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Welcome to the Uinta Basin Chapter of the Utah Friends of Paleontology. If you have an interest in the unique
paleontological resources of the area, and would like to work alongside professional paleontologists, contact any
of the officers listed on our site, or download an application and mail it to the address posted. One of our chapter
officers will contact you shortly.
DEIS for Dinosaur National Monument Quarry Visitor Center Treatment Project
We received this letter from Mary Risser, the Superintendent of Dinosaur National Monument. Your assistance in responding will be most appreciated!
- Dale Gray, President Uinta Basin Chapter
Dear Interested Party:
The National Park Service (NPS) is making available for public review the Draft Environmental Impact Statement / Assessment of Effects for the Quarry Visitor Center Treatment Project (DEIS) for Dinosaur National Monument. On July 12, 2006, the National Park Service found it necessary to close the Quarry Visitor Center (QVC) at Dinosaur National Monument due to structural instability. This DEIS for the treatment of the Quarry Visitor Center evaluates five alternatives that are designed to address the structural shortcomings associated with the Quarry Visitor Center.
The preferred alternative would provide for a shelter and interpretive area at the fossil wall, either by rehabilitating the existing exhibit hall or constructing a new structure. The existing administrative wing, south wing, and serpentine entry ramp would be demolished and their functions relocated to new interpretive and administrative structures constructed at the shuttle staging area. The existing exhibit hall would be incorporated into the design to the extent practicable.
The construction of a joint National Park Service/Utah State Parks curatorial facility and paleontology laboratory in downtown Vernal, Utah, is a separate project and was addressed in an environmental assessment in summer 2006. A "Finding of No Significant Impact" for that project was signed by the NPS Intermountain Regional Director on September 8, 2006.
We welcome your input on the QVC project. The DEIS is available for review on the park planning web site http://parkplanning.nps.gov/dino). Paper copies of the DEIS are available for review at the Superintendent's Office, Dinosaur National Monument, and at the county public libraries in Vernal, Utah, and Craig, Colorado.
For your convenience, either a CD-Rom or paper copy of the document is also available. If requesting a copy of the document, please specify whether you would like an electronic version on CD-ROM or a paper copy. Written requests for a CD-Rom or paper copy should be mailed to Superintendent, Dinosaur National Monument, at the address below or at DINO_Superintendent@nps.gov.
Public comments will be accepted until August 10, 2007. You may post your comments electronically at http://parkplanning.nps.gov/ by going to the Document List, selecting the draft document and then clicking on the Comment on document link.
Before including your address, phone number, e-mail address, or other personal identifying information in your comment, you should be aware that your entire comment - including your personal identifying information - may be made publicly available at any time. Although you can ask us in your comment to withhold your personal identifying information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so.
If you have any questions regarding the proposed project, or should you need additional information, please contact Wayne Prokopetz, Chief of Research and Resource Management, at (435) 781-7721. We thank you in advance for your attention, and we appreciate your concern for the future of Dinosaur National Monument.
Sincerely,
Mary Risser
Superintendent
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