[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 65 (Friday, April 4, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 18929-18930]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-07349]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-IMR-GRCA-0014472; PPWONRADE2, PMP00EI05.YP0000, 13XP103905]


Environmental Impact Statement for a Bison Management Plan, Grand 
Canyon National Park, Arizona

AGENCY: National Park Service, Department of the Interior.

ACTION: Notice of Intent.

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SUMMARY: Pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, 42 
U.S.C. 4332(2)(C), the National Park Service (NPS) is preparing an 
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for a plan to address the impacts 
of the current abundance, distribution, and movement of bison on the 
natural and cultural resources of the North Rim of Grand Canyon 
National Park (GRCA).

DATES: Interested individuals, organizations, and agencies are 
encouraged to provide written comments regarding the scope of issues to 
be addressed in the EIS. To be most helpful to the planning process, 
the NPS requests comments be submitted by June 3, 2014. The NPS intends 
to hold public scoping meetings on the Bison Management Plan EIS during 
this period and has tentatively identified the following locations for 
the meetings: Kanab, Utah; Flagstaff, Arizona, and Phoenix, Arizona. 
Specific dates, times, and locations will be made available via a press 
release to local media, a public scoping newsletter to be mailed or 
emailed to interested parties, and on the NPS's Planning, Environment 
and Public Comment (PEPC) Web site at http://parkplanning.nps.gov/grca_bison_eis. The NPS will provide additional opportunities for the 
public to offer written comments upon publication of the draft EIS.

ADDRESSES: Information will be available for public review online at 
http://parkplanning.nps.gov/grca_bison_eis; in the NPS and USFS 
offices at 1824 Thompson Street, Flagstaff, Arizona 86001; the USFS 
North Kaibab Ranger District offices at 430 South Main Street, 
Fredonia, Arizona 86022; and in the Arizona Game and Fish Department 
offices at 3500 South Lake Mary Road, Flagstaff, Arizona 86001.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: A herd of bison was brought to the Grand 
Canyon region in the early 1900's as part of a private bison-cattle 
breeding experiment. The herd was eventually sold to the state of 
Arizona in 1925 and subsequently came under the jurisdiction of the 
Arizona Game and Fish Department (AGFD). In 1950, the AGFD (through an 
agreement with the U.S. Forest Service ((USFS)) established the House 
Rock Wildlife Area (HRWA) near GRCA as a place for the bison to reside. 
The AGFD managed the herd at a stable level (around 100 animals) 
through annual roundups and culling until the early 1970s, when they 
transitioned to public hunting as the sole means of managing the bison 
population.
    Between the late 1990's and 2000, fires in the area created 
opportunities for the bison herd to move out of the HRWA, onto the 
Kaibab Plateau of the Kaibab National Forest, and into the park. 
Initially, bison would return to the HRWA to calve; however, over the 
past eight years, very few have returned to HRWA and most now spend a 
majority of their time inside GRCA, with many not leaving the park at 
all. In the last few years, the abundance, distribution, and movement 
of bison in and near the park have affected the NPS's ability to 
conserve the natural and cultural resources on the North Rim of GRCA. 
In addition, the current situation limits the ability of the AGFD and 
USFS to meet their goal for managing a huntable, free-ranging bison 
herd on the Kaibab National Forest. Since 2008, a workgroup consisting 
of staff from NPS (GRCA), AGFD, and USFS, has identified research needs 
and administrative and operational challenges of long-term cooperative 
management. As the lead agency in this planning and EIS process, the 
NPS has invited the AGFD and the USFS to be cooperating agencies. 
Ultimately, the NPS selected action will provide the basis for GRCA's 
participation in a long-term, interagency approach to manage the 
current and future impacts of bison in the park, while supporting AGFD 
and USFS goals for a free-ranging bison population on the Kaibab 
National Forest.
    If you wish to comment during the scoping process, you may use any 
one of several methods. The preferred method for submitting comments is 
on the NPS PEPC Web site at http://parkplanning.nps.gov/grca_bison_eis. You may also mail or hand-deliver your comments to the 
Superintendent, Grand Canyon National Park, P.O. Box 129, Grand Canyon, 
Arizona 86023. Comments will also be accepted during public meetings; 
however, comments in any format (hard copy or electronic) submitted on 
behalf of others will not be accepted. Before including your address, 
phone number, email 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 cannot 
guarantee that we will be able to do so.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Martha Hahn, Grand Canyon National 
Park Chief of Science and Resource Management, P.O. Box 129, Grand

[[Page 18930]]

Canyon, AZ 86023, or by telephone at (928) 638-7759.

    Authority: The authority for publishing this notice is contained 
in 40 CFR 1506.6.

    The responsible official for this Notice of Intent is the Regional 
Director, Intermountain Region, NPS, 12795 West Alameda Parkway, 
Lakewood, Colorado 80228.

    Dated: February 4, 2014.
Sue E. Masica,
Regional Director, Intermountain Region.
[FR Doc. 2014-07349 Filed 4-3-14; 8:45 am]
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