Public Comment Opportunities

 

NPS Photo.

Just as cartographers draw maps that help hikers know where they are going, park planners facilitate the development of guiding documents, or plans, that provide managers with directions for how a park should be managed. Planners bring together the ideas of park staff and interested members of the public to create plans that provide a vision for what the park will be like in the years to come.

Park plans must also be consistent with all other applicable laws, regulations, and policies at the federal, state, and local levels. Two key laws which guide park planning are the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA), which partially dictate the processes and methods by which park plans are developed and their potential impacts and effects are analyzed.

 

Documents Open for Public Review

There are currently no projects with documents open for public review for Grand Canyon National Park.

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.

 

You are an important part of the planning process! Public comments help identify the range of issues that should be addressed in major planning efforts. Public scrutiny of proposed actions helps to ensure that project actions are consistent with the National Park Service mission, enabling legislation, and other relevant laws and policies. Each major planning process usually provides numerous opportunities for public involvement. Your voice is integral in shaping the future of Grand Canyon National Park.

 

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 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).