Mountain Goat Management Plan/EIS

Olympic National Park » Mountain Goat Management Plan/EIS » Document List

The National Park Service has prepared a Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) and Record of Decision (ROD) for a Mountain Goat Management Plan (plan/FEIS) for Olympic National Park. This plan/FEIS was developed in cooperation with the USDA Forest Service and Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife.

This plan/FEIS provides management direction to address resource stewardship and human safety concerns resulting from the presence of non-native mountain goats within Olympic National Park. The Final Mountain Goat Management Plan considers potential impacts to park resources and values, including visitor experience, wilderness character, vegetation, wildlife and habitat, park operations, and cultural resources.

The plan/FEIS also proposes moving goats from the Olympic Peninsula to native mountain goat habitat on the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie and Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forests.

The selected action authorizes the park to proceed with the effort to relocate the majority of mountain goats to USDA Forest Service lands in the North Cascades national forests and the lethal removal of the remaining mountain goats in the park. Approval of the ROD and FEIS culminate an extensive public engagement and environmental impact analysis effort that began in 2014.

The NPS will now begin coordinating strategies and logistics for capture and translocation operations that will begin in summer 2018 in the park with relocation to non-wilderness areas within the North Cascades national forests.

Following the publication of the NPS ROD, the USFS will issue a draft decision document (ROD), subject to the Agency's objection process, before making a final decision. Legal notices to initiate the objection period will be published in the newspapers of record for the three national forests involved in the plan: Olympic National Forest, Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest, and Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest.

Please click on the "Document List" link on the left side of this page to view the ROD, FEIS, and associated documents.

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Contact Information

ONP Public Information Officer: Penny Wagner (360) 565-3005
Implementation Questions: Patti Happe (360) 565-3065
Implementation Questions: Louise Johnson (360) 565-3060
NEPA/Compliance Process Questions: Christina Miller (360) 565-3008