Record of Decision; Final General Management Plan/Environmental Impact Statement; Oregon Caves National Monument, Oregon

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

Record of Decision; Final General Management Plan/Environmental

Impact Statement; Oregon Caves National Monument, Oregon

ACTION: Notice of Approval of Record of Decision.

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SUMMARY: Pursuant to Section 102(2)(C) of the National Environmental

Policy Act of 1969, as amended, and the regulations promulgated by the

Council on Environmental Quality (40 CFR 1505.2), the Department of the

Interior, National Park Service, has prepared a Record of Decision on

the Final General Management Plan/Environmental Impact Statement for

Oregon Caves National Monument in Oregon.

DATES: The Record of Decision was recommended by the Superintendent of

Oregon Caves National Monument, concurred by the Deputy Regional

Director, Pacific West Region, and approved by the Regional Director,

Pacific West Region, on December 23, 1998.

ADDRESSES: Inquiries regarding the Record of Decision or the

Environmental Impact Statement should be submitted to the

Superintendent, Oregon Caves National Monument, 19000 Caves Highway,

Cave Junction, OR 97523, phone (541) 592-2100.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The text of the Record of Decision follows:

The Department of the Interior, National Park Service (NPS), has

prepared this Record of Decision (ROD) on the final Environmental

Impact Statement (EIS) for the General Management Plan for Oregon Caves

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National Monument, Oregon. This ROD is a statement of the decision

made, other alternatives considered, public involvement in the decision

making process, the basis for the decision, the environmentally

preferable alternative, and measures to minimize environmental harm.

Decision (Selected Action)

Oregon Caves National Monument will implement Alternative C.

identified as the action that best satisfies the Monument and NPS

missions, as well as the Monument's long-term management objectives.

Some actions remain consistent with those presented in the draft EIS.

Others were modified in the final EIS to respond to public comments and

concerns. The selected action recognizes both the need to protect

natural and cultural resources and to provide appropriate opportunities

for visitors and area residents.

Specific actions to be implemented under the selected action are

summarized below:

Adequate administrative and collection storage will be provided at

the administrative site. Cave tours will be operated with NPS

interpretive rangers, and a cave tour reservation system will be

established and based at the Illinois Valley Visitor Center (IVVC). The

IVVC will continue to serve as a key point for initial visitor contact

and information.

Protection will be provided to the Lake Creek and upper Cave Creek

watersheds, the public water supply, and foreground and middleground

viewsheds as seen from the Monument through the transfer of 3,410 acres

to the Monument from the Siskiyou National Forest (SNF).

Additional hiking, horseback riding, and other recreational

opportunities will be provided to the public, and public road access

will be maintained to adjacent national forest lands. The cave will be

open to public use from the middle of March to mid-December.

Concession-provided lodging, food service and gift sales will continue,

and will be located at the Chateau. Use of the lower level of the

Chalet will be converted from the concession-operated gift shop to the

Monument visitor center and will be staffed with NPS and cooperating

association employees.

Other Alternatives Considered

Alternative A--The no-action alternative represents no change from

present management direction. This alternative, therefore, represents

the current situation, including retention of concession-contracted

services for cave tours, lodging, food service and gift sales. No

boundary change would be included, no change to current administrative

facilities would occur, and the Monument would remain open to cave

tours year-round under Alternative A.

Alternative B--This is the ``minimum requirements alternative'',

representing the minimum actions necessary to protect the natural and

cultural resources of the Monument and protect the health and safety of

the public. Alternative B includes the development of adequate

administrative and collection storage facilities in the Chateau. Cave

tours would be operated with NPS interpretive guides, and a cave tour

reservation system would be established and based at the IVVC. A

cooperative agreement between the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) and NPS

would set aside 3.410 acres as a protected area within the SNF. Under

this agreement, protection would be provided to the Lake Creek and

upper Cave Creek watersheds, the public water supply, and foreground

and middleground viewsheds as seen from the Monument. The caves would

be open to public use from mid-March to mid to late December. However,

no concession lodging, dining or gift sales would be provided. The

lower level of the Chalet would be used for an on-site visitor center.

Alternative D--Under this alternative, a new on-site visitor center

would be developed to provide interpretive services to the public.

Concession lodging, food service and gift sales operations would be

retained at the Chateau and the Chalet. The caves would be open to the

public on a year-round basis, and tours would be conducted by a non-

profit institute or similar organization. This alternative would also

provide adequate administrative and collection storage at the

administrative site, and the IVVC would be used for initial visitor

orientation, visitor contact, and cave tour reservations. Protection of

the Lake Creek and upper Cave Creek watersheds, the public water supply

and foreground viewshed would be accomplished through a transfer of

2,377 acres to the Monument from the SNF. In addition, protection of

portions of the middleground viewshed would be accomplished by the

establishment of a 1,033-acre protected area within the SNF through a

cooperative agreement between the USFS and NPS.

Actions common to all alternatives include the continued

rehabilitation of the cave trail, the continued use of the IVVC for

orientation and information, protection of the Oregon Caves Historic

District, and ongoing regional cooperation on various issues such as

fire management and tourism.

Basis for Decision

After careful consideration of public comments throughout the

planning process, including comments on the draft EIS, the selected

action best accomplishes the legislated purpose of the Monument and

balances the statutory mission of the NPS to provide long-term

protection of the Monument's resources and significance, while allowing

for appropriate levels of visitor use and appropriate means of visitor

enjoyment. The selected action also best accomplishes identified

management goals and desired future conditions, with the fewest

environmental impacts.

Environmentally Preferable Alternative

The alternative which causes the least damage to the cultural and

biological environment, and that best protects, preserves, and enhances

resources is Alternative C.

Measures to Minimize Environmental Harm

All practicable measures to avoid or minimize environmental impacts

that could result from implementation of the selected action have been

identified and incorporated into the selected action. Implementation of

the selected action would avoid any adverse impacts on wetlands and any

endangered or threatened species, or that would result in the

destruction or adverse modification of critical habitat of such

species.

Public Involvement

Public comment has been requested, considered, and incorporated

throughout the planning process in numerous ways. A Notice of Intent to

prepare an EIS was published in the Federal Register on January 23,

1996 (vol. 61, no. 15, pgs. 1783-1784). In early March 1996, NPS

produced a newsletter that was mailed to a list of interested

individuals and was inserted in the Illinois Valley Newspaper for

distribution to its circulation of 3,400 readers. The purpose of the

newsletter was to explain the planning process, provide information,

and encourage public participation in the process.

Two public scoping meetings were held in March 1996 in Cave

Junction and Grants Pass, OR, to assist in identifying issues to be

addressed in the GMP/EIS. A total of 23 people attended the two

meetings. Also in March, the planning team met with several interest

groups, at their request. The NPS received 88 written comments during

the scoping period.

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More than 300 copies of the draft GMP/EIS were mailed to government

agencies, organizations and interested individuals in January 1998. In

addition, the document was posted on the Internet and mailed to local

libraries in Cave Junction, Grants Pass, and Portland, OR. The EPA

Notice of Availability was published in the Federal Register on January

16, 1998 (vol. 63, no. 11, pg. 2676). A Notice of Availability was also

published by NPS on January 15 (vol. 63, no. 10, pg. 2412). A second

newsletter was prepared that included a summary of the draft plan and

information on scheduled public workshops. Each newsletter included a

postage-paid response form for people to use in submitting comments if

desired. Approximately 3,500 newsletters were inserted into the

Illinois Valley News on January 14, and another 1,000 were made

available to visitors at the IVVC and the Chateau. In addition,

newspapers in Grants Pass and Cave Junction published the notices and

local radio stations announced locations and times for the public

workshops.

Four public workshops were held in Cave Junction and Grants Pass on

February 9 and 10, 1998. The purpose of the workshops was to offer the

public an opportunity to meet with the NPS planning staff and discuss

the draft GMP/EIS. A total of 111 people attended the workshops.

The final GMP/EIS was released to the public on November 10, 1998.

The EPA Notice of Availability of the final GMP/EIS was published in

the Federal Register on November 20, 1998 (vol. 63, no. 224, pg.

64473); the NPS also published a Notice of Availability in the Federal

Register. The final document included a summary of the comments

received at the public workshops and a summary of the comments received

from written responses.

Consultation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) on

Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act was undertaken to identify

listed plant and animal species that may occur within the Oregon Caves

National Monument. In addition, a copy of the draft plan was sent to

the USFWS for concurrence that the broad-scale elements of the proposed

action would not adversely affect any listed species known or suspected

to be in the planning area.

Consultation also occurred with the Oregon State Historic

Preservation Office and the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation.

A copy of the plan was sent to each of these offices to initiate and

plan for coordination of survey, eligibility, effect, and mitigation of

cultural resources in the Monument area.

During the comment period, 982 letters were received from

government agencies, businesses, special interest groups and

individuals. Of these, 735 were individually written letters,

individually signed form letters and postcards, 132 E-mail responses

through the Internet, and 115 response forms from the newsletter. In

addition, a petition with 102 signatures was received. Written

responses were prepared for more than 69 substantive questions and/or

comments requiring clarification of information contained in the draft

plan, changes to the text, or direct responses.

Dated: February 9, 1999.

William C. Walters,

Deputy Regional Director, Pacific West Region.

[FR Doc. 99-4480 Filed 2-23-99; 8:45 am]

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