INTRODUCTION
<<
Previous
|
Table of
Contents |
Next
>>
SCOPING
Scoping is the effort to involve agencies and citizens in determining the nature
and extent of issues to be addressed in this environmental assessment. Scoping
determines important issues and eliminates issues that are not important;
allocates assignments among the interdisciplinary team members and/or other
participating agencies; identifies related projects and associated documents;
identifies permits, surveys, consultations, etc. required by other agencies; and
creates a schedule that allows adequate
time to prepare and distribute the environmental assessment for public review
and comment before a final decision is made. Scoping includes any interested
agency, or any agency with jurisdiction by law or expertise to obtain early
input.
The staff of Crater Lake National Park, Federal Highway Administration, U.S.
Forest Service, and resource professionals of the National Park Service, Denver
Service Center, conducted internal scoping. This interdisciplinary process
defined the purpose and need, identified potential actions to address the need,
determined the likely issues and impact topics, and identified the relationship
of the proposed action to other planning efforts at the park.
A press release initiating public scoping and describing the proposed action was
issued 26 June 2002 (appendix 1). Comments were solicited during a public
scoping period. No comments were received. Letters were sent to tribes and
agencies on 3 July 2002 (see “Consultation and Coordination” in appendix 2).
The undertakings described in this document are subject to section 106 of the
National Historic Preservation Act, as amended in 1992 (16 United States Code (USC)
470 et seq.). The National Park Service conducted a survey for historic
properties in July and August of 2002, and in a determination of eligibility,
recommended the “Wagon Roads in Crater Lake (Western Half)” as eligible for
listing in the National Register of Historic Places. The Oregon State Historic
Preservation Office (SHPO) concurred on the determination of eligibility (see
Appendix 2) and a copy of this environmental assessment will be sent to the
Oregon SHPO in accordance with the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation
regulations (36 CFR Part 800).
In accordance with section 7(c) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as
amended (16 USC 1531 et seq.), it is the responsibility of the federal agency
proposing the action, in this case the National Park Service, to determine
whether the proposed action would adversely affect any listed species or
designated critical habitat; this determination is documented in a letter to the
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service dated 23 August 2002 (see appendix 5).
