[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 69 (Thursday, April 10, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 17671-17672]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-8499]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service


Availability of Draft Wild and Scenic River Eligibility Report 
for the Westfield River, MA

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION: Publication of draft report for public comment.

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SUMMARY: The National Park Service is publishing for public review and 
comment a draft study report on designating additional miles to the 
Westfield River, Massachusetts, National Wild and Scenic River. The 
National Park Service has found that the Westfield River, Massachusetts 
(Upper East Branch and Tributaries: Drowned Land Brook; Center Brook; 
Windsor Jambs Brook--Towns of Savoy and Windsor; Headwater Tributaries 
of the West Branch: Shaker Mill Brook; Depot Brook; Savery Brook; 
Watson Brook; Center Pond Brook--Towns of Becket and Washington; Lower 
Middle Branch, East Branch and Main Stem--Town of Huntington) is 
eligible for the national system and is recommending that this section 
of the river be designated.

DATES: Submit comments on or before May 27, 2003.

ADDRESSES: Copies of the draft report are available for public 
inspection at: National Park Service, Boston Support Office, 15 State 
Street, Boston, MA 02109; National Park Service, 1201 Eye Street, NW., 
Washington, DC 20240-0001. Hours of availability are between 8:30 a.m. 
and 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, except holidays. Additional 
copies for review are located in the Huntington, Savoy, Washington, and 
Windsor Town Halls; during normal hours of operation. Copies of the 
draft report may be obtained from Jamie Fosburgh, National Park 
Service, Boston Support Office, 15 State Street, Boston, MA, 617-223-
5191. The full draft report may be viewed at http://www.nps.gov/rivers.
    Comments should be directed to the National Park Service, Boston 
Support Office, attention Jamie Fosburgh at the address above.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jamie Fosburgh, National Park Service, 
Boston Support Office, 15 State Street, Boston, MA, 617-223-5191.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On April 26, 2002, Acting Governor Jane 
Swift of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts petitioned the Secretary of 
the Interior to extend the Westfield River's Wild and Scenic 
designation to include additional segments of the river and its 
headwaters (34.8 miles) under the National Wild and Scenic Rivers Act. 
The sections of river under consideration includes the Upper East 
Branch and Tributaries: Drowned Land Brook; Center Brook; Windsor Jambs 
Brook in the Towns of Savoy and Windsor; the Headwater Tributaries of 
the West Branch: Shaker Mill Brook; Depot Brook; Savery Brook; Watson 
Brook; Center Pond Brook in the Towns of Becket and Washington; and the 
Lower Middle Branch, East Branch and Main Stem in the Town of 
Huntington. Under section 2(a)(ii) of the National Wild and Scenic 
Rivers Act (Pub. L. 90-542, as amended), the Secretary has the 
authority to add a river to the National System at the request of a 
state, provided the state has met certain prior conditions and the 
river meets eligibility criteria, based upon an evaluation of natural 
and cultural resources.
    These conditions are:
    (1) The river must have been designated as a component of a states 
wild or scenic rivers system by, or pursuant to, an act of the 
legislature of that state.
    (2) Management of the river must be administered by an agency or 
political subdivision of the state, except for those lands administered 
by an agency of the Federal government.
    (3) The river meets National Wild and Scenic River eligibility 
criteria, that is, that the river is free-flowing and possesses one or 
more outstanding resources of significance to the region or nation.
    (4) There must be effective mechanisms and regulations in place-- 
local, state or federal--to provide for the long-term protection of 
those resources for which the river was deemed eligible.
    Upon the request of a state governor to the Secretary of the 
Interior, the National Park Service, acting for the Secretary, 
undertakes an evaluation of the state's request.
    As a result of the evaluation, the National Park Service has 
concluded that all requirements were fully met for the designation 
extension for the Westfield River.
    The National Park Service recommends that the following segments of 
the Westfield River be classified as:
    Wild: Shaker Mill Brook, approximately 2.6 miles from Brooker Hill 
Road in Becket to its headwaters.
    Scenic: Upper East Branch, 6.6 miles from the Windsor/Cummington 
town line to its confluence; Upper East Branch Tributaries--Drowned 
Land Brook, 1.5 miles; Center Brook, 2.5 miles; and Windsor Jambs 
Brook, 1.3 miles; and Headwater Tributaries of the West Branch--Shaker 
Mill Brook, approximately 1.2 miles from Brooker Hill Road in Becket to 
its confluence; Depot Brook, 4.5 miles; Savery Brook, 2.9 miles; Watson 
Brook, 1.9 miles; Center Pond Brook, 1.6 miles from Center Pond to its 
confluence; and
    Recreational: Lower Middle Branch, East Branch, and Main Stem, 3.2 
miles in the Town of Huntington and the Upper East Branch, 5.0 miles 
from its confluence with Sykes Brook to its confluence with the West 
Branch.


[[Page 17672]]


    Dated: February 6, 2003.
Fran P. Mainella,
Director, National Park Service.
[FR Doc. 03-8499 Filed 4-9-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-70-P