[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 36 (Friday, February 22, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 12352-12353]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-04129]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service
[NPS-PWR-PWRO-11651;PPPWOLYMS1]
Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for
the Wilderness Stewardship Plan, Olympic National Park, Clallam, Grays
Harbor, Jefferson and Mason County, WA
AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of Intent.
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SUMMARY: In accordance with Sec. 102(2)(C) of the National
Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (Pub. L. 91-190) Olympic National Park
is initiating the conservation planning and environmental impact
analysis process required to inform consideration of alternative
strategies for the future management of the Olympic Wilderness. In
November 1988, Congress designated about 95% (876,669 acres) of park
lands as the Olympic Wilderness. Through this planning process a
Wilderness Stewardship Plan (WSP) and Environmental Impact Statement
(EIS) will be developed to provide guidance and direction to meet the
requirements of the Wilderness Act of 1964 and 2006 NPS Management
Policies, as well as to implement actions identified in the park's 2008
General Management Plan (GMP). This process will include identifying
and analyzing a range of alternatives for achieving wilderness
stewardship objectives and conducting wilderness eligibility studies
for areas identified in the GMP Record of Decision (2008). The WSP will
identify standards, conditions, and thresholds to preserve wilderness
character, protect cultural and natural resources, and adhere to
legally mandated management and preservation requirements.
DATES: All comments must be postmarked or transmitted not later than
April 23, 2013.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: When Olympic National Park approved the
Record of Decision for the GMP/Final EIS in August 2008 (the approved
GMP is available at http://parkplanning.nps.gov/documentsList.cfm?projectID=10233), the final plan provided broad
direction for wilderness stewardship at the park, with the overarching
vision to ensure that the park's wilderness resources and character are
valued, enjoyed, protected, preserved, and restored for the benefit of
current and future generations. The GMP committed to development of a
detailed WSP for specific management actions for wilderness based on
the desired conditions and strategies prescribed in the GMP.
Accordingly, the WSP will provide detailed guidance on a variety of
topics including, but not limited to: wildlife management, cultural
resource management, trail maintenance, trail bridges, and other
necessary infrastructure in wilderness, day use and overnight use in
wilderness, wilderness permitting, use of campfires, proper food
storage, human waste management, stock use, group and party size,
camping and camp areas, ecological restoration and rehabilitation in
wilderness, scientific research activities, and commercial services.
To inform development of the WSP, the park will host a series of
public scoping meetings, which are expected to occur in Clallam,
Jefferson, Grays Harbor, Kitsap, and Mason Counties, and the greater
Seattle area during January through March 2013. Confirmed
[[Page 12353]]
details on dates, times, and locations of these meetings will be
published in a newsletter, announced via local and regional newspapers,
and posted online on the wilderness plan Web site http://parkplanning.nps.gov/olymwild. The purpose of the public scoping
meetings is to obtain pertinent environmental information, as well as
to identify park stakeholder issues and concerns that should be
addressed in the WSP. After the public scoping period is complete and
the NPS has reviewed and considered all comments, a scoping report will
be prepared and posted on the wilderness plan Web site; also, printed
copies may be obtained by contacting the park (see contact information
below).
Following the scoping phase, the wilderness planning team will
develop preliminary alternatives for wilderness stewardship. The
preliminary range of alternatives will be released for public review
and comment prior to the park's determination or development of the
agency-preferred alternative. Notification of the opportunity to review
and comment on the preliminary alternatives will be published in local
and regional newspapers, announced via direct mailings from the park,
and posted online at the wilderness plan Web site.
Following the preliminary alternatives outreach effort, the park
will undertake preparation of the Draft EIS. The complete range of
stewardship alternatives (including a ``no action'' baseline
alternative) will be identified and analyzed, potential environmental
consequences of each alternative (and appropriate conservation and
mitigation strategies) will be assessed, and both the ``environmentally
preferred'' course of action and ``agency preferred'' alternative will
be identified.
The status of the overall EIS process will be updated periodically
on the wilderness plan Web site. If you would like to be added to the
project mailing list, you may mail or fax your request to the address
or number noted above. Please indicate if you prefer to receive a
printed or compact disk copy of the Draft EIS when it is released, or
if you only wish to receive a notice that the document is available for
review on the wilderness plan Web site.
How to Provide Scoping Comments: To ensure your information is
fully considered, please provide your response either electronically at
the wilderness plan Web site http://parkplanning.nps.gov/olymwild, or
you may mail or fax your written comments to Superintendent Sarah
Creachbaum, Olympic National Park, Attn: Wilderness Stewardship Plan,
600 East Park Ave., Port Angeles, WA 98362, Fax (360) 565-3015. Written
comments may also be hand-delivered at any of the public scoping
meetings. Comments in any format (written or electronic) submitted by
an individual or organization on behalf of another individual or
organization 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
request in your comment that your personal identifying information be
withheld from public review, the NPS cannot guarantee that we would be
able to do so.
Decision Process: After the analysis of all responses and
information received during the scoping period, a Draft EIS will be
prepared (at this time, release of the document is expected to occur
during Winter 2014). Subsequently, a Final EIS will be prepared after
consideration of all comments received. Thereafter, but not sooner than
30 days after the release of the Final EIS, a Record of Decision will
be prepared. Because this is a delegated EIS, the official responsible
for final approval of the WSP/EIS is the Regional Director, Pacific
West Region. Thereafter, the official responsible for implementation of
the approved wilderness plan is the Superintendent, Olympic National
Park.
Dated: February 7, 2013.
Christine S. Lehnertz,
Regional Director, Pacific West Region.
[FR Doc. 2013-04129 Filed 2-21-13; 8:45 am]
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