[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 51 (Friday, March 15, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 16528-16529]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-06001]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-MWR-ISRO-11142; PPMWMWROW2/PPMPSAS1Y.YP0000]


Notice of Intent To Prepare a Cultural Resources Management Plan/
Environmental Impact Statement for Isle Royale National Park, Michigan

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of Intent.

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SUMMARY: The National Park Service (NPS) announces its intent to 
prepare a Cultural Resources Management Plan/Environmental Impact 
Statement (CRMP/EIS) for Isle Royale National Park (ISRO), Michigan.

DATES: This notice initiates the public scoping process for the CRMP/
EIS. Comments may be submitted in writing at any time; however comments 
will be most useful if they are made before May 1, 2013. Notices of any 
public scoping meetings regarding this CRMP/EIS, including specific 
dates, times, and locations, will be announced in the local media; in 
project newsletters; on the project Web site at http://parkplanning.nps.gov/ISROcrmp; or may be obtained directly by 
contacting the Superintendent at the address below.

ADDRESSES: Superintendent, Isle Royale National Park, 800 East 
Lakeshore Drive, Houghton, Michigan 49931-1896. You are encouraged to 
provide comments or requests to be added to the mailing list 
electronically through the project Web site at http://parkplanning.nps.gov/ISROcrmp or by contacting the Superintendent.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Superintendent Phyllis Green, Isle 
Royale National Park, 800 East Lakeshore Drive, Houghton, Michigan 
49931-1896; telephone (906) 482-0984. You may also contact Liz 
Valencia, Chief of Interpretation/Cultural Resources; telephone (906) 
487-7153; or Seth DePasqual, Cultural Resource Manager; telephone (906) 
487-7146 for information related to this notice.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: We, the NPS, are announcing our intent to 
prepare a CRMP/EIS. This effort will result in a plan for future 
management of cultural resources at ISRO.
    This CRMP/EIS tiers from the 1998 General Management Plan (GMP) to 
develop a comprehensive strategy for managing cultural resources that 
would ensure consistent and appropriate identification, preservation 
treatment, and interpretation of these resources. The ISRO enabling 
legislation and the National Historic Preservation Act (16 U.S.C. 470 
et seq.), as well as the Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 1131-36) and other 
laws and policies, will frame the decision-making for the CRMP/EIS. The 
CRMP/EIS will establish the overall management direction for ISRO 
cultural resources over the next 15-20 years and will integrate 
cultural resource management goals and objectives within the context of 
other key ISRO resources and values.
    Cultural resources include archeological resources, cultural 
landscapes, ethnographic resources, museum objects, and historic 
structures. Some of these resources are eligible for inclusion on the 
National Register of Historic Places. A large portion of ISRO is water 
and has many submerged cultural resources, from shipwrecks to the 
artifacts from previous inhabitants. All but a small fraction of the 
ISRO landmass is wilderness (this wilderness does not extend into the 
water), and a mix of cultural sites can be found in wilderness and non-
wilderness areas.
    The CRMP/EIS will prescribe desired resource conditions and visitor 
experiences to be achieved and maintained for cultural resources based 
on the park purpose and significance, special mandates, the body of NPS 
and historic preservation laws and policies, resource condition 
analysis, and by taking into consideration the range of public 
expectations and concerns. The CRMP/EIS will also outline a variety of 
resource management activities, visitor activities, and developments 
with regard to cultural resources that would be appropriate at ISRO in 
the future. A full range of reasonable alternatives for the management, 
treatment, and interpretation of cultural resources will be developed 
through this planning process and will include, at minimum, a no-action 
and a preferred alternative. The potential environmental effects of 
each alternative will be evaluated.
    The purpose of the formal public scoping process is to determine 
relevant issues that will influence the scope of the environmental 
analysis, including alternatives, and guide the process for developing 
the CRMP/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 CRMP/EIS, and the range of 
appropriate alternatives that should be examined.
    The NPS will use the public involvement process established by the 
National Environmental Policy Act (42 U.S.C. 4321- 4347) to satisfy the 
requirements of Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act 
(16

[[Page 16529]]

U.S.C. 470f), as provided for in 36 CFR 800.2(d)(3). Federal, State, 
and local agencies that may be interested or affected by decisions 
related to this project are invited to participate in the scoping 
process and, if eligible, may request or be requested by the NPS to 
participate as a cooperating agency.
    We welcome your comments and assistance in our efforts, but before 
including your address, telephone number, email address, or other 
personal identifying information in a 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 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.

    Dated: December 21, 2012.
Michael T. Reynolds,
Regional Director, Midwest Region.
[FR Doc. 2013-06001 Filed 3-14-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-MA-P