42914 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 163 / Tuesday, August 25, 2009 / Notices 

procedures under which NPS facilities 

will develop and implement Public Risk 

Management Program. The Director’s 

Order will help park staff do what is 

possible consistent with the NPS 

Organic Act and other applicable laws 

to prevent visitor injuries. It is also 

important that staff understand and 

communicate, when possible, that 

visitors are responsible for their own 

safety when they come to enjoy parks. 

DATES: Written comments will be 

accepted until September 24, 2009. 

ADDRESSES: Draft Director’s Order #50C 

is available on the Internet at http:// 

www.nps.gov/policy/DO–50Cdraft.htm. 

Requests for copies of, and written 

comments on, the Director’s Order 

should be sent to Sara Newman, Public 

Risk Management Program Director, 

Risk Management Division, 1201 Eye 

Street, NW., Washington, DC 20005, or 

to her Internet address: 

sara_newman@nps.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sara 

Newman at (202) 513–7225. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: When the 

NPS adopts documents containing new 

policy or procedural requirements that 

may affect parties outside the NPS, the 

documents are first made available for 

public review and comment before 

being adopted. The draft Director’s 

Order covers topics such as the 

elements, principles, and 

responsibilities of staff for carrying out 

a public risk management program. 

Public Availability of Comments 

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. 

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. 

Dated: July 21, 2009. 

Karen Taylor-Goodrich, 

Associate Director, Visitor and Resource 

Protection. 

[FR Doc. E9–20433 Filed 8–24–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4312–52–P 

DEPARTMENT OF INTERIOR 

National Park Service 

Warner Valley Comprehensive Site 

Plan; Lassen Volcanic National Park, 

Plumas County, CA; Notice of 

Availability of Draft Environmental 

Impact Statement 

Summary: Pursuant to § 102(2)(C) of 

the National Environmental Policy Act 

of 1969 (Pub. L. 81–190 as amended), 

the National Park Service (NPS), 

Department of Interior, has prepared a 

Draft Environmental Impact Statement 

(DEIS) for the Warner Valley 

Comprehensive Site Plan. This 

conservation planning effort has four 

main objectives: (1) Improving visitor 

experience and enhancing public safety 

through improvements to infrastructure 

and relocating infrastructure so it is less 

visible; (2) Ecological restoration of 

Warner Valley fen and wetland areas; 

(3) Removal or repair of Dream Lake 

Dam and restoration of associated 

riparian/wetland complex; (4) Protect 

and enhance the Drakesbad Historic 

District through removal of noncontributing structures and functions. 

The DEIS evaluates alternative methods 

for accomplishing ecological restoration 

and cultural resource protection; 

appropriate mitigation measures are 

incorporated, and an ‘‘environmentally 

preferred’’ course of action is identified. 

The two ‘‘action’’ alternatives are based 

upon information gained during 

extensive public scoping, and adhere to 

2006 Management Policies and 

applicable laws. 

Background: Warner Valley is located 

in the south central part of the Lassen 

Volcanic National Park and 

encompasses a 400-acre project 

planning area. The Warner Valley area 

includes Dream Lake Dam, built in 1932 

by Alex Sifford and which impounds an 

approximately 2.7 acre lake. The center 

of the valley features a large meadow 

that contains one of the largest known 

fens in the Sierra Nevada and Cascade 

mountains. The upper valley area was 

originally developed for cattle ranching 

in the late 1800’s by E.R. Drake, who 

initiated efforts to ditch and dry out the 

wet meadow to improve the grazing for 

cattle. In 1900, Mr. Drake sold Warner 

Valley to the Sifford family who focused 

on developing a summer guest ranch for 

the next 50 years. The Siffords built the 

10 historic structures which now form 

the core of Drakesbad Guest Ranch 

Historic District (both Dream Lake and 

the meadow are contributing features). 

This transformed the overnight 

accommodations from tent camping 

near hot springs into a guest ranch. The 

Siffords also developed or improved 

trails, created a hot spring fed pool, 

constructed corrals, dewatered the 

meadow, and built the dam to enhance 

recreational opportunities for their 

guests. In 1958 the guest ranch and land 

were sold to the NPS; the Guest Ranch 

continues today as a concession 

operated by California Guest Services. 

The current Drakesbad wetland 

conditions include a fen which is drying 

out and ceasing to function as a fen, and 

Dream Lake which has submersed a 

natural wetland. The Historic District 

has accumulated with features and 

structures which diminishes its historic 

character. Lack of clearly demarcated 

parking impacts natural resources by 

allowing car traffic to encroach in 

sensitve areas. Hikers traveling the 

Pacific Crest Trail must walk on the 

unimproved Warner Valley Road, which 

also bifurcates the nearby campground. 

Range of Alternatives: This DEIS 

describes and analyzes a No Action 

alternative (Alternative 1, which would 

continue current management practices) 

and two ‘‘action’’ alternatives. 

Alternatives 2 and 3 contain a varying 

mix of three major components: (1) 

Improving visitor experience and safety 

through improving or relocating noncontributing infrastructure so it has less 

impact on visitor experience and 

historic district qualities; (2) ecological 

restoration of wetlands including 

Drakesbad fen, the larger Warner Valley 

fen wetland, and Dream Lake riparian/ 

wetland complex; (3) Protect and 

enhance the Historic District by 

removing non-contributing structures 

and functions. Both of the ‘‘action’’ 

alternatives include the following 

‘‘common’’ elements: 

• Move concession employee 

housing, storage, generator, and propane 

tanks out of the Historic District and 

into a new service area. 

• Create a Pacific Crest Trail 

connection so hikers may avoid using 

the Warner Valley road. 

• Renovate and slightly expand the 

non-historic bathhouse adjacent to the 

swimming pool. 

• Reduce parking sprawl by replacing 

inadequate wheel stops. 

• Minor changes to the campground 

and fee station location, including 

relocation of the day use/trailhead 

parking from a meadow to the 

campground. 

Alternative 2 (agency-preferred) 

components include: 

• Ecological restoration of Warner 

Valley fen through permanently filling 

ditches with appropriate soil and native 

material. 

• Creating a concession housing and 

service center outside of the Historic 


pwalker on DSK8KYBLC1PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 163 / Tuesday, August 25, 2009 / Notices 42915 

District composed of tent cabins 

surrounding a single-story bathroom 

building. 

• Removal of Dream Lake Dam and 

allowing the area to revert to a riparian/ 

wetland complex. 

Alternative 3 includes: 

• Restoration of Warner Valley fen 

through selective damming of ditches. 

• Creating a concession housing and 

service center outside the Drakesbad 

Historic District composed of a twostory dormitory building with 

bathrooms. 

• Reconstruct Dream Lake Dam to 

Bureau of Reclamation engineering 

standards. 

Scoping and Public Involvement: A 

preliminary scoping effort for the 

Warner Valley comprehensive plan was 

initiated on June 1, 2004, with posting 

of a request at the Drakesbad Guest 

Ranch Lodge for comments about 

potential future management options for 

the upper valley area. Public meetings 

for the Warner Valley Comprehensive 

Site Plan were held during June 13–15, 

2005, in Red Bluff, Chester, and 

Vacaville. Meeting announcements were 

printed in the Red Bluff Daily News, 

Chester Progressive, Redding Record 

Searchlight, and the Sacramento Bee (20 

additional media outlets, including 

newspaper, radio stations, and 

television stations were also notified). 

The formal scoping phase was initiated 

on June 24, 2005, with publication in 

the Federal Register of the Notice of 

Intent to prepare an EIS. Approximately 

700 public scoping announcements 

were distributed including details of 

date, time, and location of the public 

open houses. These outreach activities 

elicited information from individuals, 

agencies, and organizations which aided 

the alternatives formulation and 

environmental impact analysis 

processes. 

Previously, public scoping meetings 

were held for the Dream Lake Dam 

Management Plan during November 4– 

7, 2002, in the Chico, Red Bluff, 

Redding, and Chester. The same media 

outlets mentioned above were notified. 

Formal public scoping for the original 

Dream Lake Dam Management Plan was 

initiated on April 4, 2003, with 

publication of a Notice of Intent to 

prepare an EIS in the Federal Register. 

This initial conservation planning effort 

was expanded into the broader Warner 

Valley Comprehensive Site Plan as it 

became apparent that separate planning 

projects would be more time consuming 

to accomplish. All comments obtained 

throughout the extended scoping effort 

have been fully considered in preparing 

this DEIS. 

Comments: The DEIS will be sent to 

affected Federal, Tribal, State, and local 

government agencies, to interested 

parties, and all those requesting copies 

(specify compact disc or paper format). 

The document will be available at park 

headquarters and at local public 

libraries, and will also be posted on the 

Lassen Volcanic National Park Web site 

(http://www.nps.gov/lavo) and on the 

NPS Planning, Environment and Public 

Comment Web site (http:// 

parkplanning.nps.gov/lavo). All written 

comments must be postmarked or 

transmitted not later than November 21, 

2009. Periodically updated project 

information will be announced via 

regional and local press media and 

posted on the project Web sites. 

Written comments may be submitted 

by letter to Lassen Volcanic National 

Park, Warner Valley DEIS, P.O. Box 100, 

Mineral, CA 96063 (or may be 

transmitted electronically to http:// 

parkplanning.nps.gov/lavo). Public 

meetings will be hosted in Chester, 

Anderson and Vacaville during 

September 2–9, 2009; details including 

time and location will be posted on the 

Lassen Volcanic National Park Web site 

(see above). Questions regarding status 

of project planning may be directed to 

Sean Eagan (530.595.4444 ext 5176 or 

via e-mail sean_eagan@nps.gov). 

All comments are maintained in the 

project’s administrative record and will 

be available for public review at Lassen 

Volcanic National Park Headquarters. 

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. 

While you can ask us in your comments 

to withhold your personal identifying 

information from public review, we 

cannot guarantee that we will be able to 

do so. 

Decision Process: Following careful 

analysis of all comments as may be 

forthcoming in response to the DEIS, at 

this time it is anticipated that the Final 

EIS would be completed in November 

2009. The availability of the final 

document will be similarly announced 

in the Federal Register, and also 

publicized via local and regional press 

media, direct mailings, and Web site 

postings. No sooner than thirty days 

after the distribution of the Final EIS a 

Record of Decision may be executed. As 

a delegated EIS the approving official 

responsible for the final decision is the 

Regional Director, Pacific West Region. 

Subsequently, the official responsible 

for implementing the approved 

Comprehensive Site Plan will be the 

Superintendent, Lassen Volcanic 

National Park. 

Dated: May 13, 2009. 

Jonathan B. Jarvis, 

Regional Director, Pacific West Region. 

[FR Doc. E9–20437 Filed 8–24–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4312–60–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

National Park Service 

General Management Plan; City of 

Rocks National Reserve, Cassia 

County, ID; Notice of Intent to Prepare 

an Environmental Impact Statement 

SUMMARY: In accordance with § 102(2) 

(C) of the National Environmental 

Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321, et 

seq.), the National Park Service (NPS) is 

undertaking a conservation planning 

and environmental impact analysis 

process for creating a new General 

Management Plan (GMP) for City of 

Rocks National Reserve (Reserve), 

Idaho. A Land Protection Plan would 

accompany the GMP and provide 

priorities for both cultural and natural 

resource protection needs. The Land 

Protection Plan is particularly needed to 

guide future land acquisition strategies 

for this unit of the National Park System 

due to the complex ownership of 

private, state, and federal land. The 

GMP is intended to serve as a 

‘‘blueprint’’ to guide management of 

natural and cultural resources and 

visitor use during the next 15–20 years. 

One or more development concept 

plans, which guide more detailed, sitespecific preservation and development, 

may also be included with the GMP. 

Consistent with NPS Planning Program 

Standards, the new GMP will: (1) 

Describe the Reserve’s purpose, 

significance, and primary interpretive 

themes; (2) identify the fundamental 

resources and values of the Reserve, its 

other important resources and values, 

and describe the condition of these 

resources; (3) describe desired 

conditions for cultural and natural 

resources and visitor experiences 

throughout the Reserve; (4) develop 

management zoning to support these 

desired conditions; (5) develop 

alternative applications of these 

management zones to the Reserve’s 

landscape (i.e. zoning alternatives); (6) 

address user capacity; (7) analyze 

potential boundary modifications; (8) 

ensure that management 

recommendations are developed in 

consultation with interested 

stakeholders and the public and 

adopted by NPS leadership after an 

adequate analysis of the benefits, 


pwalker on DSK8KYBLC1PROD with NOTICES