[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 49 (Wednesday, March 13, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 11361-11362]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-6042]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service


Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for 
the General Management Plan for the Blue Ridge Parkway

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION:  Notice of intent to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement 
for the General Management Plan for the Blue Ridge Parkway

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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that in accordance with the National 
Environmental Policy Act of 1969, the U.S. Department of the Interior, 
National Park Service will prepare an Environmental Impact Statement on 
the General Management Plan for the Blue Ridge Parkway. The statement 
will assess potential environmental impacts associated with various 
types and levels of visitor use and resources management within the 
parkway boundary. Specific issues to be addressed include appropriate 
levels and types of visitor use along the parkway and at various 
developed areas, and the protection of natural, cultural, and scenic 
resources. Adjacent land uses and transportation improvements, their 
effect on parkway resources and visitors, and strategies for 
cooperation among public and private land managers will also be 
explored.

DATES: To determine the scope of issues to be addressed in the GMP and 
EIS and identify significant issues related to the project, a series of 
planning newsletters with public response forms will be distributed to 
the public and public scoping meetings will be held in the summer, 
2002. When these meetings have been scheduled, public notice will be 
provided. Representatives of the National Park Service will be 
available to discuss issues, resource concerns, and the planning 
process at each of the public meetings.

ADDRESSES: Any comments or requests for information should be addressed 
to Superintendent, Blue Ridge Parkway, 1999 Hemphill Knob Road, 
Asheville, North Carolina 28803.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Superintendent, Blue Ridge Parkway,

[[Page 11362]]

1999 Hemphill Knob Road, Asheville, North Carolina 28803, (828) 271-
4779.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Blue Ridge Parkway is located in 
southwestern Virginia and northwestern North Carolina in the Central 
and Southern Appalachian Mountains. The parkway is 469 miles long, 
connecting Shenandoah National Park in the north with Great Smoky 
Mountains National Park to the south. Created in 1936 as a national 
rural parkway, the parkway is designed for recreational driving free 
from commercial traffic and with limited access. The parkway traverses 
the crests, ridges, and valleys of five major mountain ranges, 
encompassing several geographic and vegetative zones ranging from 500 
to over 6,000 feet above sea level. It provides visitors with many 
varied vistas of scenic Appalachian landscapes ranging from forested 
ridge tops and mountain slopes to rural farm lands to urban areas. 
Although most of the parkway has a very narrow right of way, it 
includes several large recreational and natural history areas and 
Appalachian cultural sites along its length.
    Today, the parkway encompasses 82,000 acres of federally owned 
land. The parkway has over 1000 miles of boundary to manage, 4000 
adjacent land owners, 29 county and several city governments to 
interact with, and has 500,000 acres of scenic viewshed outside of its 
boundary. There are 191 public access points on the parkway from the 
regional road systems. This planning effort will evaluate a range of 
alternative methods to provide a quality visitor experience while 
maximizing protection of resources and operational efficiency.
    Public documents associated with the planning effort, including all 
newsletters, will be posted on the Internet through the Info Zone at 
www.nps.gov.
    Our practice is to make the public comments we receive in response 
to planning documents, including names and home 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. Anonymous comments 
will be included in the public record. However, the National Park 
Service is not legally required to consider or respond to anonymous 
comments. 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.
    The draft and final environmental impact statement will be 
distributed to all known interested parties and appropriate agencies. 
Full public participation by federal, state, and local agencies as well 
as other concerned organizations and private citizens is invited 
throughout the preparation process of this document.
    The responsible official for this environmental impact statement is 
Jerry Belson, Regional Director, National Park Service, Southeast 
Region, 100 Alabama Street, SW., Atlanta, Georgia 30303.

    Dated: November 5, 2002.
Wallace A. Hibbard,
Regional Director, Southeast Region.
[FR Doc. 02-6042 Filed 3-12-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-70-M