80 FR 81856 - Notice of Availability of the Final White-Tailed Deer Management Plan and Environmental Impact Statement, Fire Island National Seashore, New York

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service

Federal Register Volume 80, Issue 251 (December 31, 2015)

The National Park Service (NPS) announces the availability of the Final White-tailed Deer Management Plan and Environmental Impact Statement (Final Plan/EIS) for Fire Island National Seashore, New York. The Final Plan/EIS identifies Alternative D as the NPS preferred alternative. When approved, the management plan will guide management of white-tailed deer at Fire Island National Seashore through the use of integrated tools and strategies to control the deer population and support preservation of the natural and cultural landscape, protection and restoration of native vegetation and other natural and cultural resources.

[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 251 (Thursday, December 31, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 81856-81857]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2015-32970]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-NER-FIIS-18941; PXXNR5E2150001]


Notice of Availability of the Final White-Tailed Deer Management 
Plan and Environmental Impact Statement, Fire Island National Seashore, 
New York

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability.

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SUMMARY: The National Park Service (NPS) announces the availability of 
the Final White-tailed Deer Management Plan and Environmental Impact 
Statement (Final Plan/EIS) for Fire Island National Seashore, New York. 
The Final Plan/EIS identifies Alternative D as the NPS preferred 
alternative. When approved, the management plan will guide management 
of white-tailed deer at Fire Island National Seashore through the use 
of integrated tools and strategies to control the deer population and 
support preservation of the natural and cultural landscape, protection 
and restoration of native vegetation and other natural and cultural 
resources.

DATES: The NPS will prepare a Record of Decision (ROD) no sooner than 
30 days following publication by the Environmental Protection Agency of 
a Notice of Availability of the Final Plan/EIS in the Federal Register.

ADDRESSES: The Final Plan/EIS is available electronically at http://www.parkplanning.nps.gov/fiis. A limited number of printed copies will 
be available upon request by contacting the Superintendent's office.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Morgan Elmer, NPS Denver Service 
Center, 303-969-2317, [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Fire Island National Seashore (the 
Seashore), a unit of the National Park System, is located along the 
south shore of Long Island in Suffolk County, New York. The Seashore 
encompasses 19,579 acres of upland, tidal, and submerged lands along a 
26-mile stretch of the 32-mile barrier island--part of a much larger 
system of barrier islands and bluffs stretching from New York City to 
the very eastern end of Long Island at

[[Page 81857]]

Montauk Point. The Seashore sustains a white-tailed deer (Odocoileus 
virginianus) population that has expanded since the late 1960s to the 
extent that impacts from high densities of deer have been, and continue 
to be, a complex issue for National Park Service (NPS) managers. As a 
result, pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 
(NEPA), the Seashore prepared a Draft White-tailed Deer Management Plan 
and Environmental Impact Statement (Draft Plan/EIS) to develop a deer 
management strategy that supports preservation of the natural and 
cultural landscape through population management and the protection of 
native vegetation. The Draft Plan/EIS was prepared in cooperation with 
the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYS-DEC) 
and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal and Plant Health 
Inspection Services (APHIS).
    The NPS released the Draft Plan/EIS for public and agency review 
and comment beginning July 31, 2014 and ending October 10, 2014. The 
Draft Plan/EIS evaluated a no action alternative (A) and three action 
alternatives (B, C, and D). Each action alternative presented a 
different strategy to protect native plant communities and cultural 
plantings, promote forest regeneration, further reduce undesirable 
human-deer interactions, and reduce the deer population in the 
Seashore.
    Alternative A would continue existing deer management and 
monitoring efforts throughout the Seashore. These actions include 
continued public education/interpretation efforts, vegetation 
monitoring, and deer population and behavior surveys.
    Alternative B provides a nonlethal deer reduction option to 
implement nonsurgical reproductive control of does when an acceptable 
reproductive control agent is available that meets NPS established 
criteria. Large fence exclosures would also protect forested areas and 
vegetation to allow restoration of the maritime holly forest, other 
natural vegetation and the culturally important vegetation at the 
William Floyd Estate.
    Alternative C provides a lethal deer reduction option through the 
use of sharpshooting with firearms, and possible capture and euthanasia 
to reduce deer populations to the target density and maintain that 
level.
    Alternative D, identified as the NPS preferred alternative, 
provides a combined lethal and nonlethal deer reduction option through 
the use of sharpshooting with firearms, and possible capture and 
euthanasia to reduce deer populations to a desirable level. Once the 
target density has been reached, use of nonsurgical reproductive 
control of does may be used to maintain that level when an acceptable 
reproductive control agent is available that meets NPS established 
criteria.
    Comments were accepted on the Draft Plan/EIS during the 60-day 
public comment period. After reviewing and considering all comments 
received, the NPS has prepared this Final White-tailed Deer Management 
Plan and Environmental Impact Statement (Final Plan/EIS). The Final 
Plan/EIS identifies Alternative D as the NPS preferred alternative with 
no changes from the Draft Plan/EIS and presents the likely 
environmental consequences of implementing the preferred alternative, 
as well as the other alternatives considered. The Final Plan/EIS also 
discusses the comments received on the Draft Plan/EIS and responds to 
substantive comments.

    Dated: August 5, 2015.
Michael A. Caldwell,
Regional Director, Northeast Region, National Park Service.
[FR Doc. 2015-32970 Filed 12-30-15; 8:45 am]
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