Notice of Scoping for Environmental Analysis of a Study Recommending a Timbisha Shoshone Tribal Homeland in and Around Death Valley National Park Inyo County, California and Esmeralda and Nye Counties, NV

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

Notice of Scoping for Environmental Analysis of a Study

Recommending a Timbisha Shoshone Tribal Homeland in and Around Death

Valley National Park Inyo County, California and Esmeralda and Nye

Counties, NV

SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given, in accordance with the provisions of

the National Environmental Policy Act (42 U.S.C. 4321 et. seq.) that

public scoping is being initiated for an environmental impact analysis

process for a Draft Secretarial Report to Congress regarding a proposal

to establish a permanent Timbisha Shoshone Tribal land base in and

around Death Valley National Park. The purpose of this scoping effort

is to identify public issues and concerns, and to assess the nature and

extent of potential environmental impacts which should be addressed.

Background

During 1994 Congress enacted the California Desert Protection Act

(Pub. L. 103-433), which in part addressed the need of the Timbisha

Shoshone Tribe for a recognized land base. The Secretary of the

Interior was directed (in Section 705(b) of the act) to conduct a study

to identify lands suitable for a reservation for the Timbisha Shoshone

Tribe.

As a direct result, a joint Federal-Tribal negotiating team was

convened for the purposes of drafting a suitability study. In drafting

their proposal, the factors scrutinized to date include: basic tribal

needs for a land base (for housing, tribal administration, economic

development, and cultural restoration); mandates prescribing federal

land stewardship; complementary interests of the Timbisha Shoshone

Tribe and the Federal government; geographical constraints; climate and

availability of water; mining claims; special resource limitations such

as Congressionally designated Wilderness and also Areas of Critical

Environmental Concern; and availability of infrastructure such as

roads, power, and other services. With due diligence the efforts of

this government-to-government team have culminated in a comprehensive

integrated draft proposal to establish a permanent Homeland for the

Timbisha Shoshone Tribe.

Comment and Approval

As noted, the Department of the Interior including the National

Park Service, Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of Indian Affairs, and

Bureau of Reclamation have undertaken government-to-government

negotiations with the Timbisha Shoshone Tribe to address suitable

strategies and actions for establishing a permanent Timbisha Shoshone

Tribal land base in and around Death Valley National Park. At this

time, it has not been determined whether an Environmental Assessment or

Environmental Impact Statement will be prepared; however, this scoping

process will aid in the preparation of either document.

As part of this effort, a series of public scoping meetings will be

held during May, 1999. California and Nevada cities

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where this scoping activity will be conducted are listed below--all

meetings are scheduled for 7:00-9:00pm. For confirmed details about

meeting locations please contact: Superintendent, Death Valley National

Park, P.O. Box 579, Death Valley, California, 92328 (telephone (760)

786-3243).

May 24 in Pasadena, California;

May 25 in Ridegecrest, California;

May 26 in Lone Pine, California;

May 27 in Goldfield, Nevada;

May 28 in Pahrump, Nevada.

During the scoping period a study document--The Timbisha Shoshone

Tribal Homeland: A Draft Secretarial Report to Congress to Establish a

Permanent Tribal Land Base and Related Cooperative Activities--is

available through Death Valley National Park. Topics addressed in the

study document and anticipated to be discussed during these meetings

include: background information on the government-to-government

negotiation process; an historical perspective on the need for a

permanent Timbisha Shoshone Tribal land base; identification of

criteria used in the study process; the identification of legislative

and administrative actions which would be necessary in order to

implement the strategies identified to date; and the types and

significance of the potential environmental effects, including

potential cumulative impacts to wild burros and horses, wildlife,

cultural and other natural resource use issues.

Interested individuals, organizations, and agencies are encouraged

to provide comments or suggestions. Written comments regarding the

Timbisha Shoshone Tribal Homeland proposal must be postmarked no later

than June 15, 1999, and should be addressed to the Superintendent,

Death Valley National Park (address as noted above). To obtain a copy

of the study document or request other background information please

contact the Superintendent, Death Valley National Park; the document

and current information also are available via the park website

(www.nps.gov/deva).

The U.S. Department of the Interior officials responsible for

approval are: the Assistant Secretary for Fish, Wildlife, and Parks;

the Assistant Secretary for Land and Minerals Management; and the

Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs. If approved, the plan would

subsequently be submitted by the Secretary of the Interior to Congress

for consideration. If enacted, the National Park Service officials

responsible for implementation would be the Superintendent, Death

Valley National Park and the Regional Director, Pacific West Region; as

well as the State Directors, Bureau of Land Management, California and

Nevada; the Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs; and the Bureau of

Indian Affairs, Central California Agency. The draft environmental

document is expected to be available for public review in late summer

or fall, 1999. At this time it is anticipated that the final plan and

environmental document are to be completed in spring, 2000.

Dated: April 9, 1999.

John J. Reynolds,

Regional Director, Pacific West.

[FR Doc. 99-9672 Filed 4-16-99; 8:45 am]

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