[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 126 (Tuesday, July 1, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 37346-37347]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-15363]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service
[NPS-PWR-PWRO-15353; PPPWSEKI00/PX.P0206452A.00.1]
Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the Wilderness
Stewardship Plan, Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks, California
AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability.
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SUMMARY: The National Park Service announces the availability of a
Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the Wilderness Stewardship
Plan, Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks, California. The plan is
needed to provide management direction for two designated wilderness
areas, several potential wilderness additions, and an area of proposed
wilderness. The plan
[[Page 37347]]
provides the long-term vision for protecting wilderness character,
incorporates new research findings, and uses a new interagency planning
framework for preservation of wilderness character. The plan also
replaces the current plans-of-record, the 1986 Backcountry Management
Plan and its accompanying 1986 Stock Use and Meadow Management Plan.
DATES: All written comments must be postmarked or transmitted not later
than 60 days from the date of publication in the Federal Register of
the Environmental Protection Agency's notice of filing and release of
the DEIS. Upon confirmation of this date, we will notify all entities
on the project mailing list, and public announcements about the DEIS
review period will be posted on the project Web site http://parkplanning.nps.gov/seki and distributed via local and regional press
media.
ADDRESSES: Printed copies of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement
for the Wilderness Stewardship Plan (DEIS/WSP) will be available at
local public libraries (including Three Rivers, Visalia, Fresno,
Bakersfield, Bishop and Lone Pine) and in electronic format online at
http://parkplanning.nps.gov/seki. Written comments may be submitted
directly to this Web site, or may be submitted by mail, hand delivered,
or faxed to: Superintendent, Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks,
Attn: DEIS/WSP, 47050 Generals Highway, Three Rivers, CA 93271, Fax:
(559) 565-4202.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Please contact the Sequoia and Kings
Canyon National Parks Office of Environmental Compliance and Planning
at (559) 565-3102 to speak with an individual.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The DEIS/WSP provides direction for
management of visitors and administrative activities within the parks'
wilderness. The framework of this WSP is founded on defining the goals
and objectives for wilderness management, defining wilderness character
for the parks, describing future desired conditions for wilderness,
developing visitor use capacity, and determining the types and levels
of commercial activities that support wilderness purposes.
The DEIS/WSP addresses visitor capacity, wilderness permitting,
group size limits for people and stock, campfire regulations, camping
locations and regulations, food storage requirements, human waste
management, pack and saddle-stock regulations, stock grazing,
maintenance of facilities and trails, and management of frontcountry
facilities that support wilderness use. The DEIS/WSP also analyzes and
determines the types and extent of commercial services that are
``necessary for activities which are proper for realizing the
recreational or other wilderness purposes of the areas,'' as required
by Sec. 4(d)(5) of the Wilderness Act. The DEIS/WSP identifies and
evaluates the environmental impacts of five alternatives: the no action
alternative; and four action alternatives including a preferred
alternative. Upon approval, the Final WSP/Final EIS would be
implemented over a period of 15-20 years. The NPS is inviting public
review of the DEIS to solicit feedback on the proposed alternatives and
to gather ideas and concerns for consideration in the Final EIS.
Email comments will not be accepted. 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 would be
able to do so. All submissions from organizations and businesses, and
individuals identifying themselves as representatives or officials of
organizations or businesses, are made available for public inspection
in their entirety.
The DEIS/WSP identifies five alternatives: the no action
alternative (Alternative 1) is the continuation of the existing
management direction as provided by the 1986 Backcountry Management
Plan and its accompanying 1986 Stock Use and Meadow Management Plan;
Alternatives 2, 3, 4, and 5 (action alternatives) describe a range of
reasonable and feasible approaches to meet the purpose and need for
action and to achieve the DEIS/WSP objectives. The main variations
across the alternatives lie in the key aspects of wilderness
management--use levels, access and trails, stock use and grazing, and
recreational and administrative infrastructure--which are driven by the
different approach to management in each alternative. Each alternative
serves visitor and/or operational needs in different ways.
Alternative 2, the management preferred alternative, recognizes
that Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks wilderness can be broadly
categorized as: day use areas close to the frontcountry; popular
overnight areas like the High Sierra, John Muir, and Pacific Crest
trails; and low-use overnight areas like the Middle Fork of the Kings
and the Hockett Plateau areas. It further recognizes that current and
projected visitor use levels pose few threats to wilderness character
in the low-use areas under current management, but there may be threats
in the popular areas or in areas with sensitive resources that can be
mitigated through targeted improvements to current management.
Alternative 3 increases opportunities for primitive recreation by
allowing additional use, which is mostly expected to occur at the most
popular areas; however, allowing increased use could result in
decreased opportunities for solitude wilderness-wide. In addition, the
highest use areas would require additional development and restrictions
on visitor behavior in order to preserve the natural quality of
wilderness.
Alternative 4 emphasizes the undeveloped and non-commercial
qualities of Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks wilderness. The
removal of development and reduction of commercial services would
increase the self-reliant nature of wilderness recreation. In order to
preserve the natural quality of wilderness, the amount of commercial
use would be reduced.
Alternative 5 enhances the quality of solitude available in Sequoia
and Kings Canyon National Parks wilderness. The total numbers of
permitted visitors and group sizes would be reduced. Reduced use would
allow for a reduction in the levels of development and fewer
restrictions on visitor behavior.
Decision Process: All comments received on the DEIS/WSP will be
duly considered in preparing the Final EIS, which at this time is
expected to be available in early 2015. A Record of Decision would be
prepared no sooner than 30 days after release of the Final EIS. Because
this is a delegated EIS, the official responsible for approval of the
Wilderness Stewardship Plan is the Regional Director, Pacific West
Region, National Park Service; subsequently the official responsible
for implementation of the approved Wilderness Stewardship Plan is the
Superintendent, Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks.
Dated: May 5, 2014.
Christine S. Lehnertz,
Regional Director, Pacific West Region.
[FR Doc. 2014-15363 Filed 6-30-14; 8:45 am]
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