72372 Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 244 / Thursday, December 20, 2007 / Notices 

review or from disclosure under the 

Freedom of Information Act, you must 

state this prominently at the beginning 

of your written comment. Such requests 

will be honored to the extent allowed by 

law. All submissions from organizations 

and businesses, and from individuals 

identifying themselves as 

representatives or officials of 

organizations or businesses, will be 

available for public inspection in their 

entirety. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

further information and/or to have your 

name added to our mailing list, contact 

Ken Straley, Supervisory Outdoor 

Recreation Planner, Grand Junction 

Field Office, 2815 H Road, Grand 

Junction, CO 81506; (970) 244–3031; 

kenneth_straley@blm.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Grand 

Junction Field Office has and will 

continue to consult, communicate and 

cooperate with local landowners, 

recreationists, the Northwest Colorado 

Resource Advisory Committee, the 

community of Gateway, and other 

affected interest groups and individuals 

to develop and design a recreation 

management plan for the Gateway Area. 

BLM will use an interdisciplinary 

approach to develop the plan 

amendment and environmental 

assessment in order to consider all 

identified resource issues and concerns. 

Disciplines involved in the planning 

process will include specialists with 

expertise in outdoor recreation, 

transportation planning, range 

conservation, wildlife, fisheries, law 

enforcement, minerals, soils, and 

hazardous materials. 

Dated: December 11, 2007. 

Catherine Robertson, 

Grand Junction Field Manager. 

[FR Doc. E7–24363 Filed 12–19–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–JB–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

National Park Service 

Final Environmental Impact Statement/ 

Environmental Impact Report; Creek 

and Wetland Restoration at Big 

Lagoon, Muir Beach, Golden Gate 

National Recreation Area, Marin 

County, CA, Notice of Availability 

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

National Environmental Policy Act of 

1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321–4347), and the 

Council on Environmental Quality 

Regulations (40 CFR parts 1500 through 

1508), the National Park Service, 

Department of the Interior, has prepared 

a Final Environmental Impact Statement 

and Final Environmental Impact Report 

(Final EIS/EIR) for the Wetland and 

Creek Restoration at Big Lagoon. The 

National Park Service (NPS) and Marin 

County have prepared the Final EIS/EIR 

in accordance with the National 

Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and 

the California Environmental Quality 

Act (CEQA). The Final EIS/EIR analyzes 

multiple alternatives for ecological 

restoration, public access 

improvements, bridge replacement, and 

fill disposal locations; an 

‘‘environmentally preferred’’ alternative 

is identified. 

Background: The project at Big 

Lagoon would restore a functional, selfsustaining ecosystem, including 

wetland, riparian, and aquatic 

components. This restoration project 

would re-create habitat for sustainable 

populations of special-status species, 

reduce flooding on Pacific Way, and 

provide a compatible visitor experience. 

This project is needed to address the 

extensive loss of natural function for 

channel conveyance, sediment 

transport, channel stability, and 

diminished habitat for federally 

endangered coho and federally 

threatened steelhead; the increased 

flooding on Pacific Way; and the critical 

need for sustainable habitat for the 

California red-legged frog. With many of 

the impacts resulting from facilities 

necessary to accommodate public and 

residential access, access is needed in a 

manner that is compatible with 

ecosystem function. A successful project 

would meet the following goals: 

• Restore a functional, self-sustaining 

ecosystem, including wetland, aquatic 

and riparian components. 

• Develop a restoration design that (1) 

functions in the context of the 

watershed and other pertinent regional 

boundaries, and (2) identifies and, to the 

extent possible, mitigates factors that 

reduce the site’s full restoration 

potential. 

• Consistent with restoring a 

functional ecosystem, re-create and 

maintain habitat adequate to support 

sustainable populations of special status 

species. 

• Reduce flooding on Pacific Way and 

in the Muir Beach community caused by 

human modifications to the ecosystem, 

and work with Marin County to ensure 

that vehicle access is provided to the 

Muir Beach community. 

• Provide a visitor experience, public 

access, links to key locations, and 

resource interpretation that are 

compatible with the ecosystem 

restoration and historic preservation. 

• Work with the Federated Indians of 

Graton Rancheria to incorporate cultural 

values and indigenous archaeological 

sites resources into the restoration 

design, visitor experience, and site 

stewardship. 

• Provide opportunities for public 

education and community-based 

restoration, including engaging local 

and broader communities in restoration 

planning and site stewardship. 

• Coordinate with local 

transportation planning efforts to 

identify project features that are 

compatible with transportation 

improvements and consistent with the 

ecosystem restoration. 

Range of Alternatives Considered: The 

Final EIS/EIR evaluates three 

alternatives for ecological restoration, 

six alternatives for public access, and 

four alternatives for a new Pacific Way 

Bridge and road. The ‘‘agency 

preferred’’ alternative consists of the 

Creek Restoration Alternative, 175 Cars 

Rotated Parallel to Pacific Way Public 

Access Alternative, and the 250 footlong Bridge with Highest Road Bridge 

Alternative. Below is a topical summary 

of the alternatives under consideration: 

Ecological Restoration alternatives 

include: The No Action alternative 

would leave Redwood Creek in its 

current alignment and would not 

propose any large-scale physical 

modifications to the site. The Creek 

Restoration alternative would involve 

relocating approximately 2,000 linear 

feet of Redwood Creek to the 

topographically lowest portion of the 

valley, while maintaining a habitat mix 

similar to current conditions; the Creek 

and Small Lagoon Restoration 

alternative would combine riparian 

restoration components with restoration 

of open water and wetland habitats by 

creating two open-water lagoons, one on 

either side of the new channel; and the 

Large Lagoon Restoration alternative 

would create a periodically brackish 

open-water habitat similar to historic 

(1853) conditions, modified to reflect 

existing constraints of Pacific Way and 

private property by creating a large 

lagoon with fringing wetlands extending 

to the valley’s edge just landward of 

Muir Beach. 

Public Access alternatives include: 

The No Action alternative would retain 

the 175 Cars at Beach in its current 

configuration. The 50 Cars at Beach 

alternative would construct a 50-space 

parking lot at the beach at the site of the 

existing parking lot; the 145 Cars at 

Beach alternative would retain the same 

footprint as the existing parking lot, but 

the lower 90 feet would be removed to 

accommodate a maximum of 145 

vehicles; 175 Cars at Beach alternative 

would accommodate a maximum of 175 

vehicles, the same number as the 

existing parking lot. The lot would be 


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Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 244 / Thursday, December 20, 2007 / Notices 72373 

about the same size as the existing 

parking lot, but it would be pulled back 

from the creek further than the 

minimum 90 feet to create a minimum 

distance of about 180 feet from the 

creek. It would also expand further 

northward into existing riparian habitat; 

the 175 Cars Rotated Parallel to Pacific 

Way alternative would have the same 

175-car capacity but rotate the parking 

lot parallel to Pacific Way; the 200 Cars 

at Beach alternative proposes the largest 

parking lot of all the alternatives with a 

maximum of 200 vehicle spaces located 

in the same area as the existing parking 

lot; and the 118 Cars at Alder Grove 

alternative would designate most 

parking away from the beach in an area 

known as the Alder Grove but would 

provide 14 Disabled-Accessible Parking 

Spaces and a drop-off turnaround at the 

beach. 

Bridge alternatives include: The No 

Action alternative would not change 

Pacific Way Road or the bridge. The 50 

foot-long Bridge with a Raised Road 

alternative would free-span the 35 footwide channel and have a deck at 16.5 

feet NGVD and be raised on the north 

and south approaches; the 50 foot-long 

Bridge with a Low Road alternative 

would free-span the 35 foot-wide 

channel and have a deck height at 

approximately 15 feet NGVD but would 

not be raised on the north and south 

approaches; the 150 foot-long Bridge 

with Raised Road alternative would 

span both the new 35 foot-wide channel 

and areas of riparian habitat and 

floodplain on either side of the channel 

and would be supported by 2 foot-wide 

piers, placed at approximately 40-foot 

intervals; and the 250 foot-long Bridge 

with Highest Road alternative would 

span the entire available riparian zone 

and floodplain from the Pelican Inn on 

the north to the existing bridge on the 

south and would have the highest deck 

of all the alternatives, between 16.25 

and 18 feet NGVD and be supported by 

two foot-wide piers, placed at 

approximately 40-foot intervals. 

Scoping And Public Review: Between 

December 2002 and December 2004, 17 

public meetings were held, as well as a 

variety of site visits and meetings with 

representatives of various agencies. On 

December 3, 2002, a Notice of Intent to 

prepare an EIS was published in the 

Federal Register beginning the formal 

scoping phase and identifying goals for 

the project. Three public scoping 

meetings were held on October 22, 

October 29, and November 2, 2002, with 

a site visit for the public held on 

November 9, 2002, to solicit input on 

the project and its potential impacts. 

Following these meetings, a Big Lagoon 

Working Group consisting of interested 

individuals, agencies, and organizations 

was formed to help develop project 

alternatives. The working group 

convened regularly in meetings that 

were open to the public. In addition, 

two alternatives workshops were held 

for the public on September 30 and 

October 4, 2003. The results of those 

workshops, as well as a more detailed 

summary of the scoping process, were 

distributed in the Alternative Public 

Workshops Report (2004). Finally, 

Marin County circulated a Notice of 

Preparation of an Environmental Impact 

Report on April 27, 2004, soliciting 

comments on the specific issues to be 

included in the scope of CEQA 

environmental review. All of these 

activities informed the alternatives 

formulation process. The Notice of 

Availability for the Draft EIS/EIR was 

published December 18, 2006 in the 

Federal Register and the document was 

made available for a 75-day public 

review and comment period. Following 

release of the Draft EIS/EIR, NPS and 

Marin County held two public meetings 

to present the project to interested 

parties and to answer questions about 

the project. These meetings were held 

on January 18 and 31, 2007. NPS and 

Marin County also conducted a public 

hearing at the Marin County Planning 

Commission in San Rafael, California, 

on February 26, 2007, to receive 

comments on the draft document. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Copies of the Final EIS/EIR will be sent 

to affected Federal, Tribal, State and 

local government agencies, to interested 

parties, and those requesting copies. 

Paper and digital copies (compact disc) 

of the Final EIS/EIR will be available at 

both lead agency offices and at local 

libraries during normal business hours. 

The complete document will be 

available in area libraries, and also 

posted on the GGNRA’s project Web site 

(http://www.nps.gov/goga) and on NPS’s 

Planning, Environment and Public 

Comment Web site (http:// 

www.parkplanning.nps.gov/goga). New 

requests may be sent to: Superintendent, 

Golden Gate National Recreation Area, 

Fort Mason, Building 201, San 

Francisco, CA 94123 (Attn: Creek and 

Wetland Restoration at Big Lagoon). 

After release of the Final EIS/EIR, a 

public meeting will be scheduled (date 

and other details will be posted on the 

project Web site). For further 

information about the project’s 

conservation planning process or 

logistics of the public meeting, contact 

Steve Ortega or Carolyn Shoulders, 

Building 201 Fort Mason, San 

Francisco, CA 94123, Phone: (415) 561–

4841. 

Decision Process: The NPS will 

prepare a Record of Decision no sooner 

than 30 days following publication by 

the Environmental Protection Agency of 

their notice of filing of the Final EIS in 

the Federal Register. As a delegated EIS, 

the official responsible for final 

approval is the Pacific West Regional 

Director, and subsequently the official 

responsible for project implementation 

is the General Superintendent, Golden 

Gate National Recreation Area. 

Dated: November 2, 2007. 

Jonathan B. Jarvis, 

Regional Director, Pacific West Region. 

[FR Doc. 07–6103 Filed 12–19–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4312–FN–M 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

National Park Service 

Ecological Restoration Plan, Final 

Environmental Impact Statement, 

Bandelier National Monument, New 

Mexico 

AGENCY: National Park Service, 

Department of the Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of Availability of a 

Record of Decision on the Final 

Environmental Impact Statement for the 

Ecological Restoration Plan, Bandelier 

National Monument. 

SUMMARY: Pursuant to the National 

Environmental Policy Act of 1969, 42 

U.S.C. 4332(2)(C), the National Park 

Service announces the availability of the 

Record of Decision for the Ecological 

Restoration Plan for Bandelier National 

Monument, New Mexico. On September 

18, 2007, the Regional Director, 

Intermountain Region, approved the 

Record of Decision for the project. As 

soon as practicable, the National Park 

Service will begin to implement the 

Preferred Alternative contained in the 

FEIS issued on August 17, 2007. 

Alternative B was selected as the Park’s 

preferred alternative; it maximizes work 

efficiency and minimizes resource 

impacts by implementing restoration 

treatments in the most systematic and 

timely fashion possible given available 

funding. This course of action, the noaction alternative, and one action 

alternative were analyzed in the Draft 

and Final Environmental Impact 

Statements. Alternative C focused on 

treating sub-basins containing the 

highest priority cultural resource sites 

within pin ̃ on-juniper woodland. The 

full range of foreseeable environmental 

consequences was assessed, and 

appropriate mitigating measures were 

identified. The Record of Decision 

includes a statement of the decision 


sroberts on PROD1PC70 with NOTICES