[Federal Register: May 29, 2003 (Volume 68, Number 103)]
[Notices]
[Page 32084]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr29my03-136]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service
General Management Plan/Environmental Impact Statement, Montezuma
Castle National Monument and Tuzigoot National Monument, Arizona
AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of Intent to prepare an environmental impact statement
for the general management plan, Montezuma Castle National Monument and
Tuzigoot National Monument, Arizona.
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SUMMARY: Under the provisions of the National Environmental Policy Act,
the National Park Service is preparing an environmental impact
statement for the general management plan for Montezuma Castle National
Monument and Tuzigoot National Monument, Arizona. The environmental
impact statement will be approved by the Director, Intermountain
Region.
Montezuma Castle National Monument and Tuzigoot National Monument
are located in Yavapai County, Arizona. Montezuma Castle was
established in 1906 under the authority of the Antiquities Act. The
proclamation states it ``* * * is of the greatest ethnological value
and scientific interest * * *'' (Presidential Proclamation No. 696,
December 8, 1906, 34 Stat. 3265). Montezuma Well was added in 1943 as a
detached unit of the monument with an act of Congress (October 19,
1943, 57 Stat. 572).
Tuzigoot National Monument was established by presidential
proclamation on July 25, 1939. The proclamation states that ``certain
Government-owned lands in the State of Arizona have situated there on
historic and prehistoric structures and other historic objects of
historic or scientific interest, and * * * it would be in the public
interest to reserve such lands as a national monument to be known as
Tuzigoot National Monument.'' Public Law 95-625 (March 1978) expanded
the boundary by approximately 791 acres.
The general management plan will prescribe the resource conditions
and visitor experiences to be achieved and maintained in the monuments
over the next 15 to 20 years. The clarification of what must be
achieved according to law and policy will be based on review of the
monuments' purpose, significance, special mandates, and the body of
laws and policies directing management of the monuments. Management
decisions to be made where law, policy, or regulations do not provide
clear guidance or limits will be based on the purpose of the monuments,
the range of public expectations and concerns, resource analysis, an
evaluation of the natural, cultural, and social impacts of alternative
courses of action, and consideration of long-term economic costs. Based
on determinations of desired conditions, the general management plan
will outline the kinds of resource management activities, visitor
activities, and development that would be appropriate in the monuments
in the future. Alternatives will be developed through this planning
process and will include, at a minimum, the no-action and preferred
alternative.
Major issues include protection of natural and cultural resources,
providing for visitor enjoyment and understanding, and evaluating
potential boundary expansions. Potential partnerships will be explored
with other agencies, organizations, and local interests.
DATES: The National Park Service will conduct public scoping for 60-
days from the date of publication of this notice in the Federal
Register. Open houses regarding the general management plan will be
held during the public scoping period. Specific dates, times, and
locations will be announced in the local media and will also be
available by contacting the superintendent of Montezuma Castle and
Tuzigoot National Monuments.
ADDRESSES: Throughout the scoping and planning process, information
will be available for public review and comment in the office of the
superintendent (Kathy M. Davis, Montezuma Castle and Tuzigoot National
Monuments, PO Box 219, Camp Verde, AZ 86322-0219).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Superintendent Kathy M. Davis,
Montezuma Castle and Tuzigoot National Monuments, PO Box 219, Camp
Verde, AZ 86322-0219: TEL (928) 567-5276; FAX: (928) 567-3597; e-mail:
kathy_m_davis@nps.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: If you wish to comment on the general
management planning process for Montezuma Castle and Tuzigoot National
Monuments, or on any issues associated with the plan, you may submit
your comments by any one of several methods. You may mail comments to
Superintendent Kathy M. Davis, Montezuma Castle and Tuzigoot National
Monuments, PO Box 219, Camp Verde, AZ 86322-0219. You may also e-mail
comments to kathy_m_davis@nps.gov. You may also hand-deliver comments
to the Montezuma Castle and Tuzigoot National Monuments visitor
centers. Our practice is to make comments, including names and home
addresses of respondents, available for public review during regular
business hours. Individual respondents may request that we withhold
their home address from the record, which we will honor to the extent
allowable by law. There also may be circumstances in which we would
withhold from the record a respondent's identity, as allowable by law.
If you wish us to withhold your address, you must state this
prominently at the beginning of your comments. We will make all
submissions from organizations or businesses and from individuals
identifying themselves as representatives or officials of organizations
or businesses available for public inspection in their entirety.
Dated: May 1, 2003.
Karen P. Wade,
Director, Intermountain Region.
[FR Doc. 03-13339 Filed 5-28-03; 8:45 am]