[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 128 (Monday, July 6, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Page 38463]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-16481]


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DEPARTMENT OF INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-SERO-BICY-17490; PPSESEROC3, PMP00UP05.YP0000]


Determination of Eligibility for Consideration as Wilderness 
Areas, Intent To Prepare Wilderness Study, Big Cypress National 
Preserve

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of determination of wilderness eligibility for lands in 
Big Cypress National Preserve and intent to expand the scope of the 
Backcountry Access Plan (BAP)/Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to 
include a wilderness study.

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SUMMARY: The National Park Service (NPS) has completed a Wilderness 
Eligibility Assessment to determine if lands within the original 1974 
legislated boundary of Big Cypress National Preserve (Preserve) meet 
criteria indicating eligibility for preservation as wilderness. Based 
on the assessment, the NPS has concluded that of the 557,065 acres 
assessed, 188,323 acres meet the eligibility criteria.
    In accordance with NPS Management Policies 2006, Section 6.2.2, the 
scope of the BAP/EIS currently being prepared for the Preserve will be 
expanded to include a wilderness study to determine if any portions of 
the Preserve should be recommended for inclusion in the National 
Wilderness Preservation System as defined in the Wilderness Act of 
1964. A notice of intent to prepare an EIS with the BAP was published 
in the Federal Register of March 11, 2014. This additional notice is 
being published in accordance with the Council on Environmental 
Quality's regulations implementing the National Environmental Policy 
Act of 1969 (NEPA), specifically 40 CFR 1501.7.
    The NPS will conduct public meetings in the local area to receive 
further input from interested parties on issues, concerns, and 
suggestions pertinent to backcountry use and access and wilderness 
designation within the Preserve. The comment period will be announced 
through local media outlets, at the meetings, and on the backcountry 
access plan Web site at http://parkplanning.nps.gov/bicy.

DATES: The date, time, and location of public meetings will be 
announced through the NPS Planning, Environment, and Public Comment 
(PEPC) Web site http://parkplanning.nps.gov/bicy, the Preserve Web 
site, and in local media outlets.

ADDRESSES: Maps and descriptions of eligible lands are on file at Big 
Cypress National Preserve Headquarters, 33100 Tamiami Trail East, 
Ochopee, Florida 34141-1000 and available on the backcountry access 
plan Web site at http://parkplanning.nps.gov/bicy.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for further information 
should be directed to Big Cypress National Preserve Chief of 
Interpretation Bob DeGross by phone at 239-695-1107, via email at 
[email protected], or by mail at Big Cypress National Preserve, 33100 
Tamiami Trail, East Ochopee, Florida 34141.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Preserve staff reviewed the Primary 
Eligibility Criteria in Section 6.2.1.1 of the NPS Management Policies 
2006 to evaluate the Preserve's wilderness eligibility. This wilderness 
eligibility assessment was prepared in support of the Preserve's 
Backcountry Access Plan/Environmental Impact Statement. More detailed 
analysis and intensive review of the eligibility of these lands will be 
carried out through a formal wilderness study in the context of the 
BAP/EIS. According to NPS Director's Order 41, the completed wilderness 
study may result in revised eligibility determinations for lands within 
the original Preserve as well as the identification of a need to re-
assess adjacent areas added to the Preserve in 1988.
    Public notices announcing the Preserve's intention to conduct this 
eligibility assessment were published in the Federal Register on 
December 15, 2014, and through a press release sent to local media 
outlets on September 12, 2014.

    Dated: June 29, 2015.
Shawn T. Benge,
Deputy Regional Director, Southeast Region.
[FR Doc. 2015-16481 Filed 7-2-15; 8:45 am]
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