[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 9 (Friday, January 12, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Page 2928]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-1110]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service


Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement, Yosemite 
Valley Plan, Yosemite National Park, Mariposa, Madera, and Tuolumne 
Counties, California; Notice of Approval of Record of Decision

SUMMARY: Pursuant to section 102(2)(C) of the National Environmental 
Policy Act of 1969 (Pub. L. 91-190, as amended) and the regulations 
promulgated by the Council on Environmental Quality (40 CFR 1505.2), 
the Department of the Interior, National Park Service has prepared and 
approved a Record of Decision for the Final Supplemental Environmental 
Impact Statement on the Yosemite Valley Plan for Yosemite National 
Park. The decisions reached are consistent with the Revised Record of 
Decision for the Merced Wild and Scenic River Comprehensive Management 
Plan/Final Environmental Impact Statement.

Decision: The National Park Service (NPS) will implement actions, 
strategies, and programs encompassed in Alternative 2 as described in 
the Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement on the Yosemite 
Valley Plan. The selected alternative provides for an overall 
combination of actions to restore natural processes in Yosemite Valley, 
preserve cultural resource values, reduce harmful environmental impacts 
(including those related to traffic congestion), and continue to 
provide opportunities for high-quality visitor experiences based upon 
resource values. This course of action and four alternatives were 
identified and analyzed in the Draft and Final Supplemental 
Environmental Impact Statements (issued April 2000 and November 2000 
respectively). The NPS identified Alternative 2 as presented in the 
Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement as the 
``environmentally preferred'' alternative. Elements of the selected 
alternative are to be implemented as soon as practical.

Public Review and Consultation: The Draft and Final Supplemental 
Environmental Impact Statements (SEIS) on the Yosemite Valley Plan were 
prepared by the NPS pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act. 
A Notice of Intent to initiate this conservation planning and 
environmental impact analysis process was published in the Federal 
Register on December 16, 1998. General issues and specific concerns 
already raised during previous relevant planning processes were 
provided to the public. Scoping comments were received through February 
1, 1999. The Draft Yosemite Valley Plan/SEIS was formally announced for 
public review per Notice of Availability published in the Federal 
Register on April 13, 2000. The Final Yosemite Valley Plan/SEIS was 
announced on November 21, 2000. From initiation of the scoping process 
through December 26, 2000 when the ``No Action'' period for the Final 
Yosemite Valley Plan/SEIS officially concluded, almost 11,000 written 
responses were received (all written comments will be archived and 
available for public review in the park's research library). In 
addition, over 150 public meetings, discussions, and briefings 
(attended by over 1500 individuals and representatives of 
organizations, Tribes, elected officials, and congressional 
delegations) were conducted in the park, throughout California, and in 
Seattle, Washington; Denver, Colorado; Chicago, Illinois; and 
Washington, DC.
    The NPS also consulted with various regulatory and resource 
protection agencies including the Advisory Council on Historic 
Preservation, State Historic Preservation Office, and the US Fish and 
Wildlife Service. As a result of these collaborations, as well as the 
public involvement indicated above, four action alternatives and 
appropriate mitigation strategies were identified, compared, and 
refined.

Copies: Interested parties can review the Record of Decision on the NPS 
website at www.nps.gov/yose/planning. Copies can also be obtained by 
contacting the Superintendent, Yosemite National Park, P.O. Box 577, 
Yosemite, California 95389; via telephone request at (209) 372-0261; or 
via email request at [email protected].

    Dated: January 5, 2001.
William C. Walters,
Acting Regional Director, Pacific West Region.
[FR Doc. 01-1110 Filed 1-11-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-70-P