Zasoby i środowisko · 27.01.2010

Wind Cave National Park, Custer County, SD

Pursuant to Section 102(2)(C) of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4332(C)), the National Park Service (NPS) announces the availability of the Record of Decision (ROD) for the Final Elk Management Plan and Final Environmental Impact Statement (Plan), Wind Cave National Park, Custer County, South Dakota. On December 3, the Midwest Regional Director approved the ROD for the project. As soon as practicable, the NPS will begin to implement the Preferred Alternative contained in the final EIS. The NPS will implement the preferred alternative, Alternative B, as described in the final Plan issued on October 30, 2009. The emphasis of this alternative is to make maximum use of hunting on public and private lands outside the park to reduce and maintain the population of elk utilizing the park. This will be accomplished cooperatively with the South Dakota Department of Game Fish and Parks through managed annual public hunting on lands surrounding Wind Cave National Park. Initial reduction activities are expected to occur over a period of 1 to 5 years, with annual maintenance activities conducted thereafter. Because this may not be sufficient to reduce the elk population