[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 2 (Tuesday, January 4, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 382-384]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-47]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service


Draft Merced Wild and Scenic River Revised Comprehensive 
Management Plan and Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement, 
Yosemite National Park, Tuolumne, Mariposa, and Madera Counties, CA; 
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 
Council of Environmental Quality regulations (40 CFR Part 1500), and 
the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act (as amended, 16 U.S.C. 1271), the 
National Park Service, Department of the Interior, has prepared the 
Draft Merced Wild and Scenic River Revised Comprehensive Management 
Plan and Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (Draft Revised 
Merced River Plan/SEIS). It is intended to amend and supplement the 
Merced Wild and Scenic River Comprehensive Management Plan and Final 
Environmental Impact Statement (Merced River Plan/FEIS) released in 
June 2000. The Draft Revised Merced River Plan/SEIS identifies and 
evaluates four alternatives for guiding management of the Merced Wild 
and Scenic River in Yosemite National Park. When approved, the plan 
will serve as a template for all future decisions relating to 
recreation and land use within Yosemite's 81-mile Merced River 
corridor. The primary goals of the plan are to ensure the free-flowing 
condition of the river, along with providing long-term protection and 
enhancement of what the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act calls the river's 
``Outstandingly Remarkable Values''--the unique qualities that make the 
river worthy of special protection.
    Purpose and Need for Federal Action--The Merced River Plan is the 
official document for guiding future management of the main stem and 
South Fork of the Merced Wild and Scenic River within the jurisdiction 
of Yosemite National Park. In August 2000, the Merced River Plan/FEIS 
was approved and signed in a Record of Decision (subsequently revised 
in November 2000). Shortly after the

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Record of Decision was signed, the plan became the subject of a lengthy 
litigation process. In April 2004, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 
Ninth Circuit directed the National Park Service (NPS) to prepare a 
``new or revised'' comprehensive management plan that addresses two 
deficiencies identified in the Court's October 27, 2003 opinion 
(Friends of Yosemite Valley v. Norton, 348 F.3d 789, 803 9th Cir. 
2003). The Court ruled that: (1) The revised plan must implement a user 
capacity program that presents specific measurable limits on use, and 
(2) the revised plan must reassess the river corridor boundary in the 
El Portal Administrative Site based on the location of Outstandingly 
Remarkable Values. The purpose of the programmatic guidance identified 
herein is to revise and supplement the Merced River Plan/FEIS and the 
park's 1980 General Management Plan. This supplemental environmental 
impact statement represents NPS compliance with the National 
Environmental Policy Act, as well as parallel compliance with the Wild 
and Scenic Rivers Act (as amended, 16 U.S.C. 1271) and National 
Historic Preservation Act.
    Proposed Plan and Alternatives--As the proposed Revised Merced 
River Plan, Alternative 2 (agency preferred alternative) would include 
all of the elements of the No Action Alternative, with the addition of 
implementing the Visitor Experience Resource Protection (VERP) user 
capacity component, along with interim limits on some park facilities; 
the El Portal segment boundary would be redrawn based on the location 
of the Outstandingly Remarkable Values identified within a quarter-mile 
of the river. In addition to this proposed plan, the Draft Revised 
Merced River Plan/SEIS identifies and analyzes three other 
alternatives: Alternative 1--No Action; Alternative 3--Quotas by 
Segment with VERP; and Alternative 4--Quotas by Management Zone with 
VERP. Alternative 2 has also been deemed to be the ``environmentally 
preferred'' alternative.
    The No Action Alternative (Alternative 1) represents a baseline on 
which to compare the three action alternatives. Under this alternative, 
the Merced River Plan--as signed in the 2000 Record of Decision (and 
subsequent revision)--would continue to guide management in the river 
corridor. Application of its management elements (boundaries, 
classifications, Outstandingly Remarkable Values, management zoning, 
River Protection Overlay, Section 7 determination process) would 
continue as presented in the plan. However, implementation of the 
Visitor Experience Resource Protection (VERP) framework would not be in 
place and the park would continue managing user capacity under existing 
programs and policies outlined in the February 2004 User Capacity 
Program for the Merced Wild and Scenic River Corridor. This program 
includes continuation of the current wilderness management program and 
existing Trailhead Quota System. This alternative would implement the 
narrow boundary for the El Portal segment as described in the selected 
alternative of the Merced River Plan/FEIS (100-year floodplain or River 
Protection Overlay [whichever is greater] along with adjacent 
wetlands).
    Alternative 3 would also include all of the elements from the No 
Action alternative, in addition to a VERP user capacity component (as 
described in Alternative 2) along with a maximum daily quota for each 
river segment and an annual visitation cap; the El Portal segment would 
have the maximum quarter-mile boundary.
    Alternative 4 would contain the elements of No Action in addition 
to a VERP user capacity component (as described in Alternative 2) along 
with quotas for each river management zone and an annual visitation 
cap; the El Portal segment boundary would be drawn according to the 
location of Outstandingly Remarkable Values.
    Scoping History--On July 27, 2004, a Notice of Intent to prepare an 
environmental impact statement was published in the Federal Register 
initiating a 30-day scoping period--in response to public comment, this 
scoping period was extended to September 10, 2004. During scoping, a 
series of public meetings were held. A letter from the Superintendent 
was sent to over 8,000 interested members of the public on the park's 
Planning Mailing list, encouraging them to submit ideas, issues, and 
concerns relating to the scope of this planning effort. In addition, 
the scoping period and associated public meetings were publicized via 
regional media, on the park's Web site, through e-mailed notices on the 
park's electronic newsletter, and on various state-wide online bulletin 
boards. As a result of outreach, over 100 letters, faxes, and emails 
were received and considered during the development of this Draft 
Revised Merced River Plan/SEIS. All written scoping comments, as well 
as oral comments at public meetings, can be viewed on the park's Web 
site (http://www.nps.gov/yose/planning). A scoping report is also 
available.
    Comments--Upon its release, the Draft Revised Merced River Plan/
SEIS will be mailed directly to those who requested the document in 
response to a December 2004 direct mail and e-mailed solicitation. 
While the public will be encouraged to view the document on the park's 
Web site (http://www.nps.gov/yose/planning), it will be made available 
in a printed version, as well as on CD ROM. Copies will be available at 
park headquarters and the main Visitor Center in Yosemite Valley, the 
Administrative Complex in El Portal, and at local and regional 
libraries throughout California.
    Written comments must be submitted in writing and postmarked no 
later than 60 days after the Environmental Protection Agency publishes 
the notice of filing of the Draft Revised Merced River Plan/SEIS in the 
Federal Register (anticipated to occur in mid-January, 2005; as soon as 
this date is confirmed it will be announced on the park's Web site). 
All comments should be addressed to the Superintendent, ATTN: Draft 
Revised Merced River Plan/SEIS, P.O. Box 577, Yosemite National Park, 
CA 95389. Also, comments can be e-mailed to [email protected] or 
faxed to (209) 379-1294. All comments received will be available for 
public review in the Yosemite Research Library and also may be 
available on the park's Web site. To request a printed copy or CD ROM, 
refer to the information above or phone (209) 379-1365.
    Individuals submitting comments may request that their name and/or 
address be withheld from public disclosure, and such requests will be 
honored to the extent allowable by law. Requests must be stated 
prominently in the beginning of comments. There also may be 
circumstances wherein the NPS will withhold a respondent's identity as 
allowable by law. As always, the National Park Service 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. Anonymous comments will 
not be considered.
    Public Meetings--In order to facilitate public review and comment 
on the Draft Revised Merced River Plan/SEIS, the NPS intends to host 
public meetings in the following California towns and cities: San 
Francisco, Sacramento, Groveland, Merced, Mammoth, Los Angeles, Fresno, 
Oakhurst, Mariposa, El Portal, and Yosemite Valley. Meeting dates will 
be dependent on the publication of this notice in the Federal Register, 
and will occur after the first 15 days of the comment period and no 
later than 15 days prior to the comment period closing. A schedule of 
dates,

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locations, and times will be announced via a mailing to the park's 
Planning Mailing List, a news release, through the park's electronic 
newsletter, and postings on the park's Web site (http://www.nps.gov/yose/planning) and other statewide online bulletin boards.
    Participants are encouraged to review the document prior to 
attending a meeting. Yosemite National Park management and planning 
team members will attend all sessions to present the Draft Revised 
Merced River Plan/SEIS, to receive oral and written comments, and to 
answer questions. All meeting locations will be accessible for disabled 
persons and a sign language interpreter may be available upon request 
with prior notice (contact the park as noted above under ``Comments'').
    Decision Process--Depending on the degree of public interest and 
response from other agencies and organizations, at this time it is 
anticipated that the Final Merced Wild and Scenic River Revised 
Comprehensive Management Plan and Supplemental Environmental Impact 
Statement (Final Merced River Plan/SEIS) will be completed during June 
2005; availability of the document will be duly noted in the Federal 
Register. Subsequently, notice of an approved Record of Decision would 
be published in the Federal Register not sooner than 30 days after the 
final document is distributed. This is expected to occur in mid-August 
2005. As a delegated EIS, the official responsible for the decision is 
the Regional Director, Pacific West Region, National Park Service; the 
official responsible for implementation is the Superintendent, Yosemite 
National Park.

    Dated: December 14, 2004.
Jonathan B. Jarvis,
Regional Director, Pacific West Region.
[FR Doc. 05-47 Filed 1-3-05; 8:45 am]
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