Torrey, UT -National Park Service Acting Intermountain Regional Director Kate Hammond approved the Capitol Reef National Park Livestock Grazing and Trailing Management Plan, which incorporates substantial public and stakeholder input.
Under the plan and consistent with current laws, the existing permit holder will continue grazing operations in their allotment. The plan also maintains, in perpetuity, traditional trailing routes that cross the park and provides the NPS the ability to issue two new trailing permits to another permit holder that used to graze livestock in the park.
In addition, the plan incorporates widely-accepted management techniques such as pasture rotation, fencing, trailing best management practices, and monitoring and adaptive management. As described in the environmental assessment (EA) that was released in July 2018 and the Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI), the plan will provide the NPS and permit holders with tools necessary to balance grazing and trailing with available forage, which is expected to improve the condition of rangeland health and park resources, including threatened and endangered species and riparian areas.
The FONSI, which is available at https://parkplanning.nps.gov/care_lgtmp_fonsi, includes attachments with responses to substantive comments and updates to the EA based on public comments.
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Source: U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service
