News Release: Coastal Forum 8/02
Extension of worksheet comment period 3/02
Protection Strategies Worksheet 1/02
Links to other NPS sites:
Feasibility Study
The Errata and Summary of Public Comments and Responses is currently being printed. It will be mailed to all who commented on the draft report when printing is complete, probably in April 2004. |
Background
In November 1999, Congress
directed the National Park Service to complete a special resource
study, or feasibility study, of the Gaviota Coast. This study will determine
whether the area, or any portion of it, is eligible and suitable to
be managed as a unit of the National Park System. The feasibility study
process assesses whether:
- the resources in the area are nationally significant
- there are other means of protecting the area's resources
- the area's resources are already represented in the National Park System
- it is feasible for the NPS to protect and manage the resources.
Project Status and Schedule
The NPS study team has been
documenting the significance of the Gaviota area's resources, considering
alternative management strategies, and is preparing a public review
draft report taking into account the many comments received to date. In
January 2002, the NPS distributed a Protection
Strategies Worksheet to solicit further community input into
the development of alternative management strategies. The comment period
was extended to September 1, 2002, in response to individuals and groups
who have requested more time to evaluate local planning efforts. These
comments are being evaluated and will be summarized in a newsletter this
fall.
The next major step will be to prepare the feasibility study and environmental impact statement (EIS), in which the NPS will present a range of alternative management strategies and analyze the environmental and socioeconomic impacts of each alternative. We anticipate releasing a public review draft of the feasibility study in early 2003 for a 90-day review. Copies will be mailed to our mailing list and will be available upon request and on the Internet. Public meetings will be held to give additional opportunities for comment.
The end result of the feasibility study process will be a report of findings and a recommendation to the U.S. Congress. This recommendation may or may not include NPS involvement in the area. A National Park designation can only occur in the Gaviota area with authorization through an act of Congress.
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If you are not on the mailing list and would like to receive an executive summary, or if you would like to receive an electronic copy of the full report on a CD-ROM or a printed copy, please write to us at the address below. You can help us conserve government funds by viewing the full report on this web page or on a CD-ROM. Please let us know by February 24, 2003 if you would like a CD-ROM or a printed copy of the full report in order to guarantee that a copy will be available for you. The public comment period on the Draft Gaviota Coast Feasibility Study Report will include public meetings in the Santa Barbara/Goleta area and the Lompoc/Buellton area. We will announce the details at a later date. |
For more information or to provide comments, please contact us:
mail: National
Park Service, Gaviota Coast Feasibility Study
(PGSO-Planning and Partnerships Team),
1111
Jackson Street, Suite 700, Oakland, CA 94607
e-mail: PGSO_Gaviota@nps.gov
phone: Martha Crusius (510) 817-1447
| The Gaviota Coast is a place which people treasure in many different ways. We hope that this feasibility study process can help the local community find common ground and define a course of action to protect what it values most about the coast. |
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Last Updated 03/09/04