Draft Environmental Impact Statement/General Management Plan; Death Valley National Park; Inyo and San Bernardino Counties, CA; Nye and Esmeralda Counties, Nevada; Notice of Availability

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

Draft Environmental Impact Statement/General Management Plan;

Death Valley National Park; Inyo and San Bernardino Counties, CA; Nye

and Esmeralda Counties, Nevada; Notice of Availability

Summary

Pursuant to Sec. 102(2)(C) of the National Environmental Policy Act

of 1969 (Pub. L. 91-190, as amended), the National Park Service (NPS),

Department of the Interior, has prepared a Draft Environmental Impact

Statement (DEIS) identifying and evaluating potential impacts of a

proposed General Management Plan (GMP) for Death Valley National Park.

Death Valley is a unit of the National Park System, created by Congress

on October 31, 1994, in the California Desert Protection Act (CDPA).

The DEIS also includes a draft Land Protection Plan (LPP) that

addresses management options for non-federal lands that exist inside

the park boundary. This planning document and DEIS were initiated as a

component of the Northern and Eastern Mojave Planning Project, a

coordinated interagency effort involving the NPS, Bureau of Land

Management, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The DEIS identifies and

evaluates the environmental consequences of a proposed action and two

alternatives; appropriate mitigations are addressed. No significant

adverse environmental impacts are anticipated. The GMP will serve as

the overall management strategy for the next 10-15 years under which

more detailed activity or implementation plans are prepared.

Proposal

This DEIS presents the proposed management approach and two

alternatives for park management. The Proposed Action (Alternative 1)

seeks to extend existing management strategies that are in place for

the original smaller area (proclaimed a national monument on February

11, 1933), to the management of the resources within the new lands

added to the unit in 1994. It also strives to incorporate the NPS

mission and policies, and respond to the designation of 95% of the park

as Wilderness. This alternative addresses the removal of feral burros

and horses from the park in order to achieve the NPS mission of

managing the unit for native desert species. It also recognizes the

need to work cooperatively with the Bureau of Land Management on

adjacent land, where their mandate from Congress is to maintain viable

herds of wild horses and burros. Furthermore, this alternative strives

to balance the preservation of resources mission with specific mandates

from Congress for Death Valley, such as continuation of grazing on the

new lands. This alternative addresses grazing as a component of the

management. This alternative also identifies a number of activity-level

or site-specific issues, such as management of the Saline Valley Warm

Springs area and a Backcountry and Wilderness Management Plan. This

alternative seeks funding for purchase of private property from willing

sellers, and/or mineral interests where proposed uses conflict with the

primary mission of preserving resources and providing for visitor

enjoyment.

Alternatives

In addition to the proposal, the alternatives described and

analyzed are existing management (no action) and an optional management

approach. The Existing Management alternative (Alternative 2) describes

outcomes of continuing current management strategies. It is commonly

referred to as the no-action or status quo alternative. Under this

alternative, existing visitor and administrative support services and

facilities would be maintained in their current locations. There would

be no change in road maintenance, although some roads might be improved

if funding became available. No changes in recreation use would occur.

Land acquisition would focus on obtaining funds to acquire private

property and mineral interests from willing sellers only where proposed

uses conflict with the park mission. The Optional Management approach

(Alternative 3) provides for approval of the use of airstrips at Saline

Valley Warm Springs, designating campsites at the Warm Springs,

specifies acquisition of private land or mineral interests only in

sensitive habitats, and phases out the concession operation at

Stovepipe Wells.

Comments

Printed or CD-ROM copies of the DEIS are available for public

review at park headquarters, as well as at many public libraries and

federal offices in southern California and southern Nevada. In

addition, the document is posted on the internet at www.nps.gov/deva.

Inquiries and comments on the DEIS should be directed to:

Superintendent, Death Valley National Park, Furnace Creek, California

92328. The telephone number for the park is (760) 786-2331. All written

comments must be postmarked not later than 90 days after publication of

a notice of filing of the DEIS/GMP in the Federal Register by the

Environmental Protection Agency.

Public Meetings

The NPS will host a series of open houses to provide interested

individuals and organization representatives an opportunity to express

concerns, ask questions, view large scale maps and engage in dialogue

about the range or content of alternatives. Specific details will be

available at the internet site identified above or by calling the park.

This dialogue is intended to provide additional guidance to the NPS in

preparing a final EIS and plan amending the GMP and LPP. Written

comments will also be accepted at these workshops. All workshops are

scheduled for 6:00-9:00 p.m., as follows:

Monday, Oct. 19, Doubletree Inn, 191 Los Robles, Pasadena, CA

Tuesday, Oct. 20, Harvey House (Santa Fe Depot), 685 First St.,

Barstow, CA

Wednesday, Oct. 21, Hilltop Hotel, 2000 Ostrems Way, San Bernardino, CA

Thursday, Oct. 22, Needles Community Senior Center, 1699 Bailey Ave.,

Needles, CA

Friday, Oct. 23, Enterprise Public Library, 25 E. Shelbourne Ave., Las

Vegas, NV

Saturday, Oct. 24, Baker Senior Center, 73730C Baker Blvd., Baker, CA

[[Page 49135]]

Tuesday, Oct. 27, Death Valley Natl Park, Visitor Center Auditorium,

Furnace Creek, CA

Wednesday, Oct. 28, Eastern Sierra Fairgrounds, Sierra St. & Fair Dr.,

Bishop, CA

Thursday, Oct. 29, Boulder Creek RV Park, Hwy 395 (5mi s. of Lone

Pine), Lone Pine, CA

Friday, Oct. 30, Ridgecrest Public Library, 131 E. Las Flores,

Ridgecrest, CA

Decision

Following the formal DEIS review period all written comments

received will be considered in preparing a final plan. Currently the

Final EIS and GMP/LPP are anticipated to be completed during spring

1999. Their availability will be similarly announced in the Federal

Register. Subsequently a Record of Decision would be approved by the

Regional Director, Pacific West Region, no sooner than 30 (thirty) days

after release of the Final EIS. The responsible officials are the

Regional Director, Pacific West Region, and the Superintendent, Death

Valley National Park.

Dated: August 31, 1998.

John J. Reynolds,

Regional Director, Pacific West Region.

[FR Doc. 98-24597 Filed 9-11-98; 8:45 am]

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