Park Plans

Planning for Our Parks

The National Park Service (NPS) plans for one purpose - to ensure that the decisions it makes will be carried out as effectively and efficiently as possible. The National Park Service prepares a variety of planning and environmental documents to help guide management of park resources. Planning provides methods and tools for resolving issues in ways that minimize conflicts and promotes mutually beneficial solutions - solutions that articulate how public enjoyment of the parks can be part of a strategy for ensuring that resources are protected unimpaired for future generations.

 

Apostle Islands Planning Portfolio

Park managers are guided by a variety of plans, studies, and reports, covering many topics. The totality of a park's plans can be referred to as the Portfolio of Management Plans (portfolio). The portfolio is a dynamic compilation of planning guidance in which certain planning elements are removed and updated, or new elements added as needed. This may include basic descriptions of a park's purpose, such as the Foundation Statement; comprehensive plans, such as a General Management Plan and Wilderness Management Plan; implementation plans, such as a site management plan, transportation plan and fire management plan; and strategic program plans, such as a long-range interpretive plan, as well as cultural and historical reports. The above lists are examples of the types of planning elements that could be found in a portfolio. Each park's portfolio of management plans will be composed of a unique set of plans designed specifically to help manage that particular unit.

 

NEPA/Compliance

NEPA is the acronym for the National Environmental Policy Act. This act, passed in 1969, laid the foundation for environmental protection in the United States by setting policy goals for the federal government. Two major requirements of the act are that agencies analyze the environmental impacts of federal actions and engage the public in the decision-making process.

The first step in the park planning process involves defining the proposed action. For most projects, the next step in the planning process is to determine the appropriate pathway for NEPA documentation based on the proposed action's level of impact to the environment. If the proposed action will not have significant impacts to the environment, the park utilizes a categorical exclusion. If it is unclear whether or not the proposed action will have significant environmental impacts, the park prepares an environmental assessment (EA). If the proposed action will have significant environmental impacts, the park prepares an environmental impact statement (EIS).

Visit the Park Planning website for more information on projects as well as EAs, EIS', and other planning documents.

 

Documents Open for Public Review

There are currently no projects with documents open for public review for Apostle Islands National Lakeshore.

Other Plans and Projects

An archive of completed projects as well as projects without documents open for comment may be found on the PEPC website.