69784 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 224 / Monday, November 20, 2000 / Notices

2001. Public meetings concerning the

DEIS/GMP will be held at the following

locations and dates: Seattle: Sunday,

December 3, 2000, 2:00–5:00 PM,

Recreational Equipment, Inc. (REI),

North Conference Room, 222 Yale N;

Olympia: Monday, December 4, 2000,

10:00 AM–12:30 PM, Department of

Ecology, Main Auditorium, 300

Desmond Drive; Tacoma: Monday,

December 4, 2000: 5:00 PM–9:00 PM,

Washington State History Museum,

1911 Pacific Avenue; Enumclaw:

Tuesday, December 5, 2000, 5:00–9:00

PM, Green River Community College

Center, 1414 Griffin; Packwood:

Wednesday, December 6, 2000, 5:00–

9:00 PM, Packwood Senior Center,

12931 U.S. Highway 12; Yakima:

Thursday, December 7, 2000, 5:00–9:00

PM, Doubletree Hotel, 1507 North First

Street; Eatonville: Friday, December 8,

2000, 5:00–9:00 PM, Pack Forest, 9010

453rd St. E.

Comments: If you wish to comment

on the DEIS/GMP, you may mail your

comments to the Mount Rainier Team,

Denver Service Center, P.O. Box 25287,

Denver, CO 80225–0287. You may also

send your comments via the Internet to

www.mountainercomments@nps.gov.

Note that there are no spaces between

the words. Capitalization does not

matter. Please submit Internet

comments as a text file avoiding the use

of special characters and any form of

encryption. Be sure to include your

name and return street address in your

Internet message.

Please be aware that names and

addresses of respondents may be

released if requested under the Freedom

of Information Act. Our practice is to

make comments, including names and

home addresses of respondents,

available for public review during

regular business hours. Individual

respondents may request that we

withhold their home address from the

record, which we will honor to the

extent allowable by law. There also may

be circumstances in which we would

withhold from the record a respondent’s

identity, as allowable by law. If you

wish us to withhold your name and/or

address, you must state this

prominently at the beginning of your

comment. We will make all submissions

from organizations or businesses, and

from individuals identifying themselves

as representatives or officials of

organizations or businesses, available

for public inspection in their entirety.

Anonymous comments may be included

in the public record. However, the NPS

is not legally required to consider or

respond to anonymous comments.

ADDRESSES: The DEIS/GMP will be

available for review on the Internet at

www.hps.gov/planning. and

www.nps.gov/mora. Copies of the DEIS/

GMP are available from the

Superintendent, Mount Rainier National

Park, Star Route, Tahoma Woods, WA

98304. Public reading copies of the

DEIS/GMP will be available for review

at the following locations: Office of the

Superintendent, Mount Rainier National

Park, Tahoma Woods, Washington

98304, phone (360) 569–2211; NPS

Library, Columbia Cascades Support

Office, 909 First Avenue, Seattle, WA

98104–1060, phone (206) 220–4114;

Office of Public Affairs, Pacific West

Region, NPS, 600 Harrison St., Suite

600, San Francisco, CA 94107–1372,

phone (415) 427–1320; Office of Public

Affairs, NPS, 18th and C Streets NW,

Washington, DC 20240, phone (202)

208–6843.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The DEIS/

GMP analyzes three alternatives for

managing the resources, visitors, and

facilities in Mount Rainier National

Park. The plan is intended to provide a

foundation to help park managers guide

park programs and set priorities. The

alternative that is finally chosen as the

plan will guide the management of

Mount Rainier National Park over the

next 20 years.

The ‘‘no-action’’ alternative is a

continuation of the present management

course regarding the management of

visitor use. The NPS’s proposed action,

alternative 2, would continue focusing

on protecting the park’s natural and

cultural resources, while improving the

quality of visitor experiences. Among

other actions, shuttle service would be

provided to Paradise, White River

campground, Sunrise, Mowich Lake,

and the Westside Road; overflow

parking would be eliminated throughout

the park; the Henry M. Jackson

Memorial Visitor Center at Paradise

would be replaced with a smaller

facility; the Carbon River Road would

eventually be closed to private vehicles;

and private vehicles would park 0.5

mile from Mowich Lake. Alternative 3

would offer a different combination of

visitor opportunities than those offered

in the proposed action. Under this

alternative more designated parking

spaces would be provided at several

popular facilities, visitors would be able

to drive high-clearance vehicles on the

Westside Road, the last 0.75 mile of the

Mowich Lake Road would be surfaced,

and State Road 410 would be plowed in

the winter up to the White River

entrance. None of the alternatives would

propose major new developments

within the park. Both alternatives 2 and

3 would establish a visitor carrying

capacity framework, provide shuttles,

eliminate overflow parking, provide

new visitor information services and

facilities, and recommend a boundary

adjustment near the Carbon River

entrance.

The DEIS/GMP evaluates the

environmental consequences of the

proposed action and the other

alternatives on natural resources (e.g.,

air and water quality, soils, special

status species), geologic (volcanic and

nonvolcanic) hazards, cultural resources

(e.g., historic resources, archeological

resources), visitor experiences (e.g.,

visitor access, the range of activities

available, wilderness values and

experiences), and the socioeconomic

environment (e.g., regional context,

gateway communities).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Eric

Walkenshaw, Mount Rainier National

Park, at the above address and

telephone number, or Larry Beal,

Denver Service Center, P.O. Box 25287,

Denver, CO 80225–0287, phone (303)

969–2454.

Dated: November 1, 2000.

William C. Walters

Deputy Regional Director, Pacific West

Region.

[FR Doc. 00–29552 Filed 11–17–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310–70–P

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

Management Plan/Special Resource

Study/Record of Decision Shenandoah

Valley Battlefields National Historic

District, VA

AGENCIES: Shenandoah Valley

Battlefields National Historic District

Commission and National Park Service;

Department of the Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

SUMMARY: Pursuant to section 102(2)(c)

of the National Environmental Policy

Act of 1969, the Shenandoah Valley

Battlefields National Historic District

Commission and the National Park

Service have signed a Record of

Decision for the Management Plan/

Special Resource Study for the

Shenandoah Valley Battlefields National

Historic District.

The NPS and the Commission will

implement the proposed action

identified in the Abbreviated Final

Environmental Impact Statement

(Alternative B: ‘‘Clusters’’). A new nonprofit organization, the Shenandoah

Valley Battlefields Foundation, will be

created to manage the District.

Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 224 / Monday, November 20, 2000 / Notices 69785

Battlefields and related Civil War

resources will be protected through the

combined efforts of the Foundation and

its partners. Visitor services and

interpretation will be focused at five

geographic groupings—clusters—of

battlefields, nearby towns, and other

visitor sites. Each cluster will include a

Civil War orientation center to interpret

the stories of that particular cluster

within the context of the larger District.

The clusters and other sites in the

District will be linked through

brochures, interpretive displays, and a

wayfinding system that emphasizes

historic routes.

The Foundation will represent the

varied interests of the District and serve

as the ‘‘lead managing partner’’ for

implementing the plan. As principal

partners, the Commonwealth of Virginia

and the NPS will serve on the

Foundation board and support its

operations and programs. The NPS will

also provide technical assistance

throughout the District.

In the Special Resource Study portion

of the plan, the NPS analyzed the

District and the battlefields and found

that Cedar Creek Battlefield—currently a

National Historic Landmark—meets the

criteria for inclusion in the National

Park System. The NPS will present the

study and supporting information to the

United States Congress for its

consideration.

The proposed action is also the

environmentally preferred alternative.

Relative to the other alternatives, this

alternative would cause the least

damage to the environment and best

protect, preserve, and enhance historic

and cultural resources in the District.

The Commission and the NPS

selected the proposed action for several

reasons. It was positively received by

those that attended the public meetings

and responded to the newsletter and

draft plan/EIS. It best fulfills the

legislative mandate, has the fewest

negative impacts, and generates the

greatest degree of local participation. In

addition, the proposed action

distributes the economic benefits of

tourism most evenly throughout the

District, creates the greatest degree of

local stewardship for battlefield

preservation, and offers opportunities to

tell the most complete story of all the

alternatives.

For further information or to receive

a complete copy of the Record of

Decision, contact: Shenandoah Valley

Battlefields NHD Commission, P.O. Box

897, 8895 Collins Drive, New Market,

Virginia 22844, (888) 689–4545.

Dated: October 26, 2000.

Marie Rust,

Northeast Regional Director, National Park

Service.

[FR Doc. 00–29554 Filed 11–17–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310–70–P

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

Environmental Impact Statement;

Merced Wild and Scenic River

Comprehensive Management Plan;

Yosemite National Park, Madera and

Mariposa Counties, California;

Revision to Record of Decision

SUMMARY: The Department of the

Interior, National Park Service has

revised the original Record of Decision

for the Final Environmental Impact

Statement, Merced Wild and Scenic

River Comprehensive Management Plan,

Yosemite National Park. The Record of

Decision was originally signed on

August 9, 2000 and published in the

Federal Register on August 18, 2000.

The Revised Record of Decision is

designed to clarify statements regarding

the process to be used by the National

Park Service in complying with § 7 of

the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act and to

clarify the measurement of the river

corridor boundaries and the river

protection overlay. The Record of

Decision was issued after completion of

Draft and Final Environmental Impact

Statements for the Merced Wild and

Scenic River Comprehensive

Management Plan.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

Pursuant to § 102(2)(C) of the National

Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (P.L.

91–190, as amended) and the

regulations promulgated by the Council

on Environmental Quality (40 CFR Part

1500), and in accord with a ruling of the

U.S. District Court for the Eastern

District of California, the National Park

Service (NPS) prepared and circulated a

Draft and Final Environmental Impact

Statement for the Merced Wild and

Scenic River Comprehensive

Management Plan (‘‘Plan’’). The Plan

was designed to satisfy the Wild and

Scenic Rivers Act’s requirements for a

Comprehensive Management Plan. To

achieve this goal, the Plan presented

five alternatives for NPS stewardship of

an 81-mile segment of the 122 miles of

the Merced River designated as ‘‘Wild

and Scenic’’ by Congress in 1987. Each

of the alternatives presented a different

combination of seven management

elements to prescribe desired future

conditions, typical visitor activities and

experiences, and allowed park facilities

and management activities. The seven

management elements are: boundaries,

classifications, Outstandingly

Remarkable Values, a determination

process to comply with § 7 of the Act,

the River Protection Overlay,

management zoning, and the Visitor

Experience and Resource Protection

framework.

The Draft and Final Environmental

Impact Statements assessed the full

range of foreseeable environmental

consequences and identified all

practicable measures to avoid or

minimize environmental impacts. More

than 2,500 comments were received on

the Draft Environmental Impact

Statement and approximately 30

comments were received following the

release of the Final Environmental

Impact Statement (FEIS). All public

comments received were carefully

reviewed and considered prior to

making a decision on the Plan.

A Record of Decision on the Plan was

approved on August 9, 2000 and the

Notice of Approval of the Record of

Decision appeared in the Federal

Register on August 18, 2000 (65 FR

50565). In that Record of Decision, the

NPS adopted the Proposed Action

(Alternative 2), as described in the FEIS.

As explained in the original Record of

Decision, the primary feature that

distinguished Alternative 2 from the

other alternatives is the interplay of four

of its management elements:

boundaries, classifications, River

Protection Overlay and management

zoning. The NPS determined that

Alternative 2 would protect and

enhance the river’s ORVs while

allowing for appropriate levels and

types of visitor use and development.

II. Reason for Revision

The Record of Decision is being

revised to clarify that all statements in

the FEIS and Record of Decision

regarding the Army Corps of Engineers’

definition of the ‘‘ordinary high water

mark’’ shall reflect the regulatory

definition of that term as found in 33

CFR Section 328.3. This clarification

will eliminate text that inaccurately

summarized the definition of ordinary

high water mark as the 2.33 year

floodplain. The regulatory definition of

ordinary high water mark as published

in the Code of Federal Regulations does

not include any reference to the 2.33

year floodplain. Instead, the regulatory

definition states: ‘‘The term ‘‘ordinary

high water mark’’ means that line on the

shore established by the fluctuations of

water and indicated by physical

characteristics such as clear, natural line