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Public
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| Events/Participation | Summary
of Scoping Comments | Draft Elk and
Vegetation Management Plan and Environmental Impact Statement
 Newsletters
Preparation
of the elk and vegetation management plan and draft environmental
impact statement has required coordination across multiple
agencies and jurisdictions to address several potential
management actions. Alternatives that were initially developed
have been revised and are now undergoing analysis. Summaries
of the alternatives can be reviewed in the summer 2005 newsletter.
A revised schedule is available on the Planning pages of
the Elk and Vegetation Management Plan website.
Events/Participation
Public scoping, as previously described on the Planning
Process page, consists of multiple phases. The first phase
of scoping asked the public to identify issues, concerns,
and ideas related to the management of elk and vegetation
and also to review potential management tools and suggest
additional management actions, which were considered in
the development of draft alternatives. Comments on the initial
phase of public scoping were accepted through October 10,
2003. A summary of the comments received during the first
phase of scoping follows.
Summary of Scoping Comments
During the first phase of public scoping, comments were
received by letter, fax, and electronic mail; through the
Internet; from public workshop results; on comment forms
distributed via postal mail, and at visitor centers in the
park. Collectively, 1,137 comments were received.
Comments ranged from one word answers to the question asking
what the most important issues associated with the management
of elk and vegetation were (e.g., vegetation condition,
overpopulation) to lengthy technical discussions of multiple
issues. During the content analysis process, each comment
was considered to have equal merit.
The comments received at the public meetings were primarily
in response to two questions posed on posters to the attendees:
What are the most important issues and concerns you have:
Regarding elk and vegetation management in Rocky Mountain
National Park and the surrounding areas?
Regarding the identification of CWD prevalence in elk within
Rocky Mountain National Park?
The majority of you agreed that there is a need for action
regarding the management of elk and vegetation. However,
there was a diversity of opinions expressed on how to achieve
the management objectives.
One of the goals of the scoping process was to identify
issues and potential management actions that had not previously
been considered. None of the comments presented any unique
perspectives or approaches that were not identified or discussed
previously, perhaps with the exception of feeding elk within
the park. Typically, the comments on the potential management
actions either identified details about what should be incorporated
in one or more of the management tools or they combined
elements of previously identified management actions in
different configurations.
The responses related to potential management actions and
the numbers of comments in support or opposition to specific
management tools should not be construed as a vote. That
was neither the purpose nor intent of soliciting scoping
comments. Regardless of the numbers associated with supporting
and opposing viewpoints, the take-home message is that the
topics, issues and potential management actions/tools that
were commented on are important and need to be carefully
considered during the development and evaluation of alternatives
for managing elk and vegetation in Rocky Mountain National
Park and the Estes Park region.
In the second phase of scoping, which was completed in the
fall 2004, you were asked to review and comment on the draft
alternatives (comments were accepted through September 13,
2004). The report summarizing comments received regarding
the alternatives can be viewed by selecting the following
hyperlink:
Alternatives
Workshop and Public Comments on the Draft Alternatives Report
Draft Elk
and Vegetation Management Plan and Environmental Impact
Statement
The draft EIS is now available for your review and comment.
The public comment period on the draft plan/EIS officially
began on April 20, 2006, with EPA publication of a Notice
of Availability (NOA) in the Federal Register. Because of
the size and complexity of the draft plan/EIS, Rocky Mountain
National Park’s Superintendent Vaughn Baker has established
a 75-calendar-day review period to ensure the public has
ample time to review the document and submit comments. Thus,
the deadline for submittal of your comments is July 4, 2006.
You can review and comment on the draft plan/EIS on-line
at the NPS Planning, Environment, and Public Comment website,
Planning, Environment and Public Comment.
Written comments can be mailed to the name and address
below. You may also hand deliver comments at one of several
public meetings described below or to the park headquarters.
Please note that it is the practice of the NPS to make
all comments, including names and addresses of respondents
who provide that information, available for public review
following the conclusion of the NEPA process. Individuals
may request that the NPS withhold their name and/or address
from public disclosure. If you wish to do this, you must
state this prominently at the beginning of your comment.
Commentators using the website can make such a request by
checking the box "keep my contact information private."
NPS will honor such requests to the extent allowable by
law, but you should be aware that NPS may still be required
to disclose your name and address pursuant to the Freedom
of Information Act.
Please address written comments to:
Vaughn Baker, Superintendent
Rocky Mountain National Park
Attn: Elk and Vegetation Management Plan
Estes Park, Colorado 80517
Public Meetings
During the week of May 22, 2006, the NPS will hold informational
public meetings concerning the draft plan/EIS. All meetings
will take place from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. and will have an
open house format with informational posters and staff present
to answer questions. A presentation of the draft plan/EIS
will be given at 7:00 p.m. Written comments can be submitted
at the meetings as well as the options listed under the
Plan Home Page (http://www.nps.gov/romo/planning/elkvegetation/index.htm).
Meetings will be held at the following locations:
• Monday, May 22, 2006: Millennium Harvest Hotel,
1345 28th St., Boulder, CO
• Tuesday, May 23, 2006: Pulliam Community Building,
545 North Cleveland Ave., Loveland, CO
• Wednesday, May 24, 2006: Grand Lake Elementary School,
301 Marina Drive, Grand Lake, CO
• Thursday, May 25, 2006: Holiday Inn, 101 South St.
Vrain Ave., Estes Park, CO
Posters Presented During
Public Information Meetings
Purpose
of the Plan (pdf 1.12 mb)
Elk
Range (pdf 985 kb)
Alternatives
1-4 (pdf 730 kb)
Alternative
5 (pdf 467 kb)
Estimated
Costs of Each Alternative (pdf 474 kb)
Impacts
on Elk Population (pdf 1.2 mb)
Impacts
on Visitor Experience (pdf 836 mb)
Impacts
on Wildlife (pdf 733 mb)
Thank you for your participation in the planning
process. | 
