[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 171 (Friday, September 3, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Page 48419]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-22946]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service


Draft General Management Plan/Environmental Impact Statement, 
Whitman Mission National Historic Site, Washington

AGENCY: National Park Service.

ACTION: Notice of availability of Draft Environmental Impact Statement 
(DEIS).

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: This notice announces the availability of a Draft 
Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for the General Management Plan, 
Whitman Mission National Historic Site. This notice also announces 
public meetings for the purpose of information exchange and receiving 
public comments on the DEIS. All comments received will become part of 
the public record and copies of comments, including names, addresses 
and telephone numbers provided by respondents, may be released for 
public inspection.

DATES: Comments on the DEIS should be received no later than November 
12, 1999. Public meetings, for the purpose of receiving comments and 
information exchange, will be held in Walla Walla, WA, on September 29, 
1999, 7-9 p.m. at the Walla Walla Community College Administrative 
Building Dining Room, and in Mission, OR, on September 30, 1999, 6-8 
p.m. at the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation 
Yellowhawk Conference Room.

ADDRESSES: Written comments on the DEIS should be submitted to 
Superintendent, Whitman Mission National Historic Site, Route 2, Box 
247, Walla Walla, WA 99362-9699, (509) 522-6360.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This DEIS for the General Management Plan 
presents a proposed action and three alternative strategies for guiding 
future management of the national historic site. Alternative A is a 
continuation of current management practices, often referred to as a 
``no action'' alternative. Alternative B provides a minimum level of 
improvements regarding visitor facilities and interpretation in order 
to make the visitor experience more rewarding and informative.
    Alternative C is the ``preferred alternative'' and proposed action 
by the National Park Service. This alternative includes provisions for 
a three-dimensional delineation of the original structures, 
substitution of native grasses for the existing lawn at the Mission 
Grounds, a recreational trail along the riparian area of the Walla 
Walla River, construction of additional exhibit and administrative 
space in the visitor center, and possible acquisition by a non-profit 
land trust of conservation easements on visually sensitive properties 
adjacent to the national historic site. In addition, Alternative C 
contains a development concept plan to include reconfiguration of the 
main parking lot, addition of a group shelter to the picnic area, 
improvements to the visitor center entry, construction of additional 
administrative space on the administrative wing, and reconfiguration of 
pedestrian access to the Oregon Trail and the Mission Grounds.
    Alternative D goes beyond the preferred alternative, building on 
the initiatives of Alternative C. It would include establishing 
historic fence alignments and enlarging the orchard, conducting 
archeological research regarding the Whitman sawmill site, permitting 
cattle grazing in the pasture and river oxbow, replicating a Cayuse 
village on the Walla Walla River floodplain, constructing a new 
administrative building, and recommending an approximate 450-acre 
boundary adjustment to protect the foreground viewshed. The DEIS 
evaluates the potential environmental impacts associated with the 
strategies comprising the four alternatives.
    Copies of the Draft General Management Plan and Environmental 
Impact Statement can be obtained from Whitman Mission National Historic 
Site, Route 2, Box 247, Walla Walla, WA 99362-9699. They are also 
available at public libraries in the Walla Walla area and on the 
internet at www.NPS.gov.

    Dated: August 24, 1999.
Rory D. Westberg,
Acting Regional Director, Pacific West Region.
[FR Doc. 99-22946 Filed 9-2-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-70-P