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Notice of Intent (NOI) To Prepare a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for an Off-Road Vehicle Management Plan (ORV Management Plan) for Cape Hatteras National Seashore, NC

Note: EPA no longer updates this information, but it may be useful as a reference or resource.

 [Federal Register: December 11, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 237)]
[Notices]
[Page 71552-71553]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr11de06-55]

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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service

Notice of Intent (NOI) To Prepare a Draft Environmental Impact
Statement (DEIS) for an Off-Road Vehicle Management Plan (ORV
Management Plan) for Cape Hatteras National Seashore, NC

SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given in accordance with the National
Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA), 42 U.S.C. 4332, and Council on
Environmental Quality regulations, 40 CFR 1506.6, that the U.S.
Department of the Interior, National Park Service (NPS), will prepare
an ORV Management Plan/EIS. The ORV Management Plan/EIS will be used to
guide the management and control of ORVs at Cape Hatteras National
Seashore (the Seashore), North Carolina, for approximately the next 10
to 15 years. It will also form the basis for a special regulation that
would regulate ORV use at the Seashore. The ORV Management Plan/EIS
will assess potential environmental impacts associated with a range of
reasonable alternatives for managing ORV impacts on park resources such
as threatened and endangered species, soils, wetlands, wildlife, and
cultural resources. Socioeconomic impacts and effects on visitor
experience and public safety will also be analyzed.

DATES: To determine the scope of issues to be addressed in the ORV
Management Plan/EIS and to identify significant issues related to the
ORV management at the Seashore, the NPS will conduct public scoping
meetings in North Carolina at Buxton, Kill Devil Hills, and Raleigh,
North Carolina and in Washington, DC. Representatives of the NPS will
be available to discuss issues, resource concerns, and the planning
process at each of the public meetings. When public scoping meetings
have been scheduled, their locations, dates, and times will be
published in local newspapers and posted on the NPS Planning,
Environment and Public Comment (PEPC) Web site at 
http://parkplanning.nps.gov/CAHA.

ADDRESSES: Written comments or requests for information should be
addressed to Mike Murray, Superintendent, Outer Banks Group, 1401
National Park Drive, Manteo, North Carolina 27954. Comments may also be
hand delivered to Mike Murray, Superintendent, Outer Banks Group, 1401
National Park Drive, Manteo, North Carolina. In addition comments may
be entered on-line in the NPS PEPC Web site at 
http://parkplanning.nps.gov/CAHA. To comment using PEPC, select the
``Cape Hatteras National Seashore ORV Management Plan/DEIS project,''
select ``documents,'' select this ``Notice of Intent,'' and then select
``Comment'' and enter your comments.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mike Murray, Superintendent, at 252-
473-2111, extension 148. E-mail Mike_Murray@nps.gov. Further
information about this project may also be found on the PEPC Web site
at http://parkplanning.nps.gov/CAHA including links to information
about the NEPA planning process and the regulatory negotiation process.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The ORV use on the Seashore beaches predates
establishment of the park in 1953. The ORVs (mostly 4-wheel drive
pickup trucks and sport utility vehicles) are used to provide vehicular
access onto the Seashore beaches for recreational and commercial
purposes, including surf fishing, surfing, sunbathing, swimming, bird
watching, scenic driving, commercial fishing, etc. Ranger counts of
ORVs on the beach have reached as high as 2,200 a day on summer holiday
weekends.
    Executive Order 11644, issued in 1972 and amended by Executive
Order 11989 in 1977, states that Federal agencies allowing ORV use must
designate the specific areas and trails on public lands on which the
use of ORVs may be permitted, and areas in which the use of ORVs may
not be permitted. Agency regulations to authorize ORV use shall provide
that designation of such areas and trails will be based upon the
protection of the resources of the public lands, promotion of the
safety of all users of those lands, and minimization of conflicts among
the various uses of those lands. Executive Order 11644 was issued in
response to the widespread and rapidly increasing use of ORV on the
public lands--``often for legitimate purposes but also in frequent
conflict with wise land and resource management practices,
environmental values, and other types of recreational activity.''
Therefore, in accordance with the Executive Order, the purpose of this
action is to develop an ORV Management Plan/EIS that considers
alternative management strategies consistent with the park's enabling
legislation, and park mandates for preservation of resources and values.
    An ORV Management Plan is needed because lack of an approved plan
over time has led to inconsistent management of ORV use. As the popularity
of the Seashore continues to grow, conflicts between visitors who

[[Page 71553]]

seek access to the Seashore by means of an ORV and those desiring a
variety of other experiences has increased. Related to the need to
provide consistency in ORV management is the need to provide
consistency in resource protection in areas of ORV use, particularly as
required under the Endangered Species Act of 1973. Compounding these
issues, the Seashore is also subject to dynamic weather-related events
that continually change the beach, and sometimes limit the area that
can be accessed safely by ORVs. Therefore, the need for action is to:
(1) Provide a comprehensive plan that complies with Executive Orders
11644 and 11989 respecting ORV use, and with laws (e.g. the NPS Organic
Act, park enabling legislation, Endangered Species Act, Migratory Bird
Treaty Act), NPS regulations (36 CFR 4.10), and policies to minimize
impacts to park resources and values; and, (2) Develop and assess a
range of options within the plan that provides for a variety of visitor
experiences, including access for ORV use, to the degree these
experiences are consistent with the park's enabling legislation.
    The ORV Management Plan/EIS will cover lands administered by the
NPS on Bodie, Hatteras, and Ocracoke Islands on the Outer Banks of
North Carolina. The 5,880 acre Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge
(Refuge), located at the northern end of Hatteras Island, is part of
the Seashore, but is administered for refuge purposes by the U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service (USFWS) in accordance with the National Wildlife
Refuge System Administration Act, 16 U.S.C. 668dd et seq. The USFWS is
responsible for determining whether ORVs are compatible with the
purposes of the Refuge; therefore Refuge lands are excluded from the
Seashore ORV Management Plan/EIS.
    During initial internal scoping the NPS interdisciplinary team
identified a number of draft objectives for the ORV Management Plan/
EIS, including:
    Management Methodology: Identify criteria to designate appropriate
ORV use areas and routes.
    Visitor Use and Experience: Manage ORV use to allow for a variety
of visitor use experiences. Minimize conflicts between ORV use and
other uses. Provide for ORV use for those activities consistent with
park resource conservation as recognized under the Seashore's enabling
legislation.
    Threatened, Endangered, and Species of Special Concern: Provide
protection for threatened, endangered, and sensitive species and their
habitats from adverse impacts related to ORV use.
    Because the management of ORVs at the Seashore has been
controversial, the NPS has arranged through an interagency agreement
with the U.S. Institute for Environmental Conflict Resolution for a
neutral facilitation team to assess the feasibility of using negotiated
rulemaking to reach a consensus agreement among interested parties that
may be used as a basis for an NPS ORV special regulation. Based on the
feasibility assessment, the NPS is developing a Notice of Intent to
Establish a Negotiated Rulemaking Committee which would be published
separately in the Federal Register for public comment. If a committee
is established, the negotiated rulemaking and NEPA planning processes
would be conducted concurrently.
    Before including your address, phone number, e-mail address, or
other personal identifying information in your comment, you should be
aware that your entire comment--including your personal identifying
information--may be made publicly available at any time. While you can
ask us in your comment to withhold your personal identifying
information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be
able to do so.
    The draft and final ORV Management Plan/EIS will be made available
to all known interested parties and appropriate agencies. Full public
participation by Federal, State, and local agencies as well as other
concerned organizations and private citizens is invited throughout the
preparation process of this document.
    The responsible official for this ORV Management Plan/EIS is
Patricia A. Hooks, Regional Director, Southeast Region, National Park
Service, 100 Alabama Street, SW., 1924 Building, Atlanta, Georgia 30303.

    Dated: December 1, 2006.
Paul B. Hartwig,
Acting Regional Director, Southeast Region.
[FR Doc. E6-20961 Filed 12-8-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-X3-P

 
 

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