[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 184 (Monday, September 23, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 59548-59550]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-24061]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service


Potomac Heritage National Scenic Trail; Guidelines for Developing 
an Application Requesting Designation of a Trail as a Segment of the 
Potomac Heritage National Scenic Trail

AGENCY: Department of the Interior, National Park Service, Potomac 
Heritage National Scenic Trail.

ACTION: Availability of guidelines.

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SUMMARY: In 1983 Congress amended the National Trails System Act, 
designating a corridor for the Potomac Heritage National Scenic Trail 
between the mouth of the Potomac River and the Laurel Highlands in 
western Pennsylvania (16 U.S.C. 1244(a)(11)(2000)). The legislation 
authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to ``designate'' trails, 
outside of federally administered areas, as segments of the Potomac 
Heritage National Scenic Trail (the PHNST) based upon applications by 
local and state agencies. The

[[Page 59549]]

authority for designation is delegated to the National Park Service in 
the Departmental Manual Part 245. Based on consultations with citizens 
organizations, local governments, regional authorities and state 
agencies, the guidelines reflect plans by local and state agencies for 
the development of segments of the PHNST. The guidelines provide such 
agencies with criteria for developing applications for designation of 
trails as segments of the PHNST.

DATES: Effective Date: October 23, 2002.

ADDRESSES: Comments and requests for copies of a document on which this 
notice is based should be addressed to: Superintendent, Potomac 
Heritage National Scenic Trail Office, Post Office Box B, Harpers 
Ferry, WV 25425. Our practice is to make comments, including names and 
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 may also 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. However, we will not 
consider 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.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Donald E. Briggs, Superintendent 
(Coordinator), Potomac Heritage National Scenic Trail, 304-535-4016 or 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The Potomac River and upper Ohio River basins have nurtured 
communities, trade and migration for nearly 10,000 years--from ancient 
villages and trade routes established by American Indians to the 
pathways used by our Nation's founders, from the darkest days during 
the Civil War and to the beginnings of the modern conservation 
movement. Today, citizens groups, regional organizations, local and 
state government agencies and federal agencies in the Potomac River 
corridor and in southwestern Pennsylvania are seeking ways to make 
connections among the special places that reflect this history, to tell 
stories associated with the national significance of the region and to 
establish a network of recreational trails and related educational 
opportunities. Many have been drawn to the idea behind and legislation 
for the PHNST.
    Acting upon information in a study completed by the Bureau of 
Outdoor Recreation in 1974, Congress in 1983 amended the National 
Trails System Act, establishing a federal interest in development of 
the PHNST (16 U.S.C. 1244(a)(11)(2000)).
    The amendment:
    [sbull] Designated a corridor for the PHNST along both sides of the 
Potomac River between the Chesapeake Bay and the vicinity of 
Cumberland, Md., and between Cumberland and the Laurel Highlands Trail 
in western Pennsylvania;
    [sbull] Precluded designations in the State of West Virginia; and
    [sbull] Authorized the Secretary of the Interior to ``designate 
lands outside of federally administered areas as segments of the trail, 
only upon application from the States or local governmental agencies 
involved, if such segments meet the criteria established in this 
chapter and are administered by such agencies without expense to the 
United States.''
    Authority for the ``designation'' of non-Federal segments of the 
PHNST is similar in intent and process to trail site and segment 
``certification'' authority provided in 16 U.S.C. 1242(a)(3)(2000) for 
the administration of national historic trails.
    Subsequent legislation, passed in 1986, directed the Secretary to 
recognize the 70-mile Laurel Highlands Hiking Trail (the LHHT), managed 
by the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, 
as a segment of the PHNST. In addition to the LHHT, the 184.5-mile C&O 
Canal Towpath, managed by C&O Canal National Historical Park, and the 
17-mile Mount Vernon Trail, managed by George Washington Memorial 
Parkway, are recognized as segments of the PHNST.
    Other trails, projects and programs in the corridor also contribute 
to the concept of the PHNST. Based on the 1974 study and 1983 
amendment, local and state governments, regional authorities and 
federal agencies are creating a braided network of trails for hiking, 
bicycling, horseback riding and boating in the PHNST corridor. Some 
local governments and authorities have purchased and/or accepted lands 
and/or easements on lands for the purpose of building the PHNST 
segments. As more and more communities weave connections among local 
history, outdoor spaces and culture, they build upon the PHNST 
designation by linking local initiatives with elements of our national 
history. The developing physical and programmatic network increasingly 
provides residents and visitors with an experience in the PHNST 
corridor comprised of three related elements:
    1. A regional system of trails for non-motorized travel, recreation 
and exploration;
    2. A set of physical and conceptual ``gateways'' to local trail 
corridors and related resources and activities at various locations in 
the PHNST corridor; and
    3. A range of active and passive educational opportunities 
associated with the national significance of the corridor.
    Based on plans for the PHNST by local and state agencies, as well 
as consultations with regional authorities, citizen organizations and 
other federal agencies, these guidelines provide criteria for 
developing applications for designation of non-Federal trails as 
segments of the PHNST.
    Designation of trails provides local and state agencies and others 
with opportunities to realize the following benefits:
    [sbull] Coordination among citizens groups, local jurisdictions, 
state agencies and federal land managers seeking to conserve 
landscapes, to develop non-motorized transportation options and to 
develop outdoor educational opportunities and heritage tourism programs 
in the PHNST corridor;
    [sbull] Use of the official the PHNST marker (trail logo) in 
marketing, information and educational programs;
    [sbull] Priority consideration for funds to support the PHNST-
related projects and partners through the NPS Challenge Cost-Share 
Program; and
    [sbull] Technical assistance with:
    [sbull] Corridor planning
    [sbull] Project development and implementation
    [sbull] Fund-raising
    [sbull] Interpretive planning and educational program and project 
development
    [sbull] Marketing and promotion
    [sbull] Communications and public involvement
    [sbull] Heritage tourism projects.

Guidelines

    In consultation with the Superintendent, Potomac Heritage National 
Scenic Trail, National Park Service, applications by local and state 
agencies requesting the designation of a trail as a segment of the 
PHNST must meet the following criteria:
    (1) The proposed trail corridor contains significant natural, 
historical

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and cultural resources and related educational opportunities associated 
with the primary themes for which the PHNST corridor is nationally 
significant:
    (a) The Potomac River and upper Ohio River tributaries as an East-
West transportation corridor, especially George Washington's vision of 
a connection between the Atlantic Ocean and the Forks of the Ohio 
River;
    (b) Migration, establishment and conflict of cultures; and 
evolution, stress on and restoration of river ecosystems.
    2. The trail provides opportunities for at least one form of non-
motorized travel (e.g., hiking, jogging or running, bicycling, 
horseback riding, canoeing, kayaking and/or sailing).
    3. The trail contributes to the quality of life for residents of 
communities in the trail corridor and to the experience of visitors to 
the trail corridor.
    4. The trail acts as a primary route in and contributes to a 
developing network of trails for non-motorized travel between the 
Chesapeake Bay and the Laurel Highlands, providing a logical 
connection, on land or water, between public resources (e.g., other 
trails, parks, river access points, etc.) within one or more of the 
following jurisdictions:

--The District of Columbia.
--The following counties in the State of Maryland: St. Mary's; Charles; 
Prince George's; Montgomery; Frederick; Washington; and Allegheny.
--The following counties in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania: Somerset; 
Fayette; and Westmoreland.
--The following counties in the Commonwealth of Virginia: 
Northumberland; Westmoreland; Lancaster; Richmond; King George; 
Stafford; Prince William; Fairfax; Arlington; and Loudoun.

    5. The applicant agrees to maintain some combination of regional 
informational exhibits (describing, among other points, the trail and 
its contribution to the PHNST), educational exhibits, and/or staffed 
visitor centers to serve as ``gateways'' to the trail corridor, to 
communities associated with the trail corridor and to the history and 
ecology of the region.
    6. The trail will be administered at no additional cost to the 
federal government.
    (7) The applicant, in partnership with the National Park Service, 
has completed a management plan which describes:
    (a) The trail corridor, trail (including location) and the 
contribution, as a component of the region's infrastructure, that the 
trail makes to the quality of life for residents of and visitors to 
communities associated with the trail corridor;
    (b) Permitted public uses and types of experiences provided by the 
trail;
    (c) Policies, objectives, practices and agreements employed to 
maintain the trail and to conserve the trail corridor (i.e., to 
maintain the scenic, natural, cultural and/or recreational values for 
which the trail qualifies as a segment of the PHNST), including planned 
seasonal closures to maintain the integrity of the resource or to 
reduce conflicts between and among various user groups (e.g., to 
protect wildlife breeding or migrating areas or to permit hunting);
    (d) Compliance with applicable Federal regulations;
    (e) Related conservation and/or development plans (including plans 
to provide recreational, educational and interpretive opportunities); 
and
    (f) A marking system used to identify the trail route.
    Applications for designation of trails as segments of the PHNST 
should be sent to the Regional Director, National Capital Region, 
National Park Service, 1100 Ohio Drive SW., Washington, DC 20242, attn: 
Superintendent, Potomac Heritage National Scenic Trail.

    Dated: June 28, 2002.
Terry R. Carlstrom,
Regional Director, National Capital Region.
[FR Doc. 02-24061 Filed 9-20-02; 8:45 am]
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