Cape Lookout National Seashore WELCOME to Public Scoping

1
Cape Lookout National SeashoreWELCOME to Public
Scoping
Cape Lookout ORV Management Plan/Environmental
Impact Statement
2
Purpose and Objectives of Public Scoping Meeting

• Explain planning process and timeline
• Share information about the plan purpose, need,
  objectives, and issues
• Receive your comments

3
The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)

• Became law in 1969, and is a legal requirement.
• 6 goals of NEPA
• Imposes analysis and public review requirements
  on federal decision makers.
• Requires that we analyze the effects of federal
  actions to the human environment the natural
  and physical environment and the relationship of
  people with that environment.

4
The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)

• Governs National Park Service planning, since
  plans are federal actions.
• Is an umbrella statute, meaning that the
  environmental impact statement for the plan must
  also describe the federal agencys compliance
  with other relevant laws, regulations, executive
  orders, and policies.

5
Executive Orders Relevant to ORV Planning

• Executive Order 11644 established policies and
  procedures to ensure that off-road vehicles on
  public lands will be controlled and directed to
  protect the resources of those lands, promote the
  safety of all users of those lands, and minimize
  conflicts among those users.

6
Executive Orders Relevant to ORV Planning

• Executive Order 11644, Section 3 (a)
• Each agency must issue regulations to designate
  the specific areas where ORVs will be located,
  which will meet the following criteria
• (1) Area and trails shall be located to minimize
  damage to soil, watershed, vegetation, or other
  resources of public lands.

7
Executive Orders Relevant to ORV Planning

• Executive Order 11644, Section 3
• (a) (2) Areas and trails shall be located to
  minimize harassment of wildlife or significant
  disruption of wildlife habitats.

8
Executive Orders Relevant to ORV Planning

• Executive Order 11644, Section 3
• (a) (3) Areas and trails shall be located to
  minimize conflicts between off-road vehicle use
  and other existing or proposed recreational uses
  of the same or neighboring public lands, and to
  ensure the compatibility of such uses with
  existing conditions in populated areas, taking
  into account noise and other factors.

9
Executive Orders Relevant to ORV Planning

• Executive Order 11644, Section 3
• (a) (4) Areas and trails shall be located in
  areas of the National Park system only if the
  respective agency head determines that off-road
  vehicle use in such locations will not adversely
  affect their natural, aesthetic, or scenic
  values.

10
Executive Orders relevant to ORV planning

• Executive Order 11644, as amended by Executive
  Order 11989, states that the Agency head shall
  immediately close ORV areas or trails if he
  determines that the use of these vehicles will
  cause or is causing considerable adverse effects
  on the soil, vegetation, wildlife, wildlife
  habitat or cultural or historic resources until
  these adverse effects have been eliminated and
  that measures have been implemented to prevent
  future recurrence.

11
Executive Orders relevant to ORV planning

• Executive Order 11989 Section 9(b) provided
  that each agency head is authorized to adopt a
  policy that portions of the lands in his
  jurisdiction be closed to off-road vehicles
  except those areas or trails which are suitable
  and specifically designated as open to such use

12
Executive Orders when signed by the President?

• 1st Executive Order 1973 (Nixon)
• 2nd Executive Order 1979 (Carter)
• So why is the National Park Service just now
  acting on this?
• Park committed to the long-range planning
  process.
• Settlement of nationwide ORV lawsuit
• Because if we did not act, ORV use on the
  Seashore would be illegal.

13
WHY IS NPS MAKING AN ORV PLAN/EIS AND
REGULATION?We are required to by law Executive
Orders and 36 C.F.R. 4.10 - Travel on park
roads and designated routes.

• Subsection (b) Routes and areas designated for
  off-road motor vehicle use shall be promulgated
  as special regulations. The designation of
  routes and areas shall comply with 36 C.F.R. 1.5
  and E.O. 11644. Routes and areas may be
  designated only in national recreation areas,
  national seashores, national lakeshores and
  national preserves.

14
Long-Range ORV Management Plan/ Environmental
Impact Statement Planning Process
Internal Scoping Identify purpose, needs,
objectives, and issues
May 2007 September 2007 Spring
2008 Spring 2008 Fall 2008 Spring
2009

Public Scoping Solicit public input, especially
on issues and ideas for alternatives
WE ARE HERE

Create Alternatives NPS reviews comments received
from the public and other agencies develops a
full range of reasonable alternatives
Public scoping on the alternatives
Impact Analysis NPS analyzes the impacts of
alternatives on the affected environment,
including socioeconomic impacts and impacts on
park visitors
Preparation of Draft Plan / EIS and draft
regulation
15
Long-Range ORV Management Plan/ Environmental
Impact Statement Planning Process
Fall 2009 Fall / Winter 2009 Winter
2009 Spring 2010 Summer 2010 Fall
2010
Notice of Availability of Draft Plan / EIS and
draft regulation NPS publishes a notice of
availability in the federal register, as well as
a press release and brochure advising that the
plan/EIS and draft regulation is ready for public
review.

60 day Public Comment Period on the Draft Plan /
EIS and draft regulation

Preparation of Final Plan / EIS
Notice of Availability of Final Plan / EIS and
waiting period
Record of Decision NPS prepares this document to
substantiate a decision based on an EIS. It
includes a statement of the decision made, a
detailed discussion of decision rationale, and
the reasons for not adopting all mitigation
measures analyzed, if applicable.
Prepare final regulation and publish in the
Federal Register
16
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) Planning
Process

• First step is to develop the Purpose, Need, and
  Objectives for taking action and to Identify
  Issues
• You can find the Purpose, Need, Objectives, and
  Issues for the Cape Lookout ORV Management
  Plan/EIS in the flyer for this meeting and on the
  posters around the room.

17
Why is an ORV Plan/EIS needed?

• Comply with Executive Orders 11644 and 11989
  regarding ORV use, and with NPS laws, regulations
  (36 CFR 4.10), and policies to minimize impacts
  to Seashore resources and values.
• Establish an approved plan incorporating public
  input that reduces the potential for inconsistent
  management of ORV use, user conflicts, and safety
  concerns.
• Provide for sustainable recreational use.

18
Why is an ORV Plan/EIS needed?

• Protect natural and cultural resources from
  potential effects of ORV use.
• Provide for protected species management in
  relation to ORV and other uses that replaces the
  Cape Lookout National Seashore Interim Protected
  Species Management Plan/EA and associated
  Biological Opinion.

19
Interaction between Cape Lookout National
Seashore General Management Plan/EIS and the ORV
Management Plan/EIS

• ORV use is identified as an acceptable use in the
  Seashore by the General Mgmt Plan.
• Question remains how to manage this use?

20
Purpose of ORV Plan/EIS(What the plan should
accomplish)

• The purpose of this Plan/EIS is to manage ORV use
  in compliance with the Seashores enabling
  legislation, NPS management policies, and other
  laws and regulations to ensure protection of the
  natural, cultural, and recreational values of the
  Seashores dynamic coastal barrier island
  environment for present and future generations.

21
Objectives

• Objectives are smaller goals that must all be met
  in large part for the plan to be considered a
  success.
• Weve developed 9 categories of Objectives for
  the plan, posted around the room.

22
Examples of the draft Objectives Identified for
the CALO ORV management plan/EIS (Objectives are
posted around the room)

• Management Methodology
• Natural Physical Resources
• Threatened, Endangered, and Other Protected
  Species
• Vegetation
• Other Wildlife and Wildlife Habitat
• Cultural Resources
• Visitor Use and Experience
• Visitor Safety
• Park Operations

23
Management

Methodology

• Identify criteria to designate ORV use areas and
  routes.
• Establish ORV management practices and procedures
  that have the ability to adapt in response to
  changes in the Seashores dynamic physical and
  biological environment.
• Continue an ongoing and meaningful dialogue with
  the multiple public groups interested in/affected
  by ORV management.

24
Natural Physical Resources

• Minimize impacts from ORV use to soils and
  topographic features, e.g. dunes, oceans, beach,
  wetlands, tidal flats, etc.

25
Threatened, Endangered, and other Protected
Species

• Provide protection for threatened, endangered,
  and other protected species (e.g., state-listed
  species) and their habitats from adverse impacts
  related to recreational uses as required by state
  and federal laws and policies, such as the
  Endangered Species Act, the Migratory Bird Treaty
  Act, and NPS laws and management policies.

26
Visitor Use and Experience

• Manage ORV use to allow for a variety of
  appropriate visitor use experiences.
• Minimize conflicts between ORV use and other
  uses.
• Ensure that ORV operators are informed about the
  rules and regulations regarding ORV use at the
  park.

27
Visitor Safety

• Ensure that ORV management promotes the safety of
  all visitors.

28
Park Operations

• Identify operational needs and costs to fully
  implement an ORV management plan.

29
Issues

• In NPS NEPA planning, issues often describe
  concerns or obstacles to accomplishing the
  objectives.
• Issue statements describe the relationship
  between actions that could be taken and the
  environmental (natural, cultural, and
  socioeconomic) resources.

30
Examples of the Issues Identified for the CALO
ORV management plan/EIS (Issues are posted
around the room)

• Federally Listed Threatened and Endangered
  Species Management and use of ORVs could impact
  federally threatened or endangered species and
  their habitat on both the ocean and soundside of
  the Seashore. Conflicts between the listed
  species and ORV use could create direct or
  indirect losses to the species.

31
Issues Identified

• Locally Sensitive Species Management and use of
  ORVs at the Seashore may impact habitat for the
  American oystercatcher, colonial beach nesters,
  and other locally sensitive species, as well as
  species listed by the State of North Carolina,
  that may be vulnerable to such use.

32
Issues Identified

• Economy of the Communities around the Seashore
  Management and use of ORVs could affect the local
  economy as the demand for goods and services in
  these communities could be influenced by the
  level of ORV use at the Seashore.
• Seashore Management and Operations Management
  and use of ORVs may impact Seashore operations by
  requiring additional staff and funds.

33
Issues Identified

• Visitor Use and Experience Management and use of
  ORVs could result in user conflicts and changes
  to visitor use and experience. For some visitors
  ORV use is an integral component of their visitor
  experience, for others the presence of ORVs may
  detract from their visitor experience.

34
Where do issues and objectives come from? Why
are there so many natural resource issues and
objectives?

• NEPA requires analysis of the human environment
  this focuses primarily on the natural and
  physical environment.
• The National Park Service Organic Act of 1916
  preserve resources unimpaired for the enjoyment
  of future generations.
• The Executive Orders specifically require that we
  make findings on some of these issues.
• Internal scoping NPS staff identified some of
  these topics as issues and objectives in a
  preliminary meeting.
• Public scoping Issues and objectives can
  potentially change based on your comments.
• Finally, some issues will be dismissed in the
  environmental impact statement, but the rationale
  for why we dismiss them has to be discussed.
  This requires that we identify them first.

35
Alternatives

• Alternatives are the heart of the NEPA
  environmental planning process.
• A full range of reasonable alternatives is
  required in an Environmental Impact Statement.
• Where Purpose and Need define the problems,
  Alternatives are different ways to solve them,
  i.e. they meet the purpose and objectives while
  resolving need and issues.
• They are all within stated constraints, including
  NPS policies.

36
Alternatives

• .
• Each should minimize impacts to all or several
  resources.
• Alternatives provide real options for decision
  makers. There are not straw alternatives.
• They require a creative approach.
• They are based on environmental, rather than
  technical, logistic or economical differences.
• They must be reasonable.

37
Reasonable Alternatives

• Economically feasible
• Display common sense
• Meet the objectives of the ORV Plan/EIS
• Technically feasible
• Not necessarily the cheapest or easiest solution

38
How Alternatives Are Developed
Review of NPS Organic Act, NPS Management
Policies, Other Related Federal Requirements
Review of Park's Enabling Legislation, Cape
Lookout Purpose and its Significance
Develop Purpose, Need, and Objectives for the ORV
Management Plan/EIS
Develop Range of Alternatives based on Federal
Laws and Policies, Public Input,
Science, and Practical Management Experience
39
How Alternatives Are Developed
40
All Reasonable Alternatives?

• When there are many alternatives that could be
  analyzed, choose a few that cover the full
  spectrum of options.
• It is the range of alternatives that is most
  important, rather than the number.

41
Alternatives

• Must include No Action which means our
  current management actions. In other words,
  alternatives are compared to the no action (the
  baseline) to determine both beneficial and
  adverse effects.

42
How to Provide Comments during Public Scoping

• Accepting comments tonight via open house and
  public hearing.
• Comments must be received by October 26, 2007
• You can submit comments directly on-line on the
  NPS Planning, Environment, and Public Comment
  (PEPC) website at http//parkplanning.nps.gov/CALO
  
• this website is not on the flyer

43
How to Provide Comments during Public Scoping

• Written comments may be be submitted to
• Cape Lookout National Seashore
• Attn Wouter Ketel
• 131 Charles Street
• Harkers Island, NC 28531
• Please include your full name, mailing address,
  and e-mail address so that we may add you to the
  project mailing list. Comments must be received
  by October 26, 2007.