[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 159 (Monday, August 18, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 44014-44015]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-21774]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service


Missouri Recreational Riverways Final Environmental Impact 
Statement/General Management Plan

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION: Availability of Final Environmental Impact Statement/General 
Management Plan for the Missouri/Niobrara/Verdigre Creek National 
Recreational Rivers in Charles Mix, Bon Homme, and Gregory counties, 
South Dakota, and Boyd and Knox counties, Nebraska.

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SUMMARY: Pursuant to section 102(2)(c) of the National Environmental 
Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969, the National Park Service (NPS) announces 
the availability of the Final Environmental Impact Statement/General 
Managment Plan (FEIS/GMP) for the Missouri/Niobrara/Verdigre Creek 
National Recreational Rivers. The Draft FEIS/GMP for the recreational 
rivers was on 58-day public review from July 19 to September 14, 1996.
    The NPS will manage a 39-mile section of the Missouri River from 
Fort Randall Dam to the headwaters of Lewis and Clark Lake, a 20-mile 
section of the Niobrara measured upriver from its confluence with the 
Missouri River, and an 8-mile section of Verdigre Creek from the 
northern municipal boundary of the town of Verdigre to its confluence 
with the Niobrara River. The action is in response to a mandate by 
Congress in Pub. L. 102-50, an amendment to the Wild and Scenic Rivers 
Act (16 U.S.C. 1271-1287). The FEIS/GMP was prepared by the National 
Park Service.
    The NPS's preferred alternative for the Missouri/Niobrara/Verdigre 
Creek National Recreational Rivers is identified in the FEIS/GMP as 
Alternative 5. Under the preferred

[[Page 44015]]

alternative the NPS would work cooperatively with landowners, local and 
state government agencies, and others to protect river resources. The 
boundary for the recreational rivers would include a minimum setback of 
200 feet from the ordinary high water flow of the rivers, plus Federal 
and State fee lands within a quarter mile of the rivers and several 
significant fish and wildlife habitat areas.
    Four other alternatives were also considered: A no action 
alternative; an alternative that emphasizes rural landscape protection 
through cooperative approaches with a boundary setback of 200 feet from 
the ordinary high water flow; an alternative that emphasizes biological 
resource protection with a boundary that includes significant 
bottomlands and areas affected by a discharge flow of 60,000 cfs from 
Fort Randall Dam; and an alternative that emphasizes recreational 
development with a boundary typically at 200 feet from the ordinary 
high water mark, but extending further on Corps of Engineers-owned 
land, potential public use areas, and on biologically significant 
lands.

DATES: The 30-day no action period for review of the FEIS/GMP will end 
on September 22, 1997. A record of decision will follow the no action 
period.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Superintendent, Niobrara/Missouri 
National Scenic Riverways, P.O. Box 591, O'Neill, Nebraska 68763-0591. 
Telephone: 402-336-3970.

    Dated: August 11, 1997.
William W. Schenk,
Regional Director, Midwest Region.
[FR Doc. 97-21774 Filed 8-15-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-70-P