Public Scoping Comment Report for Wilderness Breach Management Plan Now Available

Date: February 26, 2016
Contact: Kaetlyn Jackson
Contact: Elizabeth Rogers

Patchogue, NY- Fire Island National Seashore Superintendent Chris Soller announced today the Public Scoping Comment Summary Report for the Wilderness Breach Management Plan and Environmental Impact Statement (Plan/EIS) is available on the National Park Service (NPS) Planning, Environment, and Public Comment website. The report summarizes public input received during the 2015 scoping period and will help shape the Draft Plan/EIS.

More than 350 individual correspondences were received during the public scoping period,open from August 31 through October 8, 2015. Public comments will inform the development of the Draft Plan/EIS, expected to be available for public review and comment late summer, 2016.

Public scoping is the first step in the EIS planning process. Information collected during public scoping helps the NPS identify management strategies and issues relevant to the analysis of the benefits and consequences of those strategies. 

On August 31, 2015, the NPS released a Public Scoping Newsletter for the Plan/EIS to invite the public, agencies, and stakeholders to submit comments and engage in the planning process. The scoping newsletter is also available on the NPS Planning, Environment, and Public Comment website.

The NPS initiated the planning process in 2015 to support a decision on how to manage the breach that was created within the Otis Pike Fire Island High Dune Wilderness Area of the Seashore during Hurricane Sandy. In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act, the NPS will prepare a Breach Plan/EIS to provide a thorough evaluation to determine the potential benefits and consequences of management strategies prior to making a decision on how to manage the wilderness breach. For more information please visit Fire Island National Seashore's website.