83 FR 19820 - Final Environmental Impact Statement/Mountain Goat Management Plan, Olympic National Park, Clallam, Grays Harbor, Jefferson and Mason County, Washington

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service

Federal Register Volume 83, Issue 87 (May 4, 2018)

The National Park Service (NPS) announces the availability of the Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the management of exotic (non-native) mountain goats at Olympic National Park (park). The Final EIS evaluates four alternatives for managing exotic mountain goats in the park, including options such as translocation to native mountain goat habitat and lethal removal. The USDA Forest Service (Forest Service) and the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) are cooperating agencies on this project.

[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 87 (Friday, May 4, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 19820-19821]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2018-09449]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-PWR-PWRO-25120; PPPWOLYMS1-PPMPSPD1Z.YM0000]


Final Environmental Impact Statement/Mountain Goat Management 
Plan, Olympic National Park, Clallam, Grays Harbor, Jefferson and Mason 
County, Washington

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 Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the management of 
exotic (non-native) mountain goats at Olympic National Park (park). The 
Final EIS evaluates four alternatives for managing exotic mountain 
goats in the park, including options such as translocation to native 
mountain goat habitat and lethal removal. The USDA Forest Service 
(Forest Service) and the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife 
(WDFW) are cooperating agencies on this project.

DATES:  The NPS will execute a Record of Decision (ROD) no sooner than 
30 days from the date of publication by the U.S. Environmental 
Protection Agency of the notice of filing of the Final EIS in the 
Federal Register.

ADDRESSES:  An electronic copy of the Final EIS/plan will be available 
for public review at http://parkplanning.nps.gov/olymgoat. A limited 
number of hard copies will be available in the office of the 
Superintendent, Olympic National Park, 600 East Park Ave., Port 
Angeles, WA 98362.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:  Ms. Christina Miller, Planning and 
Compliance Lead, Olympic National Park, 600 East Park Ave., Port 
Angeles, WA 98362; (360) 565-3004.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The purpose of the Final EIS/plan is to 
allow the NPS to reduce or eliminate impacts to park resources from 
exotic mountain goats, while reducing potential public safety issues 
associated with the presence of mountain goats in the Park. Management 
direction is needed to address resource management and human safety 
issues resulting from the presence of exotic mountain goats in the 
Park. This Final EIS/plan evaluates the impacts of the no-action 
alternative (Alternative A) and three action alternatives (Alternatives 
B, C, and D). Alternative D is the agency's preferred alternative and 
the environmentally preferable alternative. Alternative A would involve 
no new action, but would include full implementation of the 2011 
Mountain Goat Action Plan, including management of individual mountain 
goats in visitor use areas according to a continuum of mountain goat-
human interactions. Specific management actions could range from hazing 
to lethal removal of hazardous mountain goats. Alternative B would 
focus exclusively on the capture of mountain goats within the park and 
on adjacent Olympic National Forest lands followed by their transfer to 
WDFW. WDFW would subsequently translocate the goats to other areas 
chosen at its discretion, including portions of the Cascade Mountain 
Range where mountain goats are native and supplementation of the 
existing population would further mountain goat conservation efforts. 
Alternative C would use lethal removal to eliminate or significantly 
reduce mountain goats in the park and adjacent lands in the Olympic 
National Forest. Alternative D would utilize a combination of capture 
and translocation and lethal removal tools to eliminate or 
significantly reduce mountain goats in the park.

[[Page 19821]]

    The Final EIS/plan responds to, and incorporates where appropriate, 
agency and public comments received on the Draft EIS/plan, which was 
available for public review from July 21, 2017 through October 10, 
2017. The NPS held four public meetings between August 11 and August 
14, 2017 to gather input on the Draft EIS/plan. During the public 
comment period, the NPS received 2,311 pieces of correspondence. In 
response to public comments, the NPS made several revisions to the text 
of the Draft EIS/plan. While most revisions were editorial in nature, 
the NPS did make some substantive changes regarding the timing of 
mountain goat removal and translocation operations under alternatives C 
and D. NPS and cooperating agency responses to public comments are 
provided as an appendix in the Final EIS/plan available at http://parkplanning.nps.gov/olymgoat.

    Authority: 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.

    Dated: April 3, 2018.
Martha J. Lee,
Acting Regional Director, Pacific West Region.
[FR Doc. 2018-09449 Filed 5-3-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4312-52-P