Draft General Management Plan
To view the GMP process, newsletters and draft alternatives issued to this date visit click the link below.
Effigy Mounds National Monument General Management Plan
General Management Plan ("GMP")
The National Park Service is planning for the future of EffigyMounds National Monument. A general management plan will be developed to establish a general framework to guide future management decision making. This will determine how the park will address resource management, visitor uses, development needs, and interpretation or education issues for the next 15 to 20 years.
The planning team will work closely with federal, state, and local agencies, interested parties, and the public. We want you to participate in this planning process.
Effigy Mounds National Monument was established by Presidential Proclamation 2860 on October 25, 1949, to protect significant prehistoric earth mounds found in northeast Iowa and to protect wildlife, scenic, and other natural values of the area.The Monument preserves outstanding representative examples of significant phases of prehistoric Indian mound-building cultures in the American Midwest; protects wildlife and natural values within the monument; and provides for scientific study and appreciation of its features - for the benefit of this and future generations.
GMP Process to this Date:
In November 2005, the park received comments from the public at several scoping meetings regarding what their vision of the park was in the future. These comments along with park staff suggestions were used to create three preliminary management alternatives for the park.
During January 2007, the National Park Service conducted two meetings to inform the public of these preliminary alternatives and to receive their comments about the development of potential management alternatives for Effigy Mounds National Monument's general management plan. The public was given an opportunity to share their thoughts on which alternative they preferred, select options from any of the alternatives that they believed should be part of the park's management strategy, or add to the list of options to be considered. This was followed by a public comment period regarding the preliminary management alternatives, which ended during the Spring of 2007.
Meetings and the comments received have provided members of the General Management Plan Team with the public's view of what preliminary alternatives were acceptable and which were not. The team then met to develop the National Park Service's preferred alternative.
The planning team has developed a Revised Draft General Management Plan / Environmental Impact Statement (GMP) for Effigy Mounds National Monument. This document is a 15 to 20 year strategic plan intended to provide overall direction for future management of the National Monument, and a framework for managers to use in making decisions about how best to protect park resources, what levels and types of uses are appropriate, what facilities should be developed or removed, and how people should access the park.
This document replaces the Draft General Management Plan / Environmental Impact Statement for Effigy Mounds National Monument released in May 2009. The revisions to the document are a result of an evaluation of past construction activities and practices in the park, particularly those with the potential to harm the archeological resources. To ensure the protection of the resources, the National Park Service has spent a significant amount of time in the past two years reassessing the proper role, function, and form of development in a landscape dominated by the mounds. As a result, the alternatives now propose far less development than the May 2009 version, and some delays were introduced into the planning effort.
The General Management Plan will set the tone for the management of this park for a long time, so it is extremely important for us to get feedback on it before it becomes final. I hope you will take the time to review the enclosed document and provide us with your thoughts by November 4, 2011 . You can submit your comments in any one of the following ways:
1. Submit written comments to:
National Park Service
Denver Service Center - Planning
Kate Randall, Project Manager
12795 W. Alameda Parkway
PO Box 25287
Denver, CO 80225-0287
2. Drop your comments off at one of the public open houses:
Tuesday, September 20 from 1:00pm to 3:00pm
Prairie du Chien City Hall, located at 214 East Blackhawk Avenue in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin
Tuesday, September 20 from 6:00pm to 8:00pm
Effigy Mounds National Monument Visitor Center, located three miles north of Marquette, Iowa on Highway 76
Wednesday, September 21 from 1:00pm to 3:00pm
Effigy Mounds National Monument Visitor Center, located three miles north of Marquette, Iowa on Highway 76
Wednesday, September 21 from 6:00pm to 8:00pm
McGregor Public Library, located at 334 Main Street in McGregor, Iowa
3. Comment electronically at http://parkplanning.nps.gov/projectHome.cfm?projectID=13821.
Thank you for taking the time to review and comment on this critically important park planning document. If you you have any questions about the plan or the planning process, please feel free to call Superintendent Jim Nepstad at 563-873-3491, extension 101.
To download a copy of the Revised Draft GMP, view the GMP process, or to share your comments, please visit the official website for the planning effort at http://parkplanning.nps.gov/projectHome.cfm?projectID=13821.
For additional information or to put your name on the planning mailing list, please call (563) 873.3491.
