Plan Process

There are several opportunities for public participation during the process of developing the Cape Lookout National Seashore Off-Road Vehicle Management Plan/Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and associated special regulation. We encourage you to read the documents published on this website and share your ideas with us.

While your comments are welcome at any time, they will be most useful during public scoping (Step 3/4 below) and document review periods (Step 8 below).

The steps listed below describe the planning process. Those marked (NEPA) are steps in the National Environmental Policy Act environmental planning process. Those marked (APA) are steps in the Administrative Procedures Act process for promulgating a regulation. Use of the NEPA and APA processes is legally required.


* indicates the current step in the planning process
Step 1. Internal Scoping (NEPA)
Step 2. Publication in the Federal Register of a Notice of Intent to Prepare an environmental impact statement (NEPA)
Step 3. Public Scoping--opportunities to comment on the purpose, need, objectives via email, meetings, and letters (NEPA)
Step 4. Preparation of draft, preliminary alternatives (NEPA)
Step 5. Public comment on draft, preliminary alternatives (NEPA)
Step 6. Preparation of draft plan/EIS (NEPA)
Step 7. Publication in the Federal Register of Notice of Availability of draft plan/EIS (NEPA) *
Step 8. 60 day public comment on Draft Plan/EIS
Step 9. Publish Notice of Availablility of final plan/EIS in the Federal Register (NEPA)
Step 10. Publication in the Federal Register of the proposed regulation (APA)
Step 11. Publish Record of Decision or a summary of it in the Federal Register (NEPA)
Step 12. Prepare final regulation and publish in the Federal Register (APA)