Final General Management Plan/Wilderness Study/Environmental Impact Statement: Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, Hawaii

The National Park Service (NPS) has prepared a Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) for the General Management Plan (GMP) for Hawaii Volcanoes National Park (Hawaii Volcanoes NP or park). This FEIS describes and analyzes three GMP alternatives that respond to public concerns and issues identified during the overall public engagement process. Each alternative presents management strategies for resource protection and preservation, education and interpretation, visitor use and facilities, land protection and boundaries, and long- term operations and management of Hawaii Volcanoes NP. The potential environmental consequences of all the alternatives, and mitigation strategies, are analyzed and the ``environmentally preferred'' alternative is identified. The proposed GMP also includes a wilderness study (WS) which analyzes wilderness suitability of park lands and includes a recommendation for wilderness designation. With due consideration for the minimal public and agency response to the Draft EIS (no substantive new information has been received), the NPS has utilized an abbreviated format in preparing the FEIS. Upon approval, this GMP will supersede the 1975 Master Plan.