[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 59 (Monday, March 29, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Page 15457]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-6944]



[[Page 15457]]

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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service


Notice of Availability of Final Elk Management Plan and 
Environmental Impact Statement for Theodore Roosevelt National Park, 
North Dakota

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 Final Elk Management Plan and 
Environmental Impact Statement (Plan/EIS) for Theodore Roosevelt 
National Park, North Dakota (Park).

DATES: The final Plan/EIS will remain available for public review for 
30 days following the publishing of the notice of availability in the 
Federal Register by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

ADDRESSES: The Plan/EIS is available via the Internet through the NPS 
Planning, Environment, and Public Comment Web site (http://parkplanning.nps.gov/THRO); click on the link to Elk Management Plan/
EIS. You may also obtain a copy of the final Plan/EIS by sending a 
request to the Superintendent, Theodore Roosevelt National Park, P.O. 
Box 7, Medora, North Dakota 58645-0007.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Park is proposing to manage its elk 
population to prevent impacts to other natural resources in the Park, 
which would likely occur as the herd size increases. The principal tool 
(translocation of live elk) the Park had been using to keep population 
numbers within management goals is no longer an option because of a an 
NPS policy issued in 2002 prohibiting translocation of elk from NPS 
units unless enough elk are tested to ensure that CWD is not present in 
the herd. The test for CWD is lethal to elk, and since 2002 the park 
has not tested enough elk to ensure the herd is free of CWD. Therefore, 
translocations for the purposes of population reduction have not 
occurred since 2000. This planning process was needed to examine 
alternatives to translocation. The purpose of this EIS is to develop 
and implement an elk management strategy compatible with the long term 
protection and preservation of park resources.
    The NPS prepared a draft plan/EIS and made it available for public 
review for 90 days, from December 17, 2008 to March 19, 2009. Five 
public meetings on the draft Plan/EIS were held across the State of 
North Dakota from February 23, 2009, to February 28, 2009. The NPS 
preferred and environmentally preferable alternatives were announced in 
a separate newsletter and made available for public comment for 30 
days, from August 10, 2009 to September 9, 2009. Comments on both the 
draft Plan/EIS and the preferred and environmentally preferable 
alternatives were considered from individuals, groups, and public 
agencies on a range of issues.
    The preferred alternative utilizes a suite of options contained in 
Alternatives B (direct reduction with firearms), C (roundup and 
euthanasia), and D (roundup and translocation) to meet the purpose, 
need, and objectives of the Plan/EIS. This alternative was preferred 
because it will effectively reduce and maintain the herd size to target 
population goals while protecting park resources. This alternative will 
not overly burden other agencies or landowners, and does not require 
the Park to manage elk beyond its jurisdiction. It will provide for 
control by the NPS for selecting which animals will be removed, and 
also the time and place of removal. It may also provide robust samples 
for CWD screening, which is a critical issue for the Park, North Dakota 
Game and Fish Department, ranchers, and others.
    The preferred alternative will primarily make use of skilled public 
volunteers to assist the Park with culling the elk herd through the use 
of firearms. The Park would not pay private contractors or outside 
individuals to shoot elk. The initial reduction phase would reduce the 
elk herd, now estimated at 1,000 elk, to approximately 200 elk within 
five years, by removing approximately 275 elk per year. Following the 
initial reduction phase, the Park would take an additional 20 to 24 elk 
per year for the remaining ten years of the Plan in order to maintain a 
consistent population level. For both the initial reduction phase and 
the maintenance phase, the number of elk taken outside the Park would 
be used to refine the number of elk that must be removed from the Park 
each year in order to meet the population goals. Following each year of 
the initial reduction phase, the NPS will evaluate the program in order 
to determine if its population goals are being met. If population goals 
are being achieved, the park will continue with the use of firearms. 
Should the park determine that its population goals are not being met 
following the first two years of the initial reduction phase, it would 
continue with direct reduction activities but would also have the 
ability to use a roundup or other capture methods and then euthanize 
and/or translocate elk in order to meet its population objectives. 
Should the park need to capture animals, whether elk are euthanized or 
translocated will depend on whether adequate sampling has occurred to 
meet chronic wasting disease (CWD) surveillance goals, whether CWD is 
detected in the herd and whether there are willing recipients that can 
meet all Federal and State requirements to transport and receive live 
elk.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Contact Superintendent Valerie Naylor, 
Theodore Roosevelt National Park, at the address above or by telephone 
at 701-623-4466.

    Dated: February 2, 2010.
Ernest Quintana,
Regional Director, Midwest Region.
[FR Doc. 2010-6944 Filed 3-26-10; 8:45 am]
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