[Federal Register: February 28, 2003 (Volume 68, Number 40)]
[Notices]
[Page 9713-9714]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr28fe03-139]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service
Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for
the General Management Plan for the Virgin Islands Coral Reef National
Monument
AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.
SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that in accordance with the National
Environmental Policy Act of 1969, the U.S. Department of the Interior,
National Park Service will prepare an Environmental Impact Statement on
the General Management Plan for the Virgin Islands Coral Reef National
Monument. The statement will assess potential environmental impacts
associated with various types and levels of visitor use and resources
management within the park boundary. Specific issues to be addressed
include the management of vessels, appropriate levels and types of
visitor use in the park, desired conditions for the national monument's
cultural and natural resources, and strategies and approaches needed to
achieve and maintain those conditions. In cooperation with local,
territorial, and other federal agencies, attention will also be given
to cooperative management of resources outside the boundaries that
affect the integrity of Virgin Islands Coral Reef National Monument.
DATES: Locations, dates, and times of scheduled public scoping meetings
will be published in local newspapers and posted in local libraries.
Information on scheduled meetings may also be obtained by contacting
the Superintendent, Virgin Islands Coral Reef National Monument,
telephone (340) 776-6201, extension 242. The purpose of the scoping
process is to elicit public comment regarding the full spectrum of
public issues and concerns. Representatives of the National Park
Service will be available to discuss issues, resource concerns, and the
planning process for the GMP and EIS at each of the public meetings.
[[Page 9714]]
ADDRESSES: Any comments or requests for information should be addressed
to: Superintendent, Virgin Islands National Park, 1300 Cruz Bay Creek,
St. John, Virgin Islands, 00830, Telephone: (340) 776-6201, extension
242.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: John Barrett, National Park Service,
Southeast Regional Office, (404) 562-3124, extension 637 or John King,
Superintendent, Virgin Islands National Park, (340) 776-6201, extension
242.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Virgin Islands Coral Reef National
Monument, located in the submerged lands off the island of St. John in
the U.S. Virgin Islands, contains all the elements of a Caribbean
tropical marine ecosystem. The national monument designation furthers
the protection of the scientific objects included in the Virgin Islands
National Park, created in 1956 and expanded in 1962. The biological
communities of the monument live in a fragile, interdependent
relationship and include habitats essential for sustaining and
enhancing the tropical marine ecosystem, including mangroves, sea grass
beds, coral reefs, sand communities, shallow mud and fine sediment
habitat, and algal plains. The monument contains several threatened and
endangered species, which forage, breed, nest, or rest in the waters.
Humpback whales, pilot whales, four species of dolphins, brown
pelicans, roseate terns, least terns, and the hawksbill, leatherback,
and green sea turtles all use portions of the monument. Countless
species of reef fish, invertebrates, and plants utilize these submerged
lands during their lives, and over 25 species of sea birds feed in the
waters.
This planning effort will evaluate a range of alternative methods
to provide a quality visitor experience while maximizing protection of
resources and operational efficiency. Public documents associated with
the planning effort, including all newsletters, will be posted on the
Internet through the park's Web site at http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/leaving.cgi?from=leavingFR.html&log=linklog&to=http://www.nps.gov/viis.
Our practice is to make the public comments we receive in response
to planning documents, including names and home addresses of
respondents, available for public review during regular business hours.
If you wish for us to withhold your name and/or address, you must state
this prominently at the beginning of your comment. Anonymous comments
will be included in the public record. However, the National Park
Service is not legally required to consider or respond to 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.
The draft and final environmental impact statement will be
distributed to all known interested parties and appropriate agencies.
Full public participation by federal, territory, 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 environmental impact statement is
the Regional Director, National Park Service, Southeast Region, 100
Alabama Street SW., Atlanta, Georgia 30303.
Dated: December 11, 2002.
W. Thomas Brown,
Acting Regional Director, Southeast Region.
[FR Doc. 03-4812 Filed 2-27-03; 8:45 am]
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