[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 136 (Friday, July 16, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 41512-41514]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-17327]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service
Draft Environmental Impact Statement/General Management Plan;
Ross Lake National Recreation Area, Skagit and Whatcom Counties, WA;
Notice of Availability
SUMMARY: Pursuant to Sec. 102(2)(C) of the National Environmental
Policy Act of 1969 (Pub. L. 91-190, as amended), and the Council on
Environmental Quality Regulations (40 CFR part 1500-1508), the National
Park Service (NPS), Department of the Interior, has prepared a draft
environmental impact statement for the proposed General Management Plan
(GMP) for Ross Lake National Recreation Area (Ross Lake NRA) in
Washington State. Ross Lake NRA is one of three units comprising the
North Cascades National Park Service Complex. The draft GMP describes
three ``action'' alternatives that respond to both NPS planning
requirements and to the public's concerns and issues, identified during
the scoping and public involvement process. Each alternative presents
management strategies for resource protection and preservation,
education and interpretation, visitor use and facilities, land
protection and boundaries, and long-term operations and management of
Ross Lake NRA.
The potential environmental consequences of all the alternatives,
and mitigation strategies, are identified and analyzed in the DEIS. In
addition to the ``action'' alternatives, a ``no action'' baseline
alternative is considered, and the ``environmentally preferred'' course
of action is identified. This GMP will replace portions of the 1988
North Cascades NPS Complex GMP that provided early guidance for
managing Ross Lake NRA.
Background: A Notice of Intent formally announcing preparation of
the GMP and draft environmental impact statement (DEIS) was published
in the Federal Register on October 30, 2006. The NPS also publicized
the public scoping period and invited public comment through
newsletters, press releases, correspondence, public workshops, informal
meetings, and Web site announcements. Preliminary public outreach began
in late September 2006 with release of an initial newsletter announcing
onset of the planning process and soliciting feedback on issues to be
addressed in the plan; the newsletter was mailed to approximately 350
individuals and entities on the mailing list.
An extensive public outreach effort was undertaken to elicit early
public comment regarding issues and concerns, the nature and extent of
potential environmental impacts, and possible alternatives that should
be addressed in drafting the GMP. Agencies, organizations, governmental
representatives, and tribal governments were sent letters of invitation
to attend the public workshops or individual meetings. Press releases
were distributed to local and regional news media. In addition, the
conservation planning effort was launched on the http://parkplanning.nps.gov/rola and the http://www.nps.gov/rola Web sites to
provide ready access to information about Ross Lake NRA and the GMP
process. News articles featuring the public workshops were published in
the local Courier Times and East Skagit Community News and announced on
private and public radio stations. The public was invited to submit
comments by regular mail, e-mail, fax, online, and at public workshops
and individual meetings.
Seven public workshops were hosted in western Washington and
southern British Columbia during October 2006; meetings began with a
presentation of Ross Lake NRA and the GMP planning process, then
transitioned into a facilitated group discussion format. Meetings were
held in Washington State in Concrete, Marblemount, Sedro-Woolley,
Seattle and Bellingham, and in Surrey and Chilliwack, British Columbia.
A total of 63 people attended the meetings overall.
During the initial scoping period, correspondence was received from
over 80 individuals and organizations that yielded over 750 specific
comments. All comments received were carefully reviewed by the NPS
interdisciplinary planning team in preparing the DEIS/GMP, and are
preserved in the project administrative record.
The NPS conducted an additional round of public involvement at the
draft alternatives phase to ensure full public awareness of the
proposed range of alternatives. The primary purpose of this planning
step was to understand the public's concerns and preferences with
regard to the range of draft alternatives and to assist the planning
team in refining the draft alternatives and selecting a preferred
alternative. This effort was initiated in February 2008 when the NPS
produced and mailed the Draft Alternatives Newsletter to approximately
450 contacts on Ross Lake NRA's mailing list (it was also announced on
the project Web sites). The Newsletter fully outlined concepts and
actions in the draft alternatives and proposed management zones, and
contained a business reply questionnaire providing an option for the
public to comment on the four draft alternatives. Press releases were
prepared and mailed to local media in advance of the public meetings. A
total of 32 written responses concerning the draft alternatives were
received in the form of letters, e-mails, newsletter questionnaires,
and internet comments. The NPS also hosted four public workshops in
Concrete, Sedro-Woolley, Bellingham, and Seattle in February and March
2008. Seventy people participated in the public workshops and provided
oral comments. In total 539 individual comments were received on the
draft alternatives and covered a broad range of topics, issues, and
recommendations for Ross Lake NRA.
Proposed Plan and Alternatives: Alternative A is the ``no action''
alternative and assumes that existing programming, facilities,
staffing, and funding would generally continue at their current levels.
This alternative serves as a baseline for comparison in evaluating the
changes and impacts of the three ``action'' alternatives. This
alternative emphasizes continued protection of the values of Ross Lake
NRA without substantially increasing staff, programs, funding support,
or facilities. Resource preservation and protection would continue to
be high priority, and park staff would continue to work with
neighboring agencies for collaborative ecosystem management. Management
of visitor use and facilities would generally continue through existing
levels and types of service and regulation. Additional visitor
facilities, such as new buildings, structures, roads, parking areas,
camping areas, and trails, would not be constructed. The park would
react to catastrophic events and
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any ensuing destruction of visitor facilities on a case-by-case basis,
which could result in a net loss of visitor facilities.
Alternative B (agency-preferred) focuses on managing Ross Lake NRA
as a gateway to millions of acres of wild lands, providing enhanced
visitor opportunities along the North Cascades Highway and making
better use of facilities along that corridor, while ensuring the long
term stewardship of natural resources, cultural resources, and
Wilderness. The North Cascades Highway corridor would be managed to
provide a variety of day-use and overnight recreational opportunities
for visitors with a range of abilities and interests. Management of
Wilderness and backcountry areas would focus on ecosystem preservation
and compatible recreational activities. Interpretation and education
would be a key component of this alternative, emphasizing ``hands-on''
experiential learning and stewardship programs delivered by both the
NPS and its partners.
Recreation in Ross Lake NRA would be enhanced along the North
Cascades Highway corridor through the addition of limited new
facilities, including dayhiking trails, reconfigured parking areas, a
new Wilderness Information Center, and the modest expansion of
overnight facilities and concessions. Recreation in the Wilderness and
backcountry areas of Ross Lake NRA, including Ross Lake, would focus on
providing visitors with opportunities for solitude and connections with
the natural world. Self-propelled and non-mechanized recreation would
be encouraged throughout Ross Lake NRA. Regulations for motorized water
recreation would work to maintain the ambient character and experience
on the lakes and the Skagit River, while also moving towards cleaner
technologies. An online reservation and permit system would allow
visitors the opportunity for advance trip planning. If a catastrophic
event led to destruction of visitor facilities, the NPS would strive to
offer similar visitor facilities in the vicinity while ensuring no net
loss of visitor opportunities. Alternative B is also considered to be
``environmentally preferred.''
Alternative C emphasizes the role of Ross Lake NRA in preserving
the greater North Cascades ecosystem, which includes two additional
units of the National Park System, two national forests, as well as
provincial parks and protected areas across the Canadian border. Park
management and education efforts would focus on broader ecosystem
preservation and enhancement through coordinated regional and
international environmental stewardship. The focus of visitor
experiences would be linked to solitude, tranquility, natural
soundscapes, and scenery through traditional outdoor activities. The
NPS would actively strive to reduce habitat fragmentation throughout
Ross Lake NRA by consolidating development, eliminating certain trails,
and limiting construction of new facilities in undeveloped areas.
Structured educational and interpretive opportunities would take
precedence, and the NPS would increasingly rely on partners to deliver
educational and interpretive programs both on-site and off-site.
Alternative C would provide visitor recreational opportunities
along the North Cascades Highway. However, there would be no net
increase in miles of trail in Ross Lake NRA. In the backcountry and
Wilderness, Alternative C would focus on resource preservation and
enhancement and limiting and/or restricting some recreational uses.
Seaplanes would not be allowed to land on lakes, and the NPS would
recommend restricting commercial scenic air tours within Ross Lake NRA
to protect and enhance soundscapes and wilderness character,
experience, and values. Should a catastrophic weather event result in
destruction of visitor facilities, natural geomorphological processes
would be allowed to occur unimpeded wherever possible and affected
facilities, including Colonial and Goodell Campgrounds, would be closed
and restored to natural conditions.
Alternative D focuses on improving connections between visitors and
the outdoors through a variety of enhanced recreation and learning
opportunities. The emphasis of park management would be to diversify
Ross Lake NRA's visitor base and build stewardship through more
``hands-on'' experiential recreation and education opportunities.
Interpretive and educational programs would be offered by both the NPS
and partners with expanded offerings in the backcountry and limited
areas in Wilderness. Park management would continue to protect
resources and minimize impacts from visitor use.
Overnight accommodations, several new trails, and additional
visitor amenities would expand visitor opportunities in Ross Lake NRA
primarily along the North Cascades Highway corridor. The public
functions of the Wilderness Information Center would be moved to an
easily accessible location on Highway 20. A wide variety of
recreational activities would be allowed throughout Ross Lake NRA, and
there would be fewer restrictions on recreational activities than under
the other alternatives. An online reservation and permit system would
allow visitors the opportunity for advance trip planning. In the event
of a catastrophic event and destruction of any visitor facilities, the
NPS would close affected facilities and build new facilities on other
locations to ensure no net loss of visitor opportunities.
Elements Common to All Action Alternatives: Several proposed
actions are common to all action alternatives. Among those actions, the
NPS would work with Seattle City Light to exchange lands at Diablo
Townsite and plan for future management and use of the Hollywood site.
Thunder Creek Potential Wilderness Area would be converted to
Wilderness and included in the Stephen Mather Wilderness. Climate
change impacts and Ross Lake NRA's carbon footprint would be addressed
through a variety of strategies and actions including the reduction of
emissions, use of green energy, adaptive management, and support for
scientific research and educational programs.
Public Review and Comment: The Draft GMP/EIS is now available for
public review. All comments must be postmarked or otherwise provided
not later than September 30, 2010. Comments may be submitted using any
one of several methods. Your response may be transmitted via the
project Web site at http://parkplanning.nps.gov/rola. A postage-paid
comment response form included in the Draft General Management Plan
Alternatives Newsletter may be used. Letters may also be mailed to the
Superintendent, North Cascades NPS Complex, 810 State Route 20, Sedro-
Woolley, Washington 98284. Finally, comments may be made in person or
hand delivered at one of the upcoming public workshops that the park
expects to conduct in late July 2010. Confirmed details on dates,
times, and locations for workshops will be announced in local
newspapers, in the Draft General Management Plan Alternatives
Newsletter, and on the project Web sites; current information may also
be obtained via telephone at (360) 854-7200.
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
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cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so.
Decision Process: Following the opportunity to review the DEIS/GMP,
all comments received will be carefully considered in preparing the
final document. This document is anticipated to be completed during the
fall and winter of 2010 and its availability will be similarly
announced in the Federal Register and via local and regional press
media. As a delegated EIS, the official responsible for the final
decision is the Regional Director, Pacific West Region; subsequently
the official responsible for implementation of the approved GMP would
be the Superintendent, North Cascades NPS Complex.
Dated: May 28, 2010.
George J. Turnbull,
Acting Regional Director, Pacific West Region.
[FR Doc. 2010-17327 Filed 7-15-10; 8:45 am]
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