Notice of Availability; Draft Environmental Impact Statement, Interagency Bison Management Plan for the State of Montana and Yellowstone National Park

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

Notice of Availability; Draft Environmental Impact Statement,

Interagency Bison Management Plan for the State of Montana and

Yellowstone National Park

AGENCY: National Park Service, Department of the Interior.

ACTION: Notice of Availability of Draft Environmental Impact Statement.

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SUMMARY: Pursuant to section 102(2)(c) of the National Environmental

Policy Act of 1969, the National Park Service announces the

availability of a draft environmental impact statement (DEIS) for the

long-term management of bison in Yellowstone National Park and the

state of Montana. This notice also announces the locations of public

hearings for the purpose of receiving comments on the draft document.

DATES: There will be a 120-day public review period on the document.

Comments on the DEIS should be received no later than October 16, 1998.

Public hearings will be held in Helena, Billings, Gardiner, and West

Yellowstone, Montana; Cody and Jackson Hole, Wyoming; Idaho Falls,

Idaho; Denver, Colorado; Salt Lake City, Utah; Minneapolis, Minnesota;

San Francisco, California; Austin, Texas; and Washington D.C. from July

through October 1998. The exact dates and locations of the public

hearings will be announced in press releases in regional newspapers.

ADDRESSES: Comments on the DEIS should be sent to Sarah Bransom,

National Park Service DSC-RP, P.O. Box 25287, Denver, CO 80225-0287,

Telephone: (303) 969-2310. A limited number of copies of the DEIS or

the executive summary are available upon request from the above

address. The executive summary of the DEIS and a complete listing of

libraries where the DEIS is available for review on the Internet at

http://www.nps.gov/planning/current.htm.

Copies of the DEIS will be available for review at the following

locations:

Office of Public Affairs, National Park Service, Department of the

Interior, 18th and C Streets NW, Washington D.C. 20240, Telephone:

(202) 208-6843.

Yellowstone National Park, Yellowstone NP, Wyoming 82190, Telephone:

(307) 344-2207.

National Park Service, Denver Service Center, 12795 West Alameda

Parkway, Lakewood, CO 80228, Telephone: (303) 969-2310.

Gallatin National Forest, 10 East Babcock Street, Bozeman, Montana

59771, Telephone: (406) 587-6701.

MT. Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks, 1420 East 6th, Helena,

Montana 59620, Telephone: (406) 444-2535.

MT. Department of Livestock, 301 Roberts, Room #308, Helena, MT 59620,

Telephone: (406) 444-2023.

APHIS Veterinary Services, Western Regional Office, 384 Inverness Drive

South, Englewood, CO 80112, Telephone: (303) 784-6200.

Montana State University Reene Library, P.O. Box 73320, Bozeman,

Montana 59717-3320, Telephone: (406) 994-3119.

University of Montana, Mansfield Library, Missoula, Montana 59812,

Telephone: (406) 243-6860.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Since 1990, management of bison in and

adjacent to Yellowstone National Park has been covered by a series of

interim management plans. In 1992, the National Park Service (lead

agency), state of Montana (co-lead), United States Forest Service (co-

lead), and the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (cooperating

agency) signed a Memorandum of Understanding to prepare a long-term

bison management plan/EIS.

The DEIS presents seven alternatives with a full range of

management techniques for maintaining a wild, free ranging bison

population while minimizing the risk of transmitting the disease

Brucellosis from bison to domestic cattle on public and private lands

in Montana adjacent to Yellowstone National Park. Management techniques

used in various combinations to meet the plan's objectives include

capturing and testing bison for Brucellosis, quarantining,

slaughtering, hunting and vaccination.

Impacts are analyzed on the following topics: bison population,

recreation, livestock operations, socioeconomics, threatened,

endangered and sensitive species, other wildlife species, human health,

cultural resources, and visual resources.

All review comments received on the DEIS will become part of the

public record.

Dated: June 3, 1998.

John E. Cook,

Regional Director, Intermountain Region, National Park Service.

[FR Doc. 98-16203 Filed 6-17-98; 8:45 am]

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