
significant examples of landscape features formed by continental 
glaciation. The Ice Age NST and Reserve are the only authorized areas 
in the National Park System that focus on interpreting the landscape 
formed by continental glaciation. The Ice Age NST Interpretive Site 
lies within the boundary of the Wisconsin DNR Cross Plains Unit of the 
Reserve.
    The NPS efforts to establish, develop, and manage the Ice Age NST 
are guided by the 1983 Comprehensive Plan for Management and Use of the 
Ice Age NST. The plan does not address or resolve the many detailed 
issues associated with owning, operating, and organizing a major 
interpretive site along the trail, although it cites the NPS authority 
to establish such a site. The development of a new GMP/EIS for the Ice 
Age NST Interpretive Site and Cross Plains Unit of the Reserve will 
result in a long-term (15-20 year) vision for the management and 
protection of this unique area. The outcome of the GMP/EIS will achieve 
a consistent management over the entire project, identify necessary 
developments, and support facilities to achieve the desired outcomes 
for the Ice Age NST and Interpretive Site, provide direction for 
restoring and managing the significant geologic and biologic features 
on the site, and define appropriate visitor use activities.

    Dated: May 19, 2008.
Ernest Quintana,
Regional Director, Midwest Region.
[FR Doc. E8-18572 Filed 8-11-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-KN-P