[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 101 (Tuesday, May 27, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 28729-28730]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-13770]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service


Notice of Designation of Potential Wilderness as Wilderness, 
Joshua Tree National Park

    Public Law (Pub. L.) 94-567, approved October 20, 1976, designated 
429,690 acres as wilderness in Joshua Tree National Monument and 
further identified 37, 550 acres as potential wilderness additions. The 
National Park Service (NPS) depicted the wilderness and potential 
wilderness additions in maps entitled ``Joshua Tree Wilderness,'' 
numbered 156-20,003D and dated February 1977. In May 1978, the NPS 
published the legal description of the wilderness and potential 
wilderness additions. The maps and legal description are on file at the 
headquarters of Joshua Tree National Park, 74485 National Park Drive, 
Twentynine Palms, California 92277, and at the NPS Denver Service 
Center, Technical Information Center at 12795 West Alameda Parkway, 
Lakewood, Colorado.
    The maps and legal description of 1977 and 1978 respectively show 
422,320 acres of wilderness and 30,740 acres of potential wilderness 
additions, a lesser amount than cited in Public Law 94-567. However, 
under section 2 of Public Law 94-567 the maps and legal description ``* 
* * have the same force and effect as if included in this Act.''
    Public Law 94-567 provided that ``* * * corrections of clerical and 
typographical errors in such maps and descriptions may be made.'' The 
NPS, after careful review of the maps and legal description of 1977 and 
1978 respectively, detected two typographical errors. On January 15, 
1997, the NPS corrected the errors which resulted in a recalculation of 
wilderness established by the Public Law 94-567 maps and legal 
description as 422,520 acres. This is an increase of 200 acres. The 
potential wilderness additions remain at 30,740 acres.
    Section 3 of Public Law 94-567 provided a process whereby potential 
wilderness additions within the former Joshua Tree National Monument 
would become wilderness upon publication in the Federal Register of a 
notice by the Secretary of the Interior that all uses on the land, 
prohibited by the Wilderness Act (Pub. L. 88-577) have ceased.
    The NPS has determined that all the Wilderness Act prohibited 
activities of the following described designated potential wilderness 
additions have ceased. Such lands are entirely in Federal ownership. 
Because such lands fully comply with Congressional directions in 
section 3 of Public Law 94-567, this notice hereby changes the status 
of the land, totalling 3,502.20 acres, more or less, from potential 
wilderness additions to wilderness. This acreage will be added to the 
National Wilderness Preservation System and bring the total wilderness 
acreage of the former Joshus Tree National Monument to 426,022 acres, 
more or less. The

[[Page 28730]]

potential wilderness additions will then consist of 27,238 acres, more 
or less.
    Note that Congress abolished Joshua Tree National Monument and 
designated its lands and additional areas as the Joshua Tree National 
Park in Public Law 103-433, October 31, 1994. Public Law 103-433 
designated as additional 131,780 wilderness acres in the part of Joshua 
Tree National Park that was added to the unit in 1994. The potential 
wilderness lands hereby designated as wilderness are described as:

Wilderness Unit 2

Potential Wilderness Additions

T. 3S., R. 7E., surveyed,
    Sec. 13, NE\1/4\ and S\1/2\;
    Sec. 14, SE\1/4\;
    Sec. 21, N\1/2\ and that portion of S\1/2\ lying northeasterly 
of Joshua Tree National Park boundary;
    Sec. 22, NE\1/4\ and S\1/2\;
    Sec. 23, N\1/2\ and SW\1/4\;
    Sec. 24, NW\1/4\;
    Sec. 27, that portion of W\1/2\ lying northeasterly of the 
Joshua Tree National Park boundary;
    Sec. 28, that portion of NE\1/4\ lying northeasterly of Joshua 
Tree National Part boundary.
T. 3S., R. 8E., surveyed
    Sec. 18, W\1/2\ NE\1/4\ NW\1/4\, E\1/2\ NW\1/4\ NW\1/4\, W\1/2\ 
W\1/2\ W\1/2\ and Lots 3, 4, 9 and 10.

    Containing 2,742.20 acres, more or less.

Wilderness Unit 3

Potential Wilderness Additions

T. 4S., R. 11E., fractional township,
    Sec 10, unsurveyed, N\1/4\ NE\1/4\, SW\1/4\ NE\1/4\ and NW\1/4\;
    Sec 11, unsurveyed, N\1/2\ NW\1/4\.

    Containing 360 acres, more or less.

Wilderness Unit 6

Potential Wilderness Additions

T 5S., R. 11E., surveyed
    Sec. 36, E\1/2\ and E\1/2\ SW\1/4\.

    Containing 400 acres, more or less.

    Dated: April 18, 1997
Deny Galvin,
Director, National Park Service.
[FR Doc. 97-13770 Filed 5-23-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-70-M