[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 173 (Wednesday, September 8, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 54309-54310]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-20297]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service


Draft Schoodic General Management Plan Amendment and 
Environmental Impact Statement, Acadia National Park, Maine

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: Pursuant to section 102(2)(C) of the National Environmental 
Policy Act of 1969 (Pub. L. 91-190, as amended), the National Park 
Service announces the availability of the Draft Schoodic General 
Management Plan Amendment and Environmental Impact Statement (Draft 
GMPA/EIS) for Acadia National Park, in the Town of Winter Harbor, 
Hancock County, Maine. Consistent with National Park Service laws, 
regulations, and policies, and the mission of Acadia National Park, the 
Draft GMPA/EIS describes and analyzes two action alternatives to guide 
the management of the Schoodic District over the next 15 to 20 years. 
The action alternatives incorporate various management prescriptions to 
ensure protection and enjoyment of the park's resources. A no action 
alternative also is evaluated. The Draft GMPA/EIS evaluates potential 
environmental consequences of implementing the

[[Page 54310]]

alternatives. Impact topics include cultural and natural resources, 
visitor experience, park operations, and the socioeconomic environment. 
Alternative C is the National Park Service's preferred alternative. 
This notice also announces that a public meeting will be held to 
solicit comments on the Draft GMPA/EIS during the public review period 
identified below.

DATES: The Draft GMPA/EIS will be available for public review for 60 
days from September 17, 2004 through November 16, 2004. The National 
Park Service will hold a public meeting to solicit comments during the 
public review period. The public meeting will be held on Wednesday, 
October 20, 2004, at the Sumner Memorial High School cafeteria on U.S. 
Route 1 in Sullivan, Maine, from 7 to 9 p.m. Comments on the Draft 
GMPA/EIS must be received at one of the addresses below no later than 
November 16, 2004.

ADDRESSES: Comments on the Draft GMPA/EIS should be mailed to: 
Superintendent, Acadia National Park, P.O. Box 177, Bar Harbor, Maine 
04609, or sent by e-mail to: [email protected]. Comments may also 
be submitted on the Internet at: planning.nps.gov/plans.cfm.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Copies of the Draft GMPA/EIS are 
available on request by writing to: John T. Kelly, Acadia National 
Park, P.O. Box 177, Bar Harbor, Maine 04609; e-mailing: [email protected], or calling: 207-288-8703. The Draft GMPA/EIS is 
available for pick-up in person at the Acadia National Park 
Headquarters on Route 233/Eagle Lake Road in Bar Harbor, Maine, during 
regular business hours. It is also available on the Internet at: http://www.nps.gov/acad/schoodic/home.htm.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Acadia National Park includes 2,366 acres on 
Schoodic Peninsula, most of which was acquired in 1929 as a donation 
from the Hancock County Trustees of Public Reservations. The Schoodic 
District offers exceptional views of the surf, rocky coast, and 
surrounding islands in an uncrowded environment, and receives 
approximately 250,000 visits a year.
    In 1935, the U.S. Navy established a radio communications base 
within the park at Schoodic Point. The U.S. Navy closed the base after 
67 years of service and returned 100 acres to the NPS on July 1, 2002. 
The former navy base contains 36 major buildings totaling approximately 
206,000 square feet, including a dormitory, apartment complex, 
cafeteria, medical clinic, fire station, commissary, gymnasium, day 
care center, maintenance facility, recreational facilities, and related 
utility systems. The original apartment building (Rockefeller Building) 
and generator house are eligible for listing in the National Register 
of Historic Places.
    The Schoodic District is zoned ``Natural Area'' in Acadia's 1992 
General Management Plan. The National Park Service manages visitor use 
at Schoodic to retain current use levels and opportunities for low-
density recreation. The Schoodic District contains two ``Rare Natural 
Communities'' (Jack Pine Woodland and Maritime Shrubland), several rare 
plant species, and significant habitat for seabirds, shorebirds, 
waterfowl, and bald eagles, as identified by the Maine Natural Areas 
Program. Most of the Schoodic District is eligible for listing in the 
National Register of Historic Places because of its historically 
significant cultural landscape.
    In response to the transfer of the Navy base, the National Park 
Service has prepared a draft amendment to the park's General Management 
Plan that describes three alternatives for the management and 
development of the Schoodic District over the next 15 to 20 years. The 
Environmental Impact Statement assesses the potential environmental 
impacts of implementing the alternatives. To support the plan, the 
National Park Service has prepared a cultural landscape inventory, 
transportation feasibility study, collections management plan, visitor 
use study, and fire protection study for Schoodic, and conducted public 
scoping of the alternatives, including consultations with Indian tribes 
in Maine. The reuse of the former navy base will be consistent with the 
laws and management policies that govern the use of national parks.
    All alternatives include establishing the Schoodic Education and 
Research Center (SERC), which is a National Park Service approved 
research learning center that began operation in 2002. The purpose of 
SERC is to promote and facilitate education and research that is 
consistent with the mission of the National Park Service. SERC would 
offer classrooms, laboratories, offices, and lodging to educators, 
researchers, and students of all ages. SERC's programs and activities 
would not degrade the purposes and values for which Acadia National 
Park was established. In addition to Alternative A, which is the ``no 
action'' alternative required by the National Environmental Policy Act, 
the NPS is proposing the two action alternatives described below.
    Alternative B emphasizes the park's use of the former navy base for 
managing the Schoodic District, providing interpretive services to 
visitors, facilitating park research, offering resident environmental 
education programs, and housing staff. Under Alternative B, SERC would 
expand and improve the park's ongoing educational and research 
activities. Alternative C is the National Park Service's preferred 
alternative and emphasizes the use of the former navy base as an 
education and research center by multiple partners managed by a 
nonprofit organization. Under Alternative C, SERC would provide 
opportunities for collaboration among a variety of partners and 
complement the growing momentum in science and research that is 
underway in the region.
    After public review of the Draft GMPA/EIS, the National Park 
Service will consider comments, and a Final GMPA/EIS, followed by a 
Record of Decision, will be prepared. The Final GMPA/EIS is scheduled 
for completion in 2004.

    Dated: July 6, 2004.
Chrysandra Walter,
Deputy Regional Director, Northeast Region, National Park Service.
[FR Doc. 04-20297 Filed 9-7-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-52-P