[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 229 (Wednesday, November 26, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 72078-72079]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-28232]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service


Notice of Intent To Prepare a General Management Plan/ 
Environmental Impact Statement for Mount Rushmore National Memorial, SD

AGENCY: National Park Service, Department of the Interior.

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare a General Management Plan/ 
Environmental Impact Statement for Mount Rushmore National Memorial, 
South Dakota.

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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) is announcing its intent to prepare a General Management Plan/
Environmental Impact Statement (GMP/EIS) for Mount Rushmore National 
Memorial (Memorial), South Dakota. This effort will update the 1980 
GMP.
    The GMP/EIS will establish the overall direction for the Memorial, 
setting broad management goals for managing the area over the next 15 
to 20 years. The GMP/EIS will prescribe desired resource conditions and 
visitor experiences that are to be achieved and maintained throughout 
the Memorial based on such factors as the Memorial's purpose, 
significance, special mandates, the body of laws and policies directing 
Memorial management, resource analysis, and the range of public 
expectations and concerns. The GMP/EIS also will outline the kinds of 
resource management activities, visitor activities, and developments 
that would be appropriate in the Memorial in the future.
    A range of reasonable alternatives for managing the Memorial will 
be developed through this planning process and will include, at a 
minimum, a no-action and a preferred alternative. Major issues the GMP/
EIS will address include changes in visitor use patterns and special 
events, adequacy and sustainability of existing facilities for visitor 
opportunities and activities and for Memorial operations, and 
partnership roles and opportunities. The need for new facilities such 
as maintenance, museum curation and storage, and interpretation will be 
examined. The GMP/EIS will evaluate the potential environmental effects 
of the alternative management approaches.
    As the first phase of the planning process, the NPS is beginning to 
scope the issues to be addressed in the GMP/EIS. All interested 
persons, organizations, Agencies, and Tribes are encouraged to submit 
comments and suggestions on issues and concerns that should be 
addressed in the GMP/EIS, and the range of appropriate alternatives 
that should be examined.

DATES: The NPS will begin public scoping soon. Public scoping meetings 
regarding the GMP, including specific dates, times, and locations, will 
be announced in the local media, at the Web site http://parkplanning.nps.gov/, or by contacting the Superintendent.

ADDRESSES: General park information requests or requests to be added to 
the project mailing list should be directed to: Gerard Baker, 
Superintendent, Mount Rushmore National Memorial, 13000 Highway 244, 
Building 31, Suite 1, Keystone, South Dakota 57751-0268; telephone: 
605-574-2523; e-mail: [email protected].
    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 comments to Mount Rushmore National Memorial, 13000 Highway 244, 
Building 31, Suite 1, Keystone, South Dakota 57751-0268. Once the 
public comment period commences, you may comment via the Internet at 
http://www.planning.nps.gov/; simply select Mount Rushmore National 
Memorial from the list of parks, and then select the GMP/EIS. Finally, 
you may hand-deliver comments to the Memorial at the address above.
    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) 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.

[[Page 72079]]


FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, CONTACT: Greg Jarvis, Project Manager, 
Planning Division, Denver Service Center, National Park Service, 12795 
West Alameda Parkway, P.O. Box 25287, Denver, Colorado 80225-0287; 
telephone: 303-969-2263; or e-mail: [email protected]. General 
information about Mount Rushmore National Memorial is available on the 
Internet at http://www.nps.gov/moru.

    Dated: November 4, 2008.
Ernest Quintana,
Regional Director, Midwest Region.
 [FR Doc. E8-28232 Filed 11-25-08; 8:45 am]
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