[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 224 (Monday, November 20, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 69783-69784]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-29552]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service


Draft General Management Plan, Environmental Impact Statement, 
Mount Rainier National Park, Washington

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of Availability of Draft Environmental Impact Statement 
and General Management Plan.

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SUMMARY: Pursuant to section 102(2)(c) of the National Environmental 
Policy Act of 1969, the National Park Service (NPS) announces the 
availability of a Draft Environmental Impact Statement and General 
Management Plan (DEIS/GMP) for Mount Rainier National Park, Washington.

DATES: Comments on the DEIS/GMP will be accepted through February 9,

[[Page 69784]]

2001. Public meetings concerning the DEIS/GMP will be held at the 
following locations and dates: Seattle: Sunday, December 3, 2000, 2:00-
5:00 PM, Recreational Equipment, Inc. (REI), North Conference Room, 222 
Yale N; Olympia: Monday, December 4, 2000, 10:00 AM-12:30 PM, 
Department of Ecology, Main Auditorium, 300 Desmond Drive; Tacoma: 
Monday, December 4, 2000: 5:00 PM-9:00 PM, Washington State History 
Museum, 1911 Pacific Avenue; Enumclaw: Tuesday, December 5, 2000, 5:00-
9:00 PM, Green River Community College Center, 1414 Griffin; Packwood: 
Wednesday, December 6, 2000, 5:00-9:00 PM, Packwood Senior Center, 
12931 U.S. Highway 12; Yakima: Thursday, December 7, 2000, 5:00-9:00 
PM, Doubletree Hotel, 1507 North First Street; Eatonville: Friday, 
December 8, 2000, 5:00-9:00 PM, Pack Forest, 9010 453rd St. E.
    Comments: If you wish to comment on the DEIS/GMP, you may mail your 
comments to the Mount Rainier Team, Denver Service Center, P.O. Box 
25287, Denver, CO 80225-0287. You may also send your comments via the 
Internet to [email protected]. Note that there are no 
spaces between the words. Capitalization does not matter. Please submit 
Internet comments as a text file avoiding the use of special characters 
and any form of encryption. Be sure to include your name and return 
street address in your Internet message.
    Please be aware that names and addresses of respondents may be 
released if requested under the Freedom of Information Act. Our 
practice is to make comments, including names and home addresses of 
respondents, available for public review during regular business hours. 
Individual respondents may request that we withhold their home address 
from the record, which we will honor to the extent allowable by law. 
There also may be circumstances in which we would withhold from the 
record a respondent's identity, as allowable by law. If you wish us to 
withhold your name and/or address, you must state this prominently at 
the beginning of your comment. We will make all submissions from 
organizations or businesses, and from individuals identifying 
themselves as representatives or officials of organizations or 
businesses, available for public inspection in their entirety. 
Anonymous comments may be included in the public record. However, the 
NPS is not legally required to consider or respond to anonymous 
comments.

ADDRESSES: The DEIS/GMP will be available for review on the Internet at 
www.hps.gov/planning. and www.nps.gov/mora. Copies of the DEIS/GMP are 
available from the Superintendent, Mount Rainier National Park, Star 
Route, Tahoma Woods, WA 98304. Public reading copies of the DEIS/GMP 
will be available for review at the following locations: Office of the 
Superintendent, Mount Rainier National Park, Tahoma Woods, Washington 
98304, phone (360) 569-2211; NPS Library, Columbia Cascades Support 
Office, 909 First Avenue, Seattle, WA 98104-1060, phone (206) 220-4114; 
Office of Public Affairs, Pacific West Region, NPS, 600 Harrison St., 
Suite 600, San Francisco, CA 94107-1372, phone (415) 427-1320; Office 
of Public Affairs, NPS, 18th and C Streets NW, Washington, DC 20240, 
phone (202) 208-6843.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The DEIS/GMP analyzes three alternatives for 
managing the resources, visitors, and facilities in Mount Rainier 
National Park. The plan is intended to provide a foundation to help 
park managers guide park programs and set priorities. The alternative 
that is finally chosen as the plan will guide the management of Mount 
Rainier National Park over the next 20 years.
    The ``no-action'' alternative is a continuation of the present 
management course regarding the management of visitor use. The NPS's 
proposed action, alternative 2, would continue focusing on protecting 
the park's natural and cultural resources, while improving the quality 
of visitor experiences. Among other actions, shuttle service would be 
provided to Paradise, White River campground, Sunrise, Mowich Lake, and 
the Westside Road; overflow parking would be eliminated throughout the 
park; the Henry M. Jackson Memorial Visitor Center at Paradise would be 
replaced with a smaller facility; the Carbon River Road would 
eventually be closed to private vehicles; and private vehicles would 
park 0.5 mile from Mowich Lake. Alternative 3 would offer a different 
combination of visitor opportunities than those offered in the proposed 
action. Under this alternative more designated parking spaces would be 
provided at several popular facilities, visitors would be able to drive 
high-clearance vehicles on the Westside Road, the last 0.75 mile of the 
Mowich Lake Road would be surfaced, and State Road 410 would be plowed 
in the winter up to the White River entrance. None of the alternatives 
would propose major new developments within the park. Both alternatives 
2 and 3 would establish a visitor carrying capacity framework, provide 
shuttles, eliminate overflow parking, provide new visitor information 
services and facilities, and recommend a boundary adjustment near the 
Carbon River entrance.
    The DEIS/GMP evaluates the environmental consequences of the 
proposed action and the other alternatives on natural resources (e.g., 
air and water quality, soils, special status species), geologic 
(volcanic and nonvolcanic) hazards, cultural resources (e.g., historic 
resources, archeological resources), visitor experiences (e.g., visitor 
access, the range of activities available, wilderness values and 
experiences), and the socioeconomic environment (e.g., regional 
context, gateway communities).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Eric Walkenshaw, Mount Rainier 
National Park, at the above address and telephone number, or Larry 
Beal, Denver Service Center, P.O. Box 25287, Denver, CO 80225-0287, 
phone (303) 969-2454.

    Dated: November 1, 2000.
William C. Walters
Deputy Regional Director, Pacific West Region.
[FR Doc. 00-29552 Filed 11-17-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-70-P