Notices. National Park Service, Department of the Interior
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BILLING CODE 4312-CT-M DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR National Park Service Final General Management Plan/Environmental Impact Statement, Badlands National Park, North Unit, South Dakota AGENCY: National Park Service, Department of the Interior. SUMMARY: Pursuant to section 102(2)(C) of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, the National Park Service
(NPS)announces the availability of the Record of Decision
(ROD)for the Final General Management Plan/Environmental Impact Statement (GMP/EIS) for Badlands National Park, North Unit (park). A separate GMP is being developed for the guidance and management of the South Unit of Badlands National Park, and is scheduled to be completed in three years. Specifically, the NPS has selected the preferred alternative as described in the Final GMP/EIS. Under the selected action, the NPS will provide expanded opportunities for visitors to use the North Unit of the park. The number of locations where visitors could obtain park information and orientation will be increased with new visitor contact stations added near Pinnacles and in the town of Scenic. In addition, more hiking trails and routes will be designated in various parts of the park. Education pavilions will be added in the Conata picnic area and west of County Road 502 along with a group campground. Additional studies and environmental documents will be developed, as appropriate, to examine alternative road alignments for the Loop Road at Cedar Pass. Finally, the NPS will recommend expanding the park's boundaries in two locations to enhance resource protection and offer additional visitor experiences. One boundary expansion will incorporate approximately 5,400 acres along South Dakota Highway 44. The other recommended addition will be 4,500 acres along the western edge adjacent to the wilderness area. The selected action and three other alternatives were analyzed in the draft and final GMP/EIS. The full range of foreseeable environmental consequences was assessed. Among the alternatives the NPS considered, the selected action best achieves a high standard of natural and cultural resource protection with improved opportunities for visitors in the park. Furthermore, the selected action responds to the changing visitation pattern the park has been experiencing. In the recent years, western South Dakota has become more of a destination for visitors with Rapid City serving as the hub for this visitation. This shift in tourism patterns has increased the number of park visitors entering the park through the western entrances. The selected action also provides needed improvements for park operations, such as areas for additional park housing and research support. The park is located in a rural area and housing for employees is limited in the surrounding communities. In addition, the park has developed a good relationship with the natural resources research community but has limited facilities for supporting these efforts. The selected action would address the need to provide facilities for park operations and research. The selected action also meets national environmental policy goals will not result in the impairment of resources and values. The ROD includes a statement of the decision made, synopses of other alternatives considered, the basis for the decision, the rationale for why the selected action is the environmentally preferred alternative, a finding of no impairment of park resources and values, and an overview of public involvement in the decisionmaking process. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Superintendent Paige Baker, Badlands National Park, 25216 Ben Reifel Road, P.O. Box 6, Interior, South Dakota 57750, telephone 605-433-5361. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Copies of the Record of Decision may be obtained from the contact listed above or may be viewed online at *http://parkplanning.nps.gov/.* Dated: December 14, 2006. Ernest Quintana, Regional Director, Midwest Region. This document was received at the Office of the Federal Register on April 19, 2007. [FR Doc. E7-7744 Filed 4-23-07; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4312-AD-P DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR National Park Service Notice of Intent To Prepare a General Management Plan and Environmental Impact Statement for the South Unit of Badlands National Park, South Dakota. AGENCY: National Park Service, Department of the Interior. SUMMARY: Under the provisions of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 *et seq.* ), the National Park Service
(NPS)in cooperation with the Pine Ridge Oglala Sioux, is preparing an Environmental Impact Statement
(EIS)for a General Management Plan
(GMP)for the South Unit of Badlands National Park. The GMP will prescribe the resource conditions and visitor experiences that are to be achieved and maintained in the South Unit over the next 15 to 20 years. To facilitate sound planning and environmental assessment, the NPS intends to gather information necessary for the preparation of the EIS and obtain suggestions and information from other agencies and the public on the scope of issues to be addressed in the EIS. Comments and participation in this scoping process are invited. Participation in the planning process will be encouraged and facilitated by various means, including newsletters and open houses or meetings. The NPS will conduct public scoping meetings to explain the planning process and to solicit opinion about issues to address in the GMP/EIS. Notification of all such meetings will be announced in the local press and in the NPS newsletters. ADDRESSES: Additionally, if you wish to comment on any issues associated with GMP, you may submit your comments by any one of several methods. You may mail or hand-deliver comments to Superintendent, Badlands National Park, 25216 Ben Reifel Road, Interior, South Dakota 57740. You may provide comments electronically by entering them into the NPS's Planning, Environment and Public Comment Web site *http://parkplanning.nps.gov* . Information will be available for public review and comment from the Office of the Superintendent at the above address. Requests to be added to the project mailing list should be sent to Ms. Pamela Livermont, Badlands National Park, 25216 Ben Reifel Road, Interior, South Dakota 57750; telephone 605-433-5281; or e-mail *Pamela_Livermont@nps.gov* . Before including your address, telephone number, e-mail address, or other personal identifying information in your comments, you should be aware that your entire comment (including your personal identifying information) may be made publicly available at any time. While you can ask us in your comment to withhold your personal identifying information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so. We will make all submissions from organizations or businesses, from individuals identifying themselves as representatives or officials, or organizations or businesses available for public inspection in their entirety. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Superintendent Paige Baker, Badlands National Park, 25216 Ben Reifel Road, Interior, South Dakota 57750, telephone 605-433-5280. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Composed of two largely undeveloped and remote tracts of land totaling 140,000 acres, the South Unit lies entirely within the Pine Ridge Oglala Sioux Reservation. The South Unit is administered to provide for the care, maintenance, and preservation of prehistoric, historic, scientific, and scenic interest, and to develop facilities that will provide for public use and enjoyment. As stated above, the GMP will prescribe the resource conditions and visitor experiences that are to be achieved and maintained in the South Unit 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 unit's purpose, significance, special mandates, and the body of laws and policies directing park management. Based on determinations of desired conditions, the GMP will outline the kinds of resource management activities, visitor activities, and appropriate future development. A range of reasonable management alternatives will be developed through this planning process and will include, at minimum, a no-action alternative and a preferred alternative. To facilitate sound analysis of environmental impacts, the NPS is gathering information necessary for the preparation of an associated EIS. A GMP for the North Unit was completed in 2006; the South Unit GMP will be the equivalent of Volume 2. Together, the two volumes will constitute the GMP for Badlands National Park. Dated: January 29, 2007. Ernest Quintana, Regional Director, Midwest Region. [FR Doc. 07-2020 Filed 4-23-07; 8:45 am]
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