![[logo] US EPA](http://www.epa.gov/epafiles/images/logo_epaseal.gif){kind=logo}
Notice of Intent To Prepare a Comprehensive Management Plan, Including Possible Resource Management Plan Amendments for the El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro National Historic Trail; New Mexico and Texas
Note: EPA no longer updates this information, but it may be useful as a reference or resource.
[Federal Register: May 18, 2001 (Volume 66, Number 97)]
[Notices]
[Page 27682-27684]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr18my01-58]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management/National Park Service
[NM-930-01-1050-DS-005G]
Notice of Intent To Prepare a Comprehensive Management Plan,
Including Possible Resource Management Plan Amendments for the El
Camino Real de Tierra Adentro National Historic Trail; New Mexico and
Texas
AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, National Park Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare a Comprehensive Management Plan,
including possible Resource Management Plan Amendments and an
invitation to the public to participate in the planning process.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: Pursuant to the National Trails System Act, as amended (Pub.
L. 90-543), the National Park Service (NPS) and the Bureau of Land
Management (BLM) are initiating preparation of a Comprehensive
Management Plan (CMP) for the El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro National
Historic Trail in New Mexico and Texas. The trail passes through four
BLM Field Office administrative areas with five existing Resource
Management Plans (RMPs) and there may be a need to amend one or more of
these Plans. The RMPs that have the possibility of being amended are:
(1) Taos RMP, (2) Rio Puerco RMP, (3) Socorro RMP, (4) White Sands RMP,
and (5) Mimbres RMP.
The public is invited to participate in each stage of the planning
process, and public meetings will be held. The initial scoping meetings
will occur at 6:30 p.m. at the following locations: Alcalde, New Mexico
(Onate Visitor Center, State Road 68,)--June 25, 2001; Santa Fe, New
Mexico (Genoveva Chavez Community Center, 3221 Rodeo Road)--June 28,
2001; Albuquerque, New Mexico (National Hispanic Cultural Center of New
Mexico, 1701 Fourth Street, N.W.)--June 22, 2001; Socorro, New Mexico
(Holiday Inn Express, 1100 California Avenue)--June 19, 2001; Truth or
Consequences, New Mexico (T or C Civic Center, 505 Sims Street)--June
18, 2001; Las Cruces, New Mexico (Farm and Ranch Heritage Museum,
Dripping Springs Road)--June 13, 2001; El Paso, Texas (Chamizal
National Memorial, 800 S. San Marcial)--June 14, 2001.
DATES: Written comments relating to the planning process will be
accepted on or before July 16, 2001, and should be addressed to Harry
Myers at the address below.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Harry Myers, National Park Service,
P.O. Box 728, Santa Fe, NM 87504-0728, phone (505) 988-6717, fax (505)
986-5214 or Terry Humphrey, Bureau of Land Management, 226 Cruz Alta
Road, Taos, NM 87571; phone (505) 758-8851, fax (505) 758-1620.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The National Park Service Long Distance
Trails Group Office--Santa Fe and the Bureau of Land Management, New
Mexico State Office, are the lead offices for preparation of the plan,
and both are responsible for administering the trail as per agency
agreement. They will coordinate with the public, various Federal
agencies, tribal governments, and local and state governments in the
plan's development. Consultation will be an important factor to the
process and should be an integral part of the planning team's efforts.
Once an advisory council has been formed as required by section 5(d) of
the National Trails System Act, the study team will work closely with
that body.
The purpose of the Comprehensive Management Plan will be to
establish the administrative objectives, policies, processes, and
management actions needed to fulfill the preservation and public use
goals of the El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro National Historic Trial.
It will be comprehensive in nature, and will resolve or address issues
along the El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro National Historic Trail
which are identified through agency, interagency, and public scoping
efforts.
The purpose of a National Historic Trail is the identification and
protection of the historic route and its historic remnants and
artifacts for public use and enjoyment. National Historic Trails are
extended trails that follow as closely as possible and practicable
original routes of travel that are historically significant. The
designation of such trails or routes is to be continuous, but the
established or developed trails are not necessarily continuous land
areas; they may include portions or sections of land areas, land and
water segments, or other specific sites.
Existing trail segments already in Federal ownership will become
the initial components of the National Trail. Other trail segments
could be developed
[[Page 27683]]
and protected through various means such as cooperative and
certification agreements, easements, and actions by private
organizations. Generally, there would be little if any acquisition of
private lands, and then only with the landowner's consent.
The plan will explain or identify the desired future conditions to
be maintained or achieved, administrative and management actions
necessary to achieve objectives, and a schedule and a cost estimate for
implementing the actions for achieving those goals. Through these
actions, the El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro Historic Trail will be
administered and managed according to the intent of Congress, as
expressed in the establishing legislation and the National Trails
System Act.
The joint BLM/NPS administration of the El Camino Real de Tierra
Adentro National Historic Trail must rely on the cooperative management
efforts and support of state, local, and private interests, including
landowners, to ensure the protection of trail-related resources, to
provide outdoor recreational opportunities, and to accomplish the
objectives of the interpretive programs.
Consistent with the National Trails System Act, the NPS/BLM
administrative role will be to set goals, stimulate public support and
partnerships, provide technical and limited financial assistance and
other incentives, manage trail marker use, and otherwise coordinate,
facilitate, and monitor management and use of the trail. Therefore,
public agencies and private interests at the grassroots will be
encouraged to mark the trail route, seek certification, secure
necessary interests in lands, provide for the preservation of the
trail's resources, ensure the upkeep and accessibility of sites and
segments for public educational and recreational benefits, and perform
the day-to-day management of their own sites and areas.
Within this partnership both agencies will work to ensure that the
trail is managed as a single, integrated resource, with the
Comprehensive Management Plan providing overall guidance for trail
management. The Comprehensive Management Plan will identify the various
tasks of administration and the means of carrying out those tasks. It
will define the relationships between administration and the day-to-day
management of the trail and outline effective strategies for achieving
plan implementation.
The Comprehensive Management Plan will identify objectives to guide
the establishment of a cooperative management system for the El Camino
Real de Tierra Adentro National Historic Trail. It will also describe a
certification process for non-Federal trail sites/segments and identify
the role that existing Federal land management agencies along the trail
will play in the plan implementation.
The plan will define the criteria that will be used to select sites
suitable for interpretation, preservation, recreational retracement,
and potential development support. It will tell how to define
priorities for marking, protection, and potential public use and it
will describe what strategies are most appropriate for resource
protection. The issue of potential liability and impacts upon
landowners will be addressed. The promotion and coordination of the
tourism potential of the trail will also be addressed.
The establishment law authorizes cooperation with United States and
Mexican public and nongovernmental organizations, academic
institutions, and, in consultation with the Secretary of State, the
government of Mexico and its political subdivisions, for the purpose of
exchanging trail information and research, fostering trail preservation
and educational programs, providing technical assistance, and working
to establish an international historic trail with complementary
preservation and education programs in each nation.
The legislation also stated that: (1) The El Camino Real de Tierra
Adentro (the Royal Road to the Interior Lands), served as the primary
route between the colonial Spanish capital of Mexico City and the
Spanish provincial capitals at San Juan de Los Caballeros (1598-1600),
San Gabriel (1600-1609) and then Santa Fe (1610-1821); (2) The portion
of the El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro that resided in what is now the
United States extended between El Paso, Texas, and present San Juan
Pueblo, New Mexico, a distance of 404 miles; (3) The El Camino Real is
a symbol of the cultural interaction between nations and ethnic groups
and of the commercial exchange that made possible the development and
growth of the borderland; (4) American Indian groups, especially the
Pueblo Indians of the Rio Grande, developed trails for trade long
before Europeans arrived; (5) In 1598, Juan de Onate led a Spanish
military expedition along those trails to establish the northern
portion of the El Camino Real; (6) During the Mexican National Period
and part of the U.S. Territorial Period, the El Camino Real de Tierra
Adentro facilitated the emigration of people to New Mexico and other
areas that would become the United States; (7) The exploration,
conquest, colonization, settlement, religious conversion, and military
occupation of a large area of the borderlands was made possible by this
route, whose historical period extended from 1598 to 1882; (8) American
Indians, European emigrants, miners, ranchers, soldiers, and
missionaries used the El Camino Real during the historic development of
the borderlands. These travelers promoted cultural interaction among
Spaniards, other Europeans, American Indians, Mexicans, and Americans;
(9) The El Camino Real fostered the spread of Catholicism, mining, an
extensive network of commerce, and ethnic and cultural traditions
including music, folklore, medicine, foods, architecture, language,
place names, irrigation systems, and Spanish law.
The following preliminary criteria were developed internally and
will be reviewed by the public before used in the Comprehensive
Management Plan/RMP Amendment/Environmental Impact Statement process.
After public input analysis, they become proposed criteria, and can be
added to or changed as the issues are addressed or new information is
presented: (1) The plan should be completed in compliance with Sec.
5(a) of the National Trails System Act and all other applicable laws.
It will meet the requirements of P.L. 106-307 to protect the trail's
natural and historic resources and recreation opportunities; (2) The
planning team should work cooperatively with the State of New Mexico,
tribal governments, county and municipal governments, other Federal
agencies, and all other interested groups, agencies, and individuals.
Public participation will be encouraged throughout the process; (3) The
planning process will include an Environmental Impact Statement that
will comply with NEPA and Council on Environmental Quality guidelines;
(4) The plan will emphasize the protection and enhancement of the
historic values of the Trail, while providing the public with
opportunities for compatible recreation activities; (5) Development and
management of each segment of the National Trails System shall be
designed to harmonize with, and complement, any established multiple-
use plans for the specific area in order to ensure continued maximum
benefits from the land (National Trails System Act, Sec 7. (a)(2); (6)
The lifestyles and concerns of area residents, including the activities
of grazing and hunting, will be recognized in the plan; (7) Any lands
along the trail which are acquired by federal agencies from willing
sellers to accomplish purposes for which the trail
[[Page 27684]]
was designated will be managed consistent with the National Trails
System Act; (8) The planning process will involve American Indian
tribal governments and will provide strategies for the protection of
recognized traditional uses; (9) Decisions in the plan should strive to
be compatible with the existing plans and policies of adjacent local,
State and Federal agencies as long as the decisions are in conformance
with Congressional direction and federal laws, regulation and policy;
(10) The location of the trail has been determined by historical
information and actual field surveys and will be further refined using
Geographic Information Systems.
A range of alternatives, including a No Action alternative, will be
developed to respond to the issues identified at the outset of the
process. Each alternative will provide different solutions to the
issues and concerns brought out. The objective in alternative
formulation will be to develop realistic, implementable solutions that
represent a complete plan, in and of themselves. The public will assist
in the development of a range of alternatives during the community
workshops. Preliminary issues and management concerns include: (1) How
the historic, scenic and natural resources of the trail will be
preserved; (2) How management of the trail will affect activities and
use by the public; (3) How trail management will be integrated with
tribal and other government agency and community plans; (4)
Availability of opportunities to provide visitor services, education
and/or recreation; (5) Incorporation of international interest in the
trail; and (6) Effect of National Historic Trail designation on private
property.
A preliminary public participation plan has been developed and sets
forth the methods by which the public has the opportunity to be
informed and involved so they can participate effectively in the
planning and NEPA process. The public involvement process will focus on
an interactive dialogue of information that will result in the exchange
of constructive ideas, alternatives and new possibilities for
mitigating potential environmental impact associated with this project.
The plan will also be responsive to the requirements of
Presidential Executive Order 12898 on Environmental Justice. This
Executive Order requires Federal agencies to identify potential
disproportionate impacts on low income and minority communities. In
addition, the Executive Order requires each Federal agency to provide
opportunities for community input in the NEPA process, including
identifying potential effects and mitigation measures in consultation
with affected communities and improving accessibility of meetings,
crucial documents and notices.
This project impacts multiple agencies and local governmental
jurisdictions. It is important to have roles and responsibilities, as
well as input of the affected entities, established at the outset. The
BLM and NPS will engage other affected or potentially interested
Federal agencies, North American Indian tribes, state and county
government, and international partners, early in the EIS process. Their
opinions on issues, scope of work, decisions to be made, and process
are essential to the EIS process. Documents pertinent to the
Environmental Impact Statement, such as Land and Resource Management
Plans, Resource Management Plans, State codes and regulations, County
and City zoning, and land use policies, need to be identified during
this stage. Ongoing communication throughout the project is vital. The
Bureau of Land Management and the National Park Service are committed
to a collaborative planning approach.
Contact Terry Humphrey, BLM, El Camino Real Planning Team Leader at
Taos Field Office, 226 Cruz Alta Road, Taos, New Mexico 87571 or Harry
Myers, NPS, El Camino Real Planning Team Leader at P.O. Box 728, Santa
Fe, New Mexico 87504-0728 for additional information.
Dated: May 9, 2001.
Carsten F. Goff,
Acting State Director, BLM--New Mexico.
Michael D. Snyder,
Acting Director, NPS, Intermountain Region.
[FR Doc. 01-12508 Filed 5-17-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-AG-M