[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 1 (Tuesday, January 3, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Pages 145-146]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-32231]



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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Notice of Availability of Final Comprehensive Management Plan/
Development Concept Plan and Final Environmental Impact Statement for 
City of Rocks National Reserve, Idaho

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: Pursuant to section 102(2)(C) of the National Environmental 
Policy Act of 1969 (P.L. 91-190, as amended), the National Park 
Service, Department of the Interior, has prepared a Final Comprehensive 
Management Plan/Development Concept Plan/Environmental Impact Statement 
(FCMP/DCP/EIS) that describes and analyzes a proposal and two 
alternatives for the management, use, and development of City of Rocks 
National Reserve, Cassia County, Idaho. The FCMP/DCP/EIS is two 
documents bound together in one volume--the FCMP/DCP which describes 
the proposal in detail; and the FInal EIS, which presents the proposal 
and two alternatives, along with the analysis of the environmental 
consequences of the respective implementations.
    The Draft Comprehensive Management Plan/Development Concept Plan/
Environmental Impact Statement was released for public review on 
November 30, 1993 (58 FR 228), and the public comment period closed 
February 1, 1994. During this period, three public meetings were held; 
written comments were also received. The FCMP/DCP/EIS contains 
responses to the comments received and modifications to the text as 
needed in response to the comments.
    The proposal, which constitutes the comprehensive management plan 
for the reserve, calls for the preservation and interpretation of 
exceptional and important natural and cultural resources and the 
management of recreational use to protect and maintain the reserve's 
scenic quality. The plan's focus is on remnants of the California 
Trail, distinctive rock outcrops and associated habitats, and a 
historic rural setting reminiscent of the American West, while 
accommodating the traditional use of livestock grazing, trailing, sport 
hunting, and recreation. Uses would be directed to different zones to 
minimize conflicts among potentially incompatible activities. Grazing 
and recreational use would be managed to avoid unacceptable degradation 
of resource values, placing greatest emphasis on protection of historic 
fabric, natural rock surfaces, habitats for species of special concern, 
and riparian areas and wetlands. Portions of the reserve would remain 
in private ownership, and some public land would remain under grazing 
allotments, where traditional ranching activities would perpetuate the 
historic rural setting existing at the time of the reserve's 
establishment. Private commercial and residential development would be 
regulated by county zoning ordinances and may be limited by the 
acquisition of interests in lands on an opportunity basis necessary to 
protect reserve resources. Implementation of the proposal would be a 
partnership among the National Park Service, the Idaho Department of 
Parks and Recreation, the Cassia County commissioners, and private 
landowners.
    An overview of changes that have been made in the proposal since 
the draft plan includes:
    (1) The decision on how climbing would occur outside the foreground 
of the California Trail would be deferred to the climbing management 
plan;
    (2) Some additional areas would be closed to grazing to protect 
wetland and riparian areas. Some decisions on where grazing would occur 
would be deferred to the grazing management plan;
    (3) Prescriptions for uses of zones, subzones, and areas within the 
subzones would be eliminated in favor of more general guidance;
    (4) The proposed road around the south end of the reserve would be 
eliminiated;
    (5) The Twin Sisters formation would be managed to emphasize 
resource protection and to exclude active recreational uses, including 
climbing, picnicking, and camping; and
    (6) A Statement of Findings on Wetlands has been added. A more 
detailed list of changes are in the plan summary and in appendix I.
    The alternatives under consideration, in addition to the proposal, 
include the no-action alternative, which would continue to emphasize 
unrestricted private use and public recreational use, sometimes to the 
detriment of exceptional cultural and natural values, and an 
alternative that would emphasize the preservation and interpretation of 
the California Trail and the rock outcrops to the exclusion of 
traditional land use and the historic rural setting.
    Major impact topics assessed for the proposed action and 
alternatives [[Page 146]] include the Cultural/Visual Environment, 
Natural/Visual Environment, and Socioeconomic Environment.

supplementary information: The no-action period on this final plan and 
environmental impact statement will end 30 days after the Environmental 
Protection Agency has published a notice of availability of the FCMP/
DCP/EIS in the Federal Register. For further information, contact: 
Regional Director, National Park Service, Pacific Northwest Region, 909 
First Ave., Seattle, WA 98104-1060, (206) 220-4010.
    Copies of the FCMP/DCP/EIS will be available at City of Rocks 
National Reserve, P.O. Box 169, Almo, ID 83312. Additional copies will 
be available for inspection at the following locations: Twin Falls 
Public Library, 434 2nd Street East, Twin Falls, ID; Burley Public 
Library, 1300 Miller Ave., Burley, ID; Boise Public Library, 715 S. 
Capital Blvd., Boise, ID; Community Library, Ketchum, ID; Pocatello 
Public Library, 812 E. Clark, Pocatello, ID; Idaho State University 
Library, Pocatello, ID; Weber County Library, 2464 Jefferson Ave., 
Ogden, UT; Whitmore Library, 2197 E. 7000 S., Salt Lake City, UT; Utah 
State Library, 2150 S. 300 W., Suite 16, Salt Lake City, UT; the 
Department of the Interior Library and at the National Park Service 
Public Affairs Office, 1849 C Street NW., Washington, DC; and the 
National Park Service, Pacific Northwest Regional Office, 909 First 
Ave., Seattle, WA.

    Dated: December 21, 1994.
William C. Walters,
Deputy Regional Director, Pacific Northwest Region, National Park 
Service.
[FR Doc. 94-32231 Filed 12-30-94; 8:45 am]
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