A huge thank-you to Jennifer Champagne of the Rock Creek Park staff for getting this situation with the comment link sorted out! You can know read the deer management EIS at:

http://parkplanning.nps.gov/document.cfm?parkID=198&projectId=14330&documentID=28397

And the comment link in the upper right-hand corner is functioning.

I personally find it easier to type my comments out in Word and then copy and paste into the form, and then I have my own copy.

Whatever your position, remember that this is not a popular vote. They don't just count up how many people are in favor and how many people are opposed. What is most helpful to any agency is getting information and ideas. If you have information that was not considered by the NPS in formulating the EIS or the preferred alternative, or if you think their analysis is wrong (and just saying "your analysis is wrong" is not terribly helpful; you should say why), that kind of substantive comment is not only more helpful to the agency, but also more likely to be persuasive. If you have ideas or information about alternatives that were not considered, offer them up. So, for instance, if you know of a study that shows that immunocontraceptive can be effective in an open population, you should provide that information (and I'd like to see it, too). If you have a model to show that the planned level of population reduction won't be effective, you should provide that information.

That being said, you should NOT refrain from commenting if you only want to say "I support" or "I oppose." In fact, a lot of people assume that there is no need to comment if you agree with the agency's proposed alternative. Not so. It is just as important to file supportive comments as comments in opposition. 


Ellen Paul
Chevy Chase MD