Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Park - fra (U.S. National Park Service)

Federal Register: December 20, 2007 (Volume 72, Number 244)]
[Notices]
[Page 72374]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr20de07-82]

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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

Final Environmental Impact Statement; General Management Plan/
Comprehensive River Management Plans; Sequoia-Kings Canyon National
Parks; Fresno and Tulare Counties, CA; Notice of Approval Of Decision.

SUMMARY: Pursuant to Sec. 102(2)(C) of the National Environmental
Policy Act of 1969 (Pub. L. 91-190, as amended) and the implementing
regulations promulgated by the Council on Environmental quality (40 CFR
1505.2), the Department of the Interior, National Park Service has
released a Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the General
Management Plan (GMP). The Regional Director, Pacific West Region has
approved the Record of Decision for the GMP and supporting
Comprehensive River Management Plans which together will guide
management, research and operations at Sequoia and Kings Canyon
National Parks over the next 10-15 years. The formal no-action period
was officially initiated November 17, 2006, with the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency's Federal Register notification of the filing of the
Final EIS.
   Decision: As soon as practicable the Parks will begin to implement
a comprehensive range of activities and programs planned so as to
enhance the park's ability to carry out its mission while limiting the
amount of new environmental impacts from development and use--the
selected plan was identified and analyzed as Preferred in the Final
EIS. The new plan maximizes ecological restoration where possible,
while the basic character of park activities and the rustic
architecture of facilities is retained. River protection measures
safeguard the existing and eligible and suitable wild and scenic
rivers. A modest increase in day use is accommodated through
alternative transportation systems and redesign of some roads and
parking. Visitors are offered more diverse opportunities to experience
the parks. A Wilderness Stewardship and Stock Use Plan will be
developed, with formal opportunities for public involvement in the
planning as well as review. The parks will refine the visitor carrying
capacity framework so as to preserve park resources and ensure a
quality visitor experience. As documented in the Final EIS, this course
of action was deemed to be ``environmentally preferred''.
   The preferred plan and four alternatives were identified and
analyzed in the Final EIS, and previously in the Draft EIS (the latter
was distributed in May, 2004). The full spectrum of foreseeable
environmental consequences was assessed, and appropriate mitigation
measures identified, for each alternative. Beginning with early
scoping, through the preparation of the Draft EIS, numerous public
meetings were hosted in Three Rivers, Grant Grove, Visalia, Clovis,
Fresno, Sacramento, San Francisco, Bishop, Los Angeles and elsewhere.
As a result of the extensive scoping outreach of GMP mailing list of
about 3,700 entries was developed. Approximately 400 oral and written
comments were received in response to the Draft EIS. Key consultations
or other contacts which aided in preparing the Draft and Final EIS
involved (but were not limited to) the State Historic Preservation
Office, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and California Department of
Fish and Game, the Bureau of Land Management, the U.S. Forest Service,
and Tribal representatives. Local communities, county and city
officials, and interested groups and organizations were contacted
extensively during initial scoping and throughout the conservation
planning and environmental impact analysis process.
   Copies: Interested parties desiring to review the Record of
Decision may obtain a complete copy by clicking here, or contacting the Superintendent,
Sequoia-Kings Canyon National Parks, Three Rivers, CA 93271; or via
telephone request at (559) 565-3341.

   Dated: September 14, 2007.
Jonathan B. Jarvis,
Regional Director, Pacific West Region.
[FR Doc. 07-6101 Filed 12-19-07; 8:45 am]
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