Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 55 / Tuesday, March 24, 2009 / Notices 12375 

ADDRESSES: A copy of the decision may 

be obtained from: Bureau of Land 

Management, Alaska State Office, 222 

West Seventh Avenue, #13, Anchorage, 

Alaska 99513–7504. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: The 

Bureau of Land Management by phone 

at 907–271–5960, or by e-mail at 

ak.blm.conveyance@ak.blm.gov. Persons 

who use a telecommunication device 

(TTD) may call the Federal Information 

Relay Service (FIRS) at 

1–800–877–8330, 24 hours a day, seven 

days a week, to contact the Bureau of 

Land Management. 

Robert L. Lloyd, 

Chief, Land Transfer Adjudication I. 

[FR Doc. E9–6384 Filed 3–23–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–JA–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

National Park Service 

Final Environmental Impact Statement; 

Marin Headlands and Fort Baker 

Transportation Infrastructure and 

Management Plan Golden Gate 

National Recreation Area, Marin 

County, California; Notice of 

Availability 

SUMMARY: Pursuant to § 102(2)(C) of the 

National Environmental Policy Act of 

1969 (Pub. L. 91–190, 42 U.S.C. 4321– 

4347, January 1, 1970, as amended), and 

the Council on Environmental Quality 

Regulations (40 CFR parts 1500–1508), 

the National Park Service, Department 

of the Interior, has prepared a Final 

Environmental Impact Statement for the 

Marin Headlands and Fort Baker 

Transportation Infrastructure and 

Management Plan. The proposed project 

would provide greater access to and 

within the Marin Headlands and Fort 

Baker areas of Golden Gate National 

Recreation Area (GGNRA) for a variety 

of users in a way that minimizes 

impacts to the rich natural diversity and 

cultural resources within all the areas of 

potential effect. Roadway infrastructure 

would be rehabilitated or reconstructed 

with non-character altering roadway 

widening, and parking facilities would 

be improved. Additional transit options 

would be provided to and within the 

Marin Headlands and Fort Baker to 

improve access to visitor sites. 

Pedestrian and bicycle facilities would 

be improved through closure and 

rerouting of existing trails and 

construction of new trails. 

A successful project would meet the 

following goals: (1) Promote public 

transit, pedestrian, and bicycle travel to 

and within GGNRA to improve visitor 

experience and enhance environmental 

quality; (2) Rehabilitate the Marin 

Headlands/Fort Baker transportation 

road and trail infrastructure in a manner 

that protects resources and improves 

safety and circulation; (3) Reduce traffic 

congestion at key park locations and 

connecting roads. 

Range of Alternatives Considered: The 

Final Environmental Impact Statement 

(FEIS) describes and analyzes four 

alternatives. Alternative 1, the No 

Action Alternative, would provide no 

change from the existing management 

direction; it serves as an environmental 

baseline from which potential effects of 

the three ‘‘action’’ alternatives may be 

compared. Alternative 2 would provide 

basic multi-modal access. Roadway 

infrastructure would be rehabilitated 

within the existing roadway width; 

parking facilities would be improved; 

transit service to the Marin Headlands 

would be expanded on weekends; and 

minor pedestrian and bicycle facility 

enhancements would be implemented 

to improve access to these GGNRA 

areas. Alternative 4 would provide 

maximum multi-modal access. Roadway 

infrastructure would be reconstructed 

throughout the study area, and parking 

facilities would be improved. Transit 

options would be similar to those 

provided in the Alternative 3 (agencypreferred), with the addition of 

connections to regional transit centers 

outside of GGNRA. Extensive pedestrian 

and bicycle facility enhancements 

would be implemented, including 

closure and rerouting of existing trails, 

construction of new trails, and road 

widening to allow for bicycle lane 

construction on nearly all major roads. 

Alternative 3 (agency-preferred) 

would provide enhanced multi-modal 

access. Roadway infrastructure would 

be rehabilitated or reconstructed with 

non-character altering roadway 

widening, and parking facilities would 

be improved. Additional transit options 

would be provided to and within the 

Marin Headlands and Fort Baker (MH/ 

FB) to improve access. Pedestrian and 

bicycle facilities would be improved 

through closure and rerouting of 

existing trails and construction of new 

trails. Key project elements include: 

• Roadways and Vehicular 

Circulation: At selected sites within the 

area of potential effect, roads and 

intersections will be modified to 

improve safety and operations. 

Modifications include widening the 

road widths from two to four feet to 

allow for the provision of Class 2 

bicycle lanes or improved safety on 

Class 3 bike routes, and reconstructing 

intersections from a ‘‘Y’’ to a ‘‘T’’ 

configuration. In addition the park 

would implement a wayfinding program 

and intelligent transportation system 

(ITS) technologies to improve visitor 

information and reduce traffic 

congestion at key locations. 

• Parking Management and Fees: In 

many MH/FB locations parking areas 

would be reconfigured, delineated, and 

formalized, in order to improve parking 

operations, reduce congestion, better 

match parking supply with demand, 

and reduce natural resource impacts. A 

parking fee program would be 

implemented to provide enhanced 

transit service operations. 

• Bicycle and Pedestrian 

Improvements: Class 1 bicycle path and 

Class 2 bicycle lanes would be added in 

several locations, and extensive 

improvements to pedestrian trails 

would be implemented. A new bicycle/ 

pedestrian trail would be constructed to 

provide a separate facility connecting 

Fort Baker to the bike lanes at BarryBaker tunnel and the Marin Headlands. 

Rodeo Valley Trail would be widened 

with a hardened surface between 

Capehart Housing and Bunker Road at 

Rodeo Lagoon to provide a Class 1 

bicycle path and hiking trail. The 

Coastal Trail would be rerouted from its 

current interior Rodeo Valley alignment 

to a more coastal alignment with 

spectacular views. 

• Transit Services: Existing transit 

services in the MH/FB area would be 

expanded to improve access to and 

within these areas. The goal of 

improved transit service would be to 

provide transit access seven days a week 

by expanding MUNI and Golden Gate 

Transit service on existing routes, and 

by implementing additional park shuttle 

service. 

• Car-Free Days and Special Events: 

A car-free days program would be 

implemented on selected days on a trial 

basis—upon review of the program, the 

NPS may adjust the number of car-free 

days or the implementation times and 

operations. This program would allow 

visitors to experience the area with 

minimal vehicular traffic and would 

encourage visitors to use alternative 

modes of transportation to access and 

travel within GGNRA. 

• Natural Resource Protection: 

Improvements designed to protect 

natural resources include: restoring the 

wetland community at the unpaved 

parking lot at Rodeo Beach; repair and 

restore gullies that have formed due to 

past poor drainage along Conzelman 

roadway; and remove fill and restore 

wetlands along Rodeo Lagoon/Lake 

along selected portions of Smith and 

Bunker Roads. 

Changes Between Draft EIS and Final 

Eis: Several changes were made to the 

analysis following release of the Draft 

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12376 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 55 / Tuesday, March 24, 2009 / Notices 

EIS. Modifications included in the FEIS 

consist mostly of simple text revisions 

and technical edits. There are also both 

extensive text revisions to more clearly 

explain proposed actions or 

environmental impacts analysis, and 

minor changes to actions proposed in 

the agency-preferred alternative. The 

text edit changes were mostly a result of 

public comment on the Draft EIS. 

Chapter 6 of the FEIS summarizes the 

public comments and responds to the 

comments both within the chapter and 

in other chapters where appropriate. 

Some text was added that provided 

additional analysis. This additional 

analysis was mostly focused on two 

proposals within the analysis: the 

wetland restoration at the unpaved 

parking lot, and the Mission blue 

butterfly habitat compensation planned 

at Hawk Hill. 

Project proposal changes included in 

Alternative 3 are as follows: 

• Rodeo Valley Connector Trail: 

Cyclists would be allowed on the trail 

between Conzelman Road north to 

Bunker Road. The trail starts east of 

Battery Rathbone-McIndoe on 

Conzelman Road, connecting to Bunker 

Road east of the riding stables; there 

would be multi-use by permit 

pedestrians, equestrians, and bicycles. 

• Slacker Hill Trail: The existing trail 

from the top of Slacker Hill to the 

launch site would be downgraded from 

a road to a trail, providing access to the 

launch site for hikers and equestrians 

only. Access to the east side of the 

launch site would be maintained for its 

views of the bay and city. 

• Hawk Hill Parking on Conzelman 

Road: In preparing the FEIS, the 

planning team observed parking 

utilization at Hawk Hill in the fall of 

2007. These observations showed that 

demand for the parking spaces exceeds 

25 spaces for week-end peak and 

shoulder seasons. Therefore, Alternative 

3 now includes a revised parking 

configuration at Hawk Hill, which is a 

modified version of the parking 

configuration provided in Alternative 4 

(the same proposal is common to both 

alternatives). 

• Smith Road Parking: The proposed 

parking area at Smith Road has been 

revised to mostly avoid the riparian area 

to the east. Under Alternative 3, Smith 

Road has been reduced in size and 

realigned to the south, moving it farther 

from Rodeo Creek and the riparian area 

along the creek. 

• East Road and Bay Trail: Additional 

width will be provided where possible 

in the shoulder area for bicyclists, 

providing a balance between protecting 

the resources and improving bicyclists’ 

safety and experience. The refined 

design includes 11-foot travel lanes in 

each direction and widened shoulders 

where practicable. 

Scoping and Public Involvement: The 

Notice of Intent to prepare an EIS was 

published in the Federal Register on 

April 10, 2002. Early in the EIS scoping 

phase three public meetings were 

hosted in San Francisco, Marin City, 

and Oakland. The San Francisco 

meeting occurred on March 26, 2002 

during a meeting of the park’s Advisory 

Committee (approximately ten members 

of the public attended the meeting). The 

Marin City meeting occurred on April 

10, 2002 at the Manzanita Community 

Center in Marin City (approximately 20 

members of the public attended). The 

Oakland meeting occurred on April 11, 

2002 at the Metropolitan Transportation 

Commission Auditorium in Oakland. 

Three members of the public attended, 

along with several agency staff 

members. In addition GGNRA held two 

Alternatives Refinement Workshops for 

the public. The primary goal of these 

meetings was to solicit public input on 

the four preliminary alternatives. The 

meetings were held on November 19, 

2002 at Tamalpais High School in Mill 

Valley (approximately 11 community 

members attended) and on November 

26, 2002 at GGNRA Headquarters in San 

Francisco (approximately 15 community 

members attended). GGNRA staff 

prepared and distributed 

announcements of the meetings to 2,000 

individuals and organizations (and 

these were also distributed at Marin 

Headlands Visitor Center and posted 

widely on bulletin boards in Marin 

County). Summaries of the comments 

received at each workshop and written 

comments from the public were 

documented in a 2003 memorandum 

titled ‘‘Summary of November 2002 

Alternatives Refinements Workshops’’. 

Workshop comments were used to 

further refine the alternatives and 

identify the main issues to be addressed 

in finalizing the alternatives to be 

presented in the Draft EIS. The park also 

hosted a public forum March 14, 2003 

to review initial findings of the Fort 

Baker Cultural Landscape Report and 

Marin Headlands/Fort Baker Historic 

Roads Characterization Study (two 

members of the public attended). The 

most recent public outreach efforts 

included presenting project alternatives 

at the last four of the park’s quarterly 

public meetings beginning with the May 

16, 2006 meeting at the Mill Valley 

Community Center. Regular posting of 

information updates occurs on the 

park’s Web site (http:// 

parkplanning.nps.gov/goga). 

The park’s Notice of Availability for 

the Draft EIS was published in the 

Federal Register on June 12, 2007 (the 

60-day public review period was 

formally initiated June 8, 2007 when the 

EPA notice of filing appeared in the 

Federal Register); public comment was 

accepted through August 13, 2007. In an 

effort to solicit public awareness an 

extensive public notification effort was 

done for the release of the Draft EIS, 

including letters, post cards mailers, 

newspaper public notices, and posting 

on the park’s Web site. A public meeting 

was held in Sausalito, CA on July 18, 

2007 where the park hosted an open 

house and answered questions from the 

public. The public meeting was 

attended by approximate 80 people and 

was covered by San Francisco local 

television KTVU. Several media (radio, 

television, newspapers) reported on the 

project during the public review and 

comment period. Public correspondence 

was accepted electronically and via fax 

or letter; a total of 321 correspondences 

were received on the Draft EIS. 

Approval Process: The National Park 

Service will prepare a Record of 

Decision no sooner than 30 days 

following EPA’s notice of filing of the 

FEIS in the Federal Register. The 

document is available for public 

inspection as follows: at the Office of 

the Superintendent (Bldg. 201 Fort 

Mason, San Francisco, California), and 

at local public libraries (Marin County 

Free Library, Mill Valley, Point Reyes, 

and Sausalito). An electronic version 

may be accessed at http:// 

parkplanning.np.gov/goga. Copies may 

also be obtained by contacting Mr. Steve 

Ortega, (415) 561–2841 or 

steve_ortega@nps.gov. As a delegated 

EIS, the official responsible for approval 

of the Marin Headlands and Fort Baker 

Transportation Infrastructure and 

Management Plan is the Regional 

Director, Pacific West Region; 

subsequently the official responsible for 

implementing the final plan would be 

the Superintendent, Golden Gate 

National Recreation Area. 

Dated: December 11, 2008. 

George J. Turnbull, 

Acting Regional Director, Pacific West Region, 

National Park Service. 

Editorial Note: This document was 

received in the Office of the Federal Register 

on Thursday, March 19, 2009. 

[FR Doc. E9–6414 Filed 3–23–09; 8:45 am] 

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