DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR,  National Park Service

Environmental Impact Statement/General Management Plan; 

Channel Islands National Park, Ventura County, California;

Notice of Intent To Expand Scope of the Environmental Impact Statement

 webmaster's note: for more background information: http://www.nps.gov/chis/parkmgmt/upload/CHISdisplays.pdf

SUMMARY: Pursuant to section 102(C) of the National Environmental 

Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA; 42 U.S.C. 4321, et seq.), and in accord with 

Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) regulations including 40 CFR 

1501.7, the National Park Service is expanding the scope of the 

Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) which is being prepared for the 

General Management Plan (GMP) for Channel Islands National Park. As 

part of this conservation planning effort, the EIS will include a 

wilderness study to determine if any portions of the park should be 

recommended for inclusion in the National Wilderness Preservation 

System as defined in the Wilderness Act of 1964. This new element will 

be included as part of the EIS currently in preparation. Accordingly 

this notice supplements and updates the original Notice of Intent 

published with regard to initiation of the GMP project in the Federal 

Register on November 8, 2001. As a result, the scope of the EIS will be 

expanded to include an evaluation of foreseeable effects associated 

with possible designation of wilderness within the park.

    As noted previously, the GMP will establish the overall direction 

for the park, setting broad management goals for managing the area over 

the next 15 to 20 years. The GMP will prescribe desired resource 

conditions and visitor experiences that are to be achieved and 

maintained throughout the park. Based on the desired conditions, the 

GMP will outline what resource management and visitor activities, and 

what limited developments, that would be appropriate in the park. Among 

the topics that have been addressed thus far are ecosystem management, 

preservation of natural and cultural resources, landscape restoration, 

island access, road and trail systems, facility and staff needs, 

research needs, and education and interpretive efforts. A range of 

reasonable alternatives for managing the park, including ``no-action'' 

and ``preferred'' alternatives, will be developed through the planning 

process and included in the EIS. The EIS will evaluate the potential 

environmental consequences of all alternatives, and identify 

appropriate mitigation strategies. An ``environmentally preferred'' 

alternative will be identified, and any potential for unacceptable 

impacts or impairments to park values will also be disclosed.

    Scoping Process: To facilitate full and complete conservation 

planning and analysis of environmental impact, the National Park 

Service (NPS) is gathering information relevant to the GMP/Wilderness 

Study and the associated EIS, and is obtaining new suggestions and 

relevant information from the public on the scope of issues to be 

addressed (comments previously provided to the planning team need not 

be re-submitted). In concert with local, state, tribal, and other 

federal agencies, consideration will also be made for cooperative 

management of resources outside park boundaries that affect the 

integrity of the park. Comments and participation in this final phase 

of the scoping process are encouraged. Persons not previously 

participating and now wishing to provide relevant information or 

comment about issues or concerns may do so as follows: written comments 

may be sent via regular mail to Channel Islands NP Planning Team, NPS-

Denver Service Center, P.O. Box 25287, Denver, Colorado 80225 (or 

transmitted via the Internet at http://parkplanning.nps.gov.
[webmaster's note: After reaching the Park Planning page, scroll down 
the list of parks and select Channel Islands NP.] They may 

express their concerns at public meetings to be held in Santa Barbara 

and Ventura (to be scheduled during spring-summer, 2009). Finally, they 

may hand-deliver written comments to the park headquarters in Ventura, 

California. 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.

DATES: All written comments on the scope of the GMP/Wilderness Study/

EIS must be postmarked, hand delivered, or electronically transmitted 

August 6, 2009. [webmaster's note: date has been extended to August 10, 2009]
An update will also be posted on the project Web site.

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