[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 219 (Monday, November 15, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 69700-69701]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-28710]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service
Final Environmental Impact Statement and Cape Hatteras National
Seashore Off-Road Vehicle Management Plan
AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of Availability of a Final Environmental Impact
Statement for the Cape Hatteras National Seashore Off-Road Vehicle
Management Plan.
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SUMMARY: Pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, 42
U.S.C. 4332 (2) (C), and the Council on Environmental Quality
regulations (40 CFR part 1500-1508), the National Park Service (NPS),
Department of the Interior, announces the availability of the final
environmental impact statement (FEIS) for the proposed Cape Hatteras
National Seashore (Seashore) Off-Road Vehicle Management Plan (Plan/
FEIS). The Plan/FEIS will enable NPS to develop regulations and
procedures to manage off-road vehicle (ORV) use/access in the Seashore
consistent with the Executive Orders on ORV use on Federal lands and
NPS regulations.
DATES: The NPS will execute a Record of Decision no sooner than 30 days
from the date of publication of the Notice of Availability of the FEIS
in the Federal Register by the Environmental Protection Agency
ADDRESSES: Electronic copies of the document are available for public
review online at http://parkplanning.nps.gov/caha. A limited number of
compact disks (CDs) and hard copies of the FEIS are available at the
Seashore headquarters, 1401 National Park Drive, Manteo, NC 27954. You
may also request a hard copy or CD by contacting Superintendent Mike
Murray, Cape Hatteras National Seashore, 1401 National Park Drive,
Manteo, NC 27954.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The purpose of the Plan/FEIS is to develop
regulations and procedures that manage ORV use and access in the
Seashore to protect and preserve natural and cultural resources and
natural processes, to provide a variety of visitor use experiences
while minimizing conflicts among various users, and to promote the
safety of all visitors. Executive Order 11644 of 1972, amended by
Executive Order 11989 of 1977, requires certain Federal agencies
permitting ORV use on Agency lands to designate specific trails and
areas. Title 36, section 4.10 of the Code of Federal Regulations
implements the Executive Orders by providing that routes and areas
designated for ORV use in units of the National Park System shall be
promulgated as special regulations. Therefore, this Plan/FEIS is
necessary to bring the Seashore in compliance with Executive Orders
11644 and 11989, address the lack of an approved plan, and provide for
protected species management in relation to ORV use. The FEIS evaluates
two no action alternatives and four action alternatives for managing
ORV use, and identifies their potential environmental consequences.
Consistent with NPS laws, regulations, and policies, and the purpose of
the Seashore, the FEIS describes Alternative F as the NPS preferred
alternative. Alternative F provides a reasonably balanced approach to
designating ORV routes and vehicle free areas while providing for the
protection of park resources.
Alternative A would manage ORV use and access at the Seashore based
on the 2007 Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) for the Interim
Protected Species Management Strategy/Environmental Assessment and the
Superintendent's Compendium 2007, as well as elements from the 1978
draft interim ORV management plan that were incorporated in
Superintendent's Order 7. Alternative B would continue management in
effect during 2008-2010. Under alternative B, management of ORV use
would follow the terms described under alternative A, except as
modified by the provisions of the consent decree, as amended.
Modifications in the consent decree include changes to resource
protection buffers and closures for various species at the Seashore and
added restrictions related to night driving. Alternative C emphasizes
seasonal designation of ORV routes. It would provide visitors to the
Seashore with a degree of predictability regarding areas available for
ORV use, as well as vehicle-free areas, based largely on the seasonal
resource and visitor use characteristics of various areas in the
Seashore.
Alternative D would give visitors to the Seashore the maximum
amount of predictability regarding areas available for ORV use and
vehicle-free areas for pedestrian use. Restrictions would be applied to
larger areas over longer periods of time to minimize changes in
designated ORV and non-ORV areas over the course of the year.
Alternative E would provide use areas for all types of visitors to the
Seashore with a wide variety of access for both ORV and pedestrian
users, but often with controls or restrictions in place to limit
impacts on sensitive resources. Interdunal road and ramp access would
be improved, and more pedestrian access would be provided through
substantial additions to parking capacity at various key locations that
lend themselves to walking on the beach. Alternative E would provide
more miles of ORV routes, shorter hours of ORV night closure during sea
turtle nesting season, a park and stay program, and a self-contained
vehicle camping program.
[[Page 69701]]
Alternative F, the NPS preferred alternative, is designed to
provide visitors to the Seashore with a wide variety of access
opportunities for both ORV and pedestrian users. Following
consideration of public comment on the DEIS, Alternative F was revised
to provide more pedestrian access adjacent to resource closures, where
possible, and a more balanced approach to ORV routes and vehicle-free
areas than Alternative F provided in the DEIS. To support access to
both vehicle-free areas and designated ORV routes, alternative F would
involve the construction of new parking areas, pedestrian access
trails, ORV ramps, and improvements and additions to the interdunal
road system.
The NPS Notice of Availability for the DEIS was published in the
Federal Register on March 5, 2010. The DEIS was posted online at http://parkplanning.nps.gov/caha on March 5, 2010. The U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency Notice of Availability for the DEIS was published on
March 12, 2010, which opened the public comment period and established
the closing date of May 11, 2010, for comments. Five public hearings
were conducted in North Carolina and Virginia between April 26 and 29,
2010. Following a review of agency and public comment on the DEIS, NPS
prepared a concern response report which contains responses to
substantive comments. This report is included as an appendix to the
FEIS.
Authority: The authority for publishing this notice is 40 CFR
1506.6.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mike Murray, Superintendent, Cape
Hatteras National Seashore, 1401 National Park Drive, Manteo, NC 27954,
(252) 473-2111 x 148.
The responsible official for this final EIS is the Regional
Director, Southeast Region, National Park Service, 100 Alabama Street
SW, 1924 Building, Atlanta, Georgia 30303.
Dated: October 19, 2010.
Gordon Wissinger,
Acting Regional Director, Southeast Region.
[FR Doc. 2010-28710 Filed 11-12-10; 8:45 am]
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