The National Park Service (NPS) has issued the Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) for the “Plant Gathering for Traditional Purposes” Environmental Assessment (EA) for Indiana Dunes National Park. The FONSI can be found online. The Environmental Assessment was developed jointly by the National Park Service and the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians.
The selected alternative, Alternative B, allows the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians to conduct traditional gathering of plants and plant parts at Indiana Dunes National Park under 36 CFR 2.6, Gathering of Certain Plants or Plant Parts by Federally Recognized Indian Tribes for Traditional Purposes (Plant Gathering Rule). The 2016 Plant Gathering Rule defines requirements for gathering and removal of plants or plant parts for traditional purposes by enrolled members of Federally recognized Indian Tribes. It authorizes agreements between the NPS and tribes to facilitate continuation of tribal cultural practices on lands within areas of the National Park System where those practices traditionally occurred, without causing a significant adverse impact to park resources or values.
Original source can be found here.
