[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 161 (Tuesday, August 19, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 48391-48392]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-19047]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service


 Notice of Intent To Prepare a Special Resource Study of the 
River Raisin Battlefield in Monroe, MI

AGENCY: National Park Service, Department of the Interior.

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare a Special Resource Study of the 
River Raisin Battlefield in Monroe, Michigan. This study will be 
accompanied by either an Environmental Impact Statement or an 
Environmental Assessment.

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SUMMARY: Pursuant to Section 102(2)(C) of the National Environmental 
Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4332(2)(C)), the National Park Service 
(NPS) is announcing its intent to prepare an Environmental Impact 
Statement (EIS) for a Special Resource Study (SRS) of the River Raisin 
Battlefield. Public Law 109-429, passed on December 20, 2006, directed 
the Secretary of the Interior to conduct an SRS of sites in Monroe 
County, Michigan, relating to the Battles of the River Raisin on 
January 18 and 22, 1813, and their aftermath.
    To facilitate sound planning and environmental assessment, the NPS 
intends to gather information necessary for the preparation of an BIS 
and obtain suggestions and information from other Agencies and the 
public on the scope of issues to be addressed in the 515. Comments and 
participation in this scoping process are invited. Participation in the 
planning process will be encouraged and facilitated by various means, 
including newsletters and open house meetings. The NPS will conduct 
public scoping meetings to explain the planning process and to solicit 
opinions about issues to address in the SRS/EIS. Notification of all 
such meetings will be announced in the local press and in the NPS 
newsletters. Based on the information received during scoping, and the 
development of preliminary alternatives and impact analysis, the NPS 
may decide that an environmental assessment would better suit the 
process. The NPS would announce that decision publicly.

ADDRESSES: Additionally, if you wish to comment on any issues 
associated with the SRS, you may submit your comments by any one of 
several methods. You may mail or hand-deliver comments to Ruth 
Heikkinen, Project Manager for the River Raisin Special Resource Study, 
National Park Service Midwest Regional Office, 601 Riverfront Drive, 
Omaha, Nebraska 68102-4226. You may provide comments

[[Page 48392]]

electronically by entering them into the NPS's Planning, Environment 
and Public Comment Web site (http://parkplanning.nps.gov). Information 
will be available for public review and comment from the Midwest 
Regional Office of the NPS at the above address.
    Requests to be added to the project mailing list should also be 
sent to Ruth Heikkinen, Project Manager for the River Raisin Special 
Resource Study, at the above address or e-mailed to [email protected].
    Before including your address, telephone number, e-mail address, or 
other: personal identifying information in your comments, you should be 
aware that your entire comment (including your personal identifying 
information) may be made publicly available at any time. While you can 
ask us in your comments to withhold your personal identifying 
information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be 
able to do so. We will make all submissions from organizations or 
businesses, from individuals identifying themselves as representatives 
or officials, or organizations or businesses available for public 
inspection in their entirety.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ruth Heikkinen, Project Manager for 
the River Raisin Special Resource Study, National Park Service Midwest 
Regional Offices, 601 Riverfront Drive, Omaha, Nebraska 68102-4226, at 
telephone 402-661-1846.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The NPS is conducting this study in response 
to Public Law 109-249 which required a determination of the national 
significance of sites related to the battles of the River Raisin as 
well as the suitability and feasibility of including them in the 
National Park System.
    The significance of the River Raisin Battlefield derives from 
events early in1813 when, angry at the American surrender of Detroit to 
the British in August of 1812, militia from Kentucky marched to 
Frenchtown (today, Monroe) on the River Raisin south of Detroit. The 
town was occupied by predominantly French-Canadians who, threatened by 
the British, had asked for military protection. On January 18, 1813, 
667 Kentuckians successfully defended Frenchtown against a much smaller 
force of Canadian militia and Indians. Four days later, a British and 
Indian force launched a counterattack on the Kentuckians, together with 
a force of 250 American regulars who had joined them, and inflicted 
tremendous harm. At the end of the battle, American casualties totaled 
220 killed, 80 wounded, and more than 500 taken prisoner. However, it 
was the attack on the wounded by the Indians the following day that 
most shocked the American conscience. While the wounded waited in 
Frenchtown for the British to bring sleds to carry them away, they were 
attacked by Indians who, came into the town to seek revenge. The 
Indians brutally murdered most of the wounded and burned down the town. 
The phrase ``Remember the River Raisin'' became a rallying cry for the 
later Battle of the Thames, the last battle of the War of 1812, which 
cemented the American victory.
    A portion of the River Raisin Battlefield was placed on the 
National Register in 1982. In the last few years, the city of Monroe 
has worked to secure grants to remove former industrial buildings on 
the site with the goal of reclaiming the historic integrity of the 
Battlefield.

    Dated: July 8, 2008.
Ernest Quintana,
Regional Director, Midwest Region.
 [FR Doc. E8-19047 Filed 8-18-08; 8:45 am]
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