National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior Aztec Ruins National Monument New Mexico General Management Plan and Environmental Assessment The National Park Service preserves unimpaired the natural and cultural resources and values of the national park system for the enjoyment, education, and inspiration of this and future generations. The Park Service cooperates with partners to extend the benefi ts of natural and cultural resources conservation and outdoor recreation throughout this country and the world. GENERAL MANAGEMENT PLAN/ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT Aztec Ruins National Monument San Juan County, New Mexico February 2010 This document is the General Management Plan/Environmental Assessment for Aztec Ruins National Monument. A general management plan (GMP) describes the general approach the National Park Service intends to follow in managing this national monument over the next 15 to 20 years. The general management plan portion of this document identifi es the monument’s purpose, signifi cance, and fundamental resources and values (Chapter 1), followed by three alternative ways to manage cultural and natural resources, visitor experience, and facilities to preserve these important resources and values (Chapter 2). Alternative 1 is the “no-action alternative” that provides a baseline against which to evaluate the other alternatives; it would result in continuation of current management practices into the future. Alternative 2 would expand resource management and visitor opportunities beyond the West Ruin to areas such as East Ruin and North Ruin. Alternative 3 would also expand resource management and visitor opportunities, and further emphasize outreach and partnerships and the intertwined future of both the monument and its surrounding environment in achieving common goals. Alternative 3 is the National Park Service’s Preferred Alternative, the management strategy the National Park Service intends to implement. If approved, it would establish the framework for more detailed plans and decisions to come. The environmental assessment portion of this document (Chapters 3, 4, and 5) provides background information about conditions in and around Aztec Ruins National Monument for cultural and natural resources, visitor experience and educational opportunities, the socioeconomic environment, and monument operations. It further addresses the environmental consequences (also known as “impacts”) that would be expected from implementing each of the three GMP alternatives. This General Management Plan/Environmental Assessment will be released to the public for a 60-day comment period. Following the review period, the National Park Service planning team will evaluate comments from other federal agencies, organizations, businesses, and individuals in preparation for a decision document for approval of the plan. This document records the National Park Service selection of an alternative for implementation and will be signed by the National Park Service regional director. HOW TO COMMENT ON THIS PLAN Comments on this General Management Plan/Environmental Assessment (GMP/EA) are welcome and will be accepted for 60 days after its release. Comments should be provided online at the National Park Service (NPS) Planning, Environment and Public Comment Web site: http://parkplanning.nps.gov/azru Click on “General Management Plan,” then in the left column, click on “Open for Public Comment.” Finally, follow the directions for entering comments. For members of the public without Internet access, comments may be mailed in writing to: Dennis L. Carruth Superintendent, Aztec Ruins National Monument 84 County Road 2900 Aztec, NM 87410-9715 We encourage you to provide us with written comments on this document during the 60-day comment period, especially to provide your opinion with regards to the alternatives presented herein. Dates for which the comment period is open are listed on the Web site shown above and are advertised via NPS news releases and local media. You may contact the superintendent for this and other project-related information at (505) 334-6174 ext. 222. It is the practice of the National Park Service to make all comments, including names and addresses of respondents who provide that information, available for public review following the conclusion of the planning process. However, before including your address, phone number, email 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. While 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. SUMMARY INTRODUCTION This general management plan (GMP) describes the general path the National Park Service intends to follow in managing Aztec Ruins National Monument over the next 15 to 20 years. The new plan will give comprehensive guidance for preserving cultural and natural resources and for providing quality visitor experiences at this remarkable community of ruins along the Animas River in Aztec, New Mexico. Its purpose is to ensure that managers and the public share the same vision of how best to achieve the monument’s purpose and protect its resources unimpaired for future generations. Because implementation of the GMP is a proposed federal action, the National Environmental Policy Act mandates that the National Park Service consider a range of alternatives, including no action, and disclose the environmental impacts of each alternative. Thus, an environmental assessment is being prepared in conjunction with this GMP for Aztec Ruins National Monument. Aztec Ruins is currently being managed under a GMP that was completed in 1989. Since it was completed, many of the goals have been achieved and new issues and planning interests have arisen that warrant a new GMP to provide direction. These interests include the need to: Determine desired future conditions for natural and cultural resources, visitor experience, and facilities development for the nearly 300 acres of land that have been added to the monument boundaries since 1988, in addition to the original 27 acres. Inventories and resource knowledge that has been acquired since the 1989 GMP and the changing and projected future operational needs must also be incorporated into these desired future conditions. Reassess and make recommendations regarding the development that was prescribed in the 1989 GMP. Some of that development has not been implemented, and some development has occurred that departed from these prescriptions. Address potential impacts to monument resources and visitor experience from development that may occur outside, but adjacent to, the monument boundaries, and in association with active gas wells within the monument. Explore partnership opportunities with neighbors, the City of Aztec, American Indian tribes, and others to protect resources within and surrounding the monument, and to enhance opportunities for enjoyment and understanding by visitors to the monument and residents throughout the region. Seek the input of the local community, American Indian tribes, and other interested parties. BACKGROUND AND BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF AZTEC RUINS NATIONAL MONUMENT Aztec Ruins National Monument was established in 1923 to protect a “ruin of great antiquity and historical interest ... with a view to the preservation of said ruin for the enlightenment and culture i SUMMARY of the nation” (Presidential Proclamation). Originally, it contained 4.6 acres and was called Aztec Ruin National Monument. The name was changed to Aztec Ruins National Monument in 1928 when its size was increased to 17.2 acres. It was expanded to 25.9 acres in 1930 and to 27.2 acres in 1948. Finally, Aztec Ruins was expanded to 317.8 acres in 1988. Research indicates that Aztec was the core of an extensive ceremonial center with other major features directly related to the Aztec Ruins. Many of these resources are intact and currently preserved within the monument boundary. On December 8, 1987, the United Nations Educational, Scientifi c and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) designated Aztec Ruins National Monument, along with Chaco Culture National Historical Park, as a World Heritage Site. With this listing, the national monument became one of twenty World Heritage Sites in the United States. Due to their importance, resources within the national monument that warrant primary consideration in the planning process include ancestral Pueblo features such as the primary group of ruins in the West Ruin and East Ruin complexes, including the original intact masonry, wooden roofs, artifacts, and earthworks, and the reconstructed Kiva; surrounding archeological sites; prehistoric roadways; and the overall landscape. Other important resources that are considered include wildlife, vegetation, and the viewshed. The values of Aztec Ruins National Monument considered during the planning process include: the opportunity to experience and make connections with an ancestral Pueblo community; the many American Indians who have strong connections to the area; archeological resources, which can contribute knowledge to the past, present, and future; and the opportunity to understand the continuum from ancient Pueblo communities, to the monument’s historic landscape and use, to current management by the National Park Service. Through collaboration, there is potential to share American Indian oral histories and traditions