[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 143 (Tuesday, July 27, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 44678-44679]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-16991]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service


Merced Wild and Scenic River Revised Comprehensive Management 
Plan; Yosemite National Park, Mariposa and Madera Counties, CA; Notice 
of Intent To Prepare Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement

    Summary: Pursuant to provisions of the National Environmental 
Policy Act (Pub. L. 91-190), the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act (Pub. L. 
90-542), and the Order of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern 
District of California, the National Park Service is initiating public 
scoping for the conservation planning and environmental impact

[[Page 44679]]

analysis process necessary for revising the Merced Wild and Scenic 
River Comprehensive Management Plan (CMP) and preparing a Supplemental 
Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS). The revised plan will address 
factors identified by the Court, including user capacities throughout 
the entire park corridor and the river corridor boundary in El Portal. 
The purpose of this scoping phase is to elicit early public comments 
regarding issues and concerns to be addressed, including a suitable 
range of alternatives, appropriate mitigation measures, and the nature 
and extent of potential environmental impacts.
    Background: In 1987, Congress designated 122 miles of the Merced 
River as Wild and Scenic, including 81 miles within Yosemite National 
Park and the El Portal Administrative Site. Subsequently the U.S. 
Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management jointly completed a 
comprehensive management plan for those portions of the Merced River 
within their jurisdiction outside of Yosemite National Park. The 
National Park Service (NPS) completed all planning for the NPS 
administered river segments with the signing, on August 9, 2000, of the 
Record of Decision for the Merced Wild and Scenic River Comprehensive 
Management Plan/Final Environmental Impact Statement (a revised Record 
of Decision was signed on November 3, 2000). In February 2001, the 
Merced Wild and Scenic River Comprehensive Management Plan was 
released, which set forth the approved management policies and 
guidelines for the Merced Wild and Scenic River (analyzed as the 
Preferred Alternative in the Merced Wild and Scenic River Comprehensive 
Management Plan/Final Environmental Impact Statement, and modified by 
the Record of Decision). In accord with the 1968 Wild and Scenic Rivers 
Act, the river segments within Yosemite National Park and the El Portal 
Administrative Site were classified, boundaries delineated, and 
outstandingly remarkable values identified.
    In August 2000, subsequent to the original signing of the Record of 
Decision, a lawsuit was brought against the completed plan in the U.S. 
District Court for the Eastern District of California by the Friends of 
Yosemite Valley and Mariposans for Environmentally Responsible Growth 
(Friends of Yosemite Valley v. Norton, 194 F.Supp.2d 1066). In April 
2004, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued an Order 
granting ``a temporary stay of proceedings and an injunction 
prohibiting NPS from implementing any and all projects developed in 
reliance upon the invalid CMP.'', and clarified its Opinion of October 
27, 2003, stating the Court ``held that the entire Merced Wild and 
Scenic River Comprehensive Management Plan (CMP) is invalid due to two 
deficiencies: (1) A failure to adequately address user capacities; and 
(2) the improper drawing of the Merced River's boundaries at El 
Portal'' (Friends of Yosemite Valley v. Norton, 348 F.3d 789, 803 9th 
Cir. 2003).
    The Merced Wild and Scenic River Comprehensive Management Plan/
Final Environmental Impact Statement, its Record of Decision, the 2001 
Merced Wild and Scenic River Comprehensive Management Plan, and the 
U.S. District Court Order defining the scope of this supplemental 
conservation planning effort, are available at http://www.nps.gov/yose/planning/. Copies of the 2001 Comprehensive Management Plan may also be 
obtained by phoning (209) 379-1365 or writing to the Superintendent at 
the address below.
    Scoping and Public Meetings: Participation of interested 
individuals and organizations will be a key element of the current 
conservation planning and environmental analysis process. Concurrently, 
tribal, Federal, State, and local government representatives will be 
consulted. All written comments received during the scoping period and 
public meetings will aid in preparing the Merced Wild and Scenic River 
Revised Comprehensive Management Plan/Supplemental Environmental Impact 
Statement. Suggestions regarding issues to be addressed and information 
relevant to determining the scope of the current conservation planning 
and environmental impact analysis process are being sought for a 30-day 
period beginning on the publication date of this NOI (and immediately 
upon confirmation of this date an announcement of the duration of the 
scoping period will be posted on the park Web site, and press releases 
distributed to local and regional media). Public scoping meetings will 
be held during July including the following locations: Yosemite Valley, 
Mariposa, and the San Francisco Bay Area; dates, times, specific 
locations, and additional information will be released via regional and 
local news media, and updates will also be available at the above 
website or phone.
    Scope of issues identified to date include: Land management, user 
capacities, appropriate types and levels of recreation, and protection 
and enhancement of the Merced River's Outstandingly Remarkable Values. 
All scoping comments received will be incorporated into a comment 
database and considered during revision of the CMP, and are to be 
addressed to the Superintendent, Attn: Merced River Plan, PO Box 577, 
Yosemite National Park, CA 95389, or faxed to (209) 379-1294, and must 
be postmarked not later than 30 days from the publication date of the 
NOI (if sent via e-mail or fax, transmitted by that date to [email protected]). Please note that names and addresses of people who 
comment become part of the public record. If individuals commenting 
request that their name or\and address be withheld from public 
disclosure, it will be honored to the extent allowable by law. Such 
requests must be stated prominently in the beginning of the comments. 
There also may be circumstances wherein the NPS will withhold from the 
record a respondent's identity, as allowable by law. As always: NPS 
will make available to public inspection all submissions from 
organizations or businesses and from persons identifying themselves as 
representatives or officials of organizations and businesses; and, 
anonymous comments are not considered.
    Decision Process: Announcements of future public involvement 
opportunities, including availability of the draft CMP/SEIS for review, 
will be achieved via regional news media, direct mailings, and the 
Federal Register. After due consideration of all comments received on 
the draft CMP/SEIS, a final document will be prepared and its 
availability similarly announced. As this is a delegated EIS, the 
official responsible for the final decision regarding the forthcoming 
plan is the Regional Director, Pacific West Region, National Park 
Service; the official responsible for subsequent implementation would 
be the Superintendent, Yosemite National Park.

    Dated: June 9, 2004.
Jonathan B. Jarvis,
Regional Director, Pacific West Region.
[FR Doc. 04-16991 Filed 7-26-04; 8:45 am]
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