[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 60 (Monday, March 30, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 15213-15214]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-8275]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service


National Trail Study and Final Environmental Impact Statement for 
the Ala Kahakai Hawai'i Island, Hawaii County, Hawaii; Notice of 
Availability

SUMMARY: Pursuant to Section 102(2)(C) of the National Environmental 
Policy Act of 1969 (Pub. L. 91-190 as amended), the National Park 
Service, Department of the Interior, has prepared a Final Environmental 
Impact Statement (FEIS) which provides an analysis of whether the Ala 
Kahakai is nationally significant and whether it is feasible and 
desirable to add it to the National Trails System. The FEIS includes 
Letters of Comment on the Draft Environmental Impact Statement and 
responses from the National Park Service. To assist Congress in gauging 
the feasibility, the study analyzes a range of options for managing the 
trail.

    Findings: The study concludes that the Ala Kahakai is significant 
(1) under the three criteria for national historic trails outlined in 
the National Trails System Act, as amended; (2) under National Register 
of Historic Places criteria A, B, C, and D; and (3) as a traditional 
cultural property. The study concludes that establishing a continuous 
trail is physically feasible.
    The study concludes that desirability of recognizing the trail 
rests on two key items: first, communities along the trail corridor, 
native Hawaiians, and landowners all be involved in planning and 
implementing the trail; and second, adequate funding must be ensured at 
the time the trail is designated to fully protect cultural and natural 
resources.
    At their November 21, 1997 meeting, the National Park System 
Advisory Board recommended a finding that the trail does have national 
historic significance based on the criteria develop under the Historic 
Sites Act of 1935.


[[Page 15214]]


    Alternatives and Recommendation: The study examines four 
alternatives for future protection, interpretation, and management of 
the Ala Kahakai: a no-action alternative, a national historic trail 
(continuous), a state historic trail, and a national historic trail 
(discontinuous). Additional alternatives which were considered but 
rejected are summarized. The 60-day public review of the draft EIS 
ended on October 17, 1997. Four public meetings were held on September 
3-5, 1997, in Captain Cook, Waimea, and Hilo. The final study concludes 
that the national historic trail (continuous) is the environmentally 
preferred alternative.
    The environmental consequences and corresponding mitigations of the 
alternatives are evaluated in the document. It is anticipated that with 
funding adequate to implement the recommended planning and management, 
potential adverse environmental impacts of the action alternatives can 
be minimized or eliminated. After a 30-day no-action period, the 
National Park Service will prepare a Record of Decision. It will be 
forwarded along with the final study to the Secretary of the Interior 
to be transmitted to the Congress of the United States. Congress will 
decide which alternative is selected.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The no-action period for this document will 
end 30 days after the Environmental Protection Agency's listing of the 
FEIS is published in the Federal Register. Comments may be submitted 
during this period and should be addressed to Superintendent, Pacific 
Great Basin Support Office, National Park Service, 600 Harrison Street, 
Suite 600, San Francisco, California 94107, Attention: Meredith Kaplan. 
For additional information, please write the National Park Service at 
that address or telephone 415-427-1438.
    Copies of the study FEIS are available at the Pacific Great Basin 
Support Office at the above address and at the National Park Service 
Pacific Island Support Office, 300 Ala Moana Boulevard, Room 6305, 
Honolulu, HI 96850.

    Dated: March 23, 1998.
Holly Bundock,
Acting Regional Director, Pacific West.
[FR Doc. 98-8275 Filed 3-27-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-70-P