[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 244 (Thursday, December 20, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Page 72374]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 07-6101]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service


Final Environmental Impact Statement; General Management Plan/
Comprehensive River Management Plans; Sequoia-Kings Canyon National 
Parks; Fresno and Tulare Counties, CA; Notice of Approval Of Decision.

SUMMARY: Pursuant to Sec.  102(2)(C) of the National Environmental 
Policy Act of 1969 (Pub. L. 91-190, as amended) and the implementing 
regulations promulgated by the Council on Environmental quality (40 CFR 
1505.2), the Department of the Interior, National Park Service has 
released a Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the General 
Management Plan (GMP). The Regional Director, Pacific West Region has 
approved the Record of Decision for the GMP and supporting 
Comprehensive River Management Plans which together will guide 
management, research and operations at Sequoia and Kings Canyon 
National Parks over the next 10-15 years. The formal no-action period 
was officially initiated November 17, 2006, with the U.S. Environmental 
Protection Agency's Federal Register notification of the filing of the 
Final EIS.
    Decision: As soon as practicable the Parks will begin to implement 
a comprehensive range of activities and programs planned so as to 
enhance the park's ability to carry out its mission while limiting the 
amount of new environmental impacts from development and use--the 
selected plan was identified and analyzed as Preferred in the Final 
EIS. The new plan maximizes ecological restoration where possible, 
while the basic character of park activities and the rustic 
architecture of facilities is retained. River protection measures 
safeguard the existing and eligible and suitable wild and scenic 
rivers. A modest increase in day use is accommodated through 
alternative transportation systems and redesign of some roads and 
parking. Visitors are offered more diverse opportunities to experience 
the parks. A Wilderness Stewardship and Stock Use Plan will be 
developed, with formal opportunities for public involvement in the 
planning as well as review. The parks will refine the visitor carrying 
capacity framework so as to preserve park resources and ensure a 
quality visitor experience. As documented in the Final EIS, this course 
of action was deemed to be ``environmentally preferred''.
    The preferred plan and four alternatives were identified and 
analyzed in the Final EIS, and previously in the Draft EIS (the latter 
was distributed in May, 2004). The full spectrum of foreseeable 
environmental consequences was assessed, and appropriate mitigation 
measures identified, for each alternative. Beginning with early 
scoping, through the preparation of the Draft EIS, numerous public 
meetings were hosted in Three Rivers, Grant Grove, Visalia, Clovis, 
Fresno, Sacramento, San Francisco, Bishop, Los Angeles and elsewhere. 
As a result of the extensive scoping outreach of GMP mailing list of 
about 3,700 entries was developed. Approximately 400 oral and written 
comments were received in response to the Draft EIS. Key consultations 
or other contacts which aided in preparing the Draft and Final EIS 
involved (but were not limited to) the State Historic Preservation 
Office, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and California Department of 
Fish and Game, the Bureau of Land Management, the U.S. Forest Service, 
and Tribal representatives. Local communities, county and city 
officials, and interested groups and organizations were contacted 
extensively during initial scoping and throughout the conservation 
planning and environmental impact analysis process.
    Copies: Interested parties desiring to review the Record of 
Decision may obtain a complete copy by contacting the Superintendent, 
Sequoia-Kings Canyon National Parks, Three Rivers, CA 93271; or via 
telephone request at (559) 565-3341.

    Dated: September 14, 2007.
Jonathan B. Jarvis,
Regional Director, Pacific West Region.
[FR Doc. 07-6101 Filed 12-19-07; 8:45 am]
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