[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 8 (Friday, January 11, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Page 1500]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-674]



[[Page 1500]]

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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service


Notice of Intent To Prepare a Draft Environmental Impact 
Statement (DEIS) for a Proposed Land Exchange Between the National Park 
Service (NPS) and the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (Eastern Band) 
at the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee

SUMMARY: Under the provisions of the National Environmental Policy Act 
of 1969, the NPS intends to prepare a DEIS for a proposed Land 
Exchange. NPS intends to gather information necessary for the 
preparation of a proposed Land Exchange DEIS and to obtain suggestions 
and information from other agencies and the public on the scope of 
issues to be addressed. Alternatives currently under consideration 
include (1) no action, (2) a land exchange as proposed by the Eastern 
Band, and (3) a land exchange subject to development restrictions to 
protect natural and cultural resources. The NPS requests other 
suggested alternatives from the public through the scoping process.

DATES: Three public scoping meetings are being planned. The first will 
be held in Cherokee, North Carolina in February 2002. Exact locations, 
dates, and times of this and future public scoping meetings will be 
announced in local and NPS media. The proposal would involve the 
exchange of lands within Great Smoky Mountains National Park for an 
equivalent amount of land offered by the Eastern Band adjacent to the 
Blue Ridge Parkway.

ADDRESSES: Requests for information concerning dates, times of public 
meetings, written comments, information concerning the scope of the 
proposed Land Exchange DEIS and other matters should be sent to the 
following address: Attention Anita Jackson, National Park Service, 
Southeast Regional Office, Planning and Compliance Division, 100 
Alabama St. SW, Atlanta, Georgia 30303. Requests to be added to the 
project mailing list should be directed to the same address.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Anita Jackson, Environmental 
Compliance Specialist, National Park Service, Southeast Regional 
Office, 404-562-3124 ext. 705. Information on the dates and times of 
public scoping meetings may also be found on the Great Smoky Mountains 
National Park Web site, www.nps.gov/grsm.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Great Smoky Mountains National Park, a unit 
of the National Park System, is bordered on the south by the 
Reservation of the Eastern Band known as the Qualla Boundary. The 
Eastern Band operates the primary and secondary schools within the 
Qualla Boundary under a contract with the U.S. Department of the 
Interior. The Interior Department several decades ago constructed the 
existing school buildings. The buildings are aging, overcrowded, and 
inadequate to meet the current and future educational needs of the 
Eastern Band. In the mountainous lands of western North Carolina, 
suitable lands for the location and construction of new schools are 
limited. The Eastern Band has requested that up to 200 acres of land 
within Great Smoky Mountains National Park be made available to them 
for the purpose of new school construction. The Eastern Band also seeks 
the same parcel of land to reestablish a land corridor between two 
parts of the Qualla Boundary that are separated by NPS land. The 
Eastern Band has offered in exchange 218 acres of land, identified as a 
priority for acquisition by the Blue Ridge Parkway, adjacent to the 
Waterrock Knob Visitor Center. The NPS has agreed to explore the 
possibility of a land exchange.
    Our practice is to make comments, including names and addresses of 
respondents, available for public review during regular business hours. 
If you wish for 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 or organizations 
or businesses, available for public inspection in their entirety.

    Dated: December 21, 2001.
W. Thomas Brown,
Acting Regional Director, Southeast Region.
[FR Doc. 02-674 Filed 1-10-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-70-M