25756 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 86 / Wednesday, May 3, 2000 / Notices

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

General Management Plan,

Environmental Impact Statement, Big

Bend National Park, Texas; River

Management Plan, Environmental

Impact Statement, Rio Grande Wild

and Scenic River, Texas, and

Wilderness Study, Environmental

Impact Statement, Harte Ranch, Big

Bend National Park, Texas

AGENCY: National Park Service,

Department of the Interior.

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an

environmental impact statement for the

general management plan, Big Bend

National Park (NP), Texas, river

management plan, Rio Grande Wild and

Scenic River (WSR), Texas, and

wilderness study, Harte Ranch, Big

Bend National Park.

SUMMARY: Under the provisions of the

National Environmental Policy Act of

1969, the National Park Service is

preparing an environmental impact

statement for the general management

plan (GMP) for Big Bend NP, river

management plan (RMP), Rio Grande

WSR and wilderness study, Harte

Ranch, Big Bend NP. The Harte Ranch,

in the northern portion of the park, was

added to the park since the 1973 Final

Environmental Impact Statement on

Proposed Wilderness Classification, Big

Bend National Park. The planning

projects may be covered together in one

EIS or may be separated into two or

three. The planning effort will result in

a comprehensive general management

plan and river management plan that

encompass preservation of natural and

cultural resources, visitor use and

interpretation, roads, and facilities. In

cooperation with local interests,

attention will also be given to resources

outside the boundaries that affect the

integrity of the park or wild and scenic

river. Alternatives to be considered

include no-action, the preferred

alternative, and other alternatives

addressing the following major issues:

• How can the important natural and

cultural resources be best protected and

preserved, while providing for visitor

use for present and future generations?

• What level and type of use is

appropriate to be consistent with the

park’s purpose, and to relate to the

park’s significance?

• What facilities are needed to meet

the mission goals of the park regarding

natural and cultural resource

management, visitor use and

interpretation, partnerships, and

operations?

The document will also include a

study of the Harte Ranch and its

characteristics and values related to

wilderness as defined in the Wilderness

Act. The study will include alternative

recommendations to Congress for

Wilderness designation of all or

portions of the Harte Ranch.

The National Park Service is planning

to hold public scoping meetings

regarding the three projects (GMP, RMP,

wilderness study) during the week of

May 22. Specific dates, times, and

locations will be announced in the local

media, and can be obtained by

contacting the park superintendent. The

purpose of these meetings is to explain

the planning process and to obtain

comments concerning appropriate

resource management; desired visitor

use, interpretation, and facilities; and

issues that need to be resolved. In

addition to attending scoping meetings,

people wishing to provide input to this

initial phase of developing the GMP,

RMP, and wilderness study may address

comments to the superintendent.

Scoping comments should be received

no later than 60 days from the

publication of this Notice of Intent.

Comments

If you wish to submit issues or

provide input to this initial phase of

developing the GMP, RMP, and

wilderness study, you may do so by any

one of several methods. In addition to

attending scoping meetings, you may

mail comments to Superintendent, P.O.

Box 129, Big Bend National Park, Texas

79834. You may comment via the

Internet to

BIBE_Superintendent@NPS.gov. Please

submit Internet comments as an ASCII

file avoiding the use of special

characters and any form of encryption.

Please also include ‘‘Attn: GMP Team’’

and your name and return address in

your Internet message. If you do not

receive a confirmation from the system

that we have received your Internet

message, contact Superintendent Frank

Deckert directly at telephone (915) 477–

1101. Finally you may hand-deliver

your comments to park headquarters,

Panther Junction, Big Bend National

Park, Texas. Scoping comments should

be received no later than 60 days from

the publication of this Notice of Intent.

Our practice is to make comments,

including names and home addresses of

respondents, available for public review

during regular business hours.

Individual respondents may request that

we withhold their home addresses from

the record, which we will honor to the

extent allowable by law. There also may

be circumstances in which we would

withhold from the record a respondent’s

identity, as allowable by law. If you

wish us to withhold your name and/or

address, you must state this

prominently at the beginning of your

comment. However, we will not

consider anonymous comments. We

will make all submissions from

organizations or businesses, and from

individuals identifying themselves as

representatives or officials of

organizations or businesses, available

for public inspection in their entirety.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Superintendent Frank Deckert, P. O.

Box 129, Big Bend National Park, Texas

79834; Tel: (915) 477-1101; Fax: (915)

477–2357; e-mail:

deckert_frank@nps.gov.

Dated: April 26, 2000,

Richard Everhart,

Acting Director, Intermountain Region,

National Park Service.

[FR Doc. 00–10949 Filed 5–2–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310–70–P

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

Resource Protection Study,

Environmental Impact Statement,

Curecanti National Recreation Area,

Colorado

AGENCY: National Park Service,

Department of the Interior.

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an

environmental impact statement for the

Resource Protection Study, Curecanti

National Recreation Area, Colorado.

SUMMARY: Under the provisions of the

National Environmental Policy Act of

1969, the National Park Service is

preparing an environmental impact

statement for the Resource Protection

Study (RPS) for Curecanti National

Recreation Area, Colorado. The study

will result in recommendations to be

made to the Congress, as directed by

Public Law 106–76, concerning resource

protection and open space on land

within and surrounding Curecanti

National Recreation Area. The

alternatives to be considered include no

action, the preferred alternative, and

other alternatives that address issues

required by P.L. 106–76:

• assess the natural, cultural,

recreational and scenic resource value

and character of the land within and

surrounding the Curecanti National

Recreation Area (including open vistas,

wildlife habitat, and other public

benefits);