[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 218 (Monday, November 10, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 66669-66670]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-26702]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service


Abbreviated Final Environmental Impact Statement/Comprehensive 
Management Plan; Ala Kahakai National Historic Trail, Hawaii County, 
HI; Notice of Availability

    Summary: Pursuant to Sec.  102(2)(c) of the National Environmental 
Policy Act of 1969 (Pub. L. 91-190, as amended), and the Council on 
Environmental Quality Regulations (CEQ) (40 CFR Part 1500-1508), the 
National Park Service, Department of the Interior, has prepared an 
abbreviated final environmental impact statement for the proposed 
Comprehensive Management Plan for the Ala Kahakai National Historic 
Trail (NHT) located on the island of Hawaii. Three CMP alternatives are 
identified and analyzed relative both to NPS planning requirements and 
to the public's concerns and issues identified during the scoping and 
public involvement process (in addition to a no-action alternative, an 
environmentally preferred alternative is also identified). Each 
alternative presents administrative, management, and partnership 
strategies for resource protection and preservation, education and 
interpretation, visitor uses and facilities, and long-term operations 
and management of the national trail. The potential environmental 
consequences of all the alternatives, and appropriate mitigation 
strategies, are identified and analyzed.
    Background: On April 4, 2003, the Federal Register published the 
Notice of Intent to prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS) for 
the comprehensive management plan (CMP) for the Ala Kahakai National 
Historic Trail. The initial scoping phase was designed to proactively 
elicit public issues, concerns, and other relevant information deemed 
necessary to address during the overall planning. A total of 200 people 
representing the general public, private landowners, trail advocacy 
groups, Native Hawaiian organizations, and state, county, and federal 
agencies participated overall. Several public meetings around the 
island were hosted (about 25 comment forms were returned to the trail 
office). In addition, the NPS planning team met with numerous 
individuals, community groups, private landowners, and government 
agency representatives to understand their concerns and visions for the 
Ala Kahakai NHT. The scoping phase extended through June 28, 2003.
    The NPS encouraged public involvement during two additional phases 
of the EIS process. In the second phase, the NPS engaged the public in 
developing preliminary alternatives intended to address the specific 
issues and concerns that surfaced during the public scoping. Nine 
public workshops were held around the island of Hawaii.
    The third phase of involvement afforded the opportunity for public 
review of the Draft EIS/CMP, notice of which appeared in the Federal 
Register on October 26, 2007. Government entities and the public were 
invited to submit comments by regular mail, e-mail, fax, and online. In 
addition, the NPS held seven public meetings on the island of Hawaii in 
November 2007 to provide further opportunity to learn about the 
proposed plan and to offer comments; over 90 people attended these 
meetings. The formal comment period closed on December 31, 2007, 
although the NPS received several comments during the next two weeks.

[[Page 66670]]

Aside from approximately 83 individual statements recorded on the 
meeting flip charts and 21 comment sheets completed at the meetings, 
the NPS received 40 written communications. No comments received from 
interested individuals and groups, area residents and businesses, and 
public agencies required the NPS to add other alternatives, 
significantly alter existing alternatives, or make changes to the 
impact analysis of the effect of any alternative. Thus, an abbreviated 
format is used to fully document all responses to comments in the Final 
CMP/EIS in compliance with the CEQ implementing regulations (40 CFR 
1503.4[c]) for the National Environmental Policy Act.
    Proposed Plan and Alternatives: Alternative A, the No Action 
Alternative, assumes that existing programs, facilities, staffing, and 
funding would generally continue at their current levels. The Ala 
Kahakai NHT would consist of trail segments within the four national 
parks through which it passes and only a few other segments (e.g., on 
state lands). As recommended in the Ala Kahakai National Trail Study 
and Environmental Impact Statement, January 1998, (Feasibility Study) 
on which national trail status was based, a continuous trail would be 
the goal but would not be implemented, even in the long-term. However, 
an auto tour would be completed that would lead visitors to 18 sites 
associated with the trail. Recreation along the trail and 
interpretation of its history would generally be limited to these 
sites.
    Alternative B proposes the completion of a single continuous trail 
comprised of unaltered or verified ancient and historic portions of the 
ala loa (coastal trail around the island) linked as needed by later 
pre-1892 trails, pathways, and modern connector trails. Within the 
planning period of 15 years, the goal would be to complete the linear 
trail within the priority zone from Kawaihae through Pu'uhonua o 
Honaunau National Park to Ho'okena and to protect other segments 
outside of that area as feasible. In the long-term, cultural and 
natural resources along the entire trail tread and agreed upon adjacent 
areas would be protected and interpreted to the public. The NPS would 
administer the trail, but management outside of the national parks 
would remain with the land managing agency or landowner. The NPS would 
offer technical assistance and limited financial assistance to these 
management partners. Partnerships with state and county agencies, 
community organizations, and private individuals would help protect 
trail resources and provide appropriate trail user services. An auto 
tour would be completed as in Alternative A.
    Alternative C, the NPS proposed action and the ``environmentally 
preferred'' alternative, is based on the traditional Hawaiian trail 
system in which multiple trail alignments within the ahupua'a (mountain 
to sea land division) are integral to land use and stewardship. The 
linear trail would be protected as in Alternative B, but on publicly-
owned lands the Ala Kahakai NHT includes inland portions of ala loa or 
other historic trails that run lateral to the shoreline and would be 
connected to ancient or historic mauka-makai (mountain to sea) trails 
that would have traditionally been part of the ahupua'a system. As with 
Alternative B, during the 15-year planning period, the priority zone 
from Kawaihae to Pu'uhonua o Honaunau National Park through Ho'okena 
would be the focus of administration and management, but sections 
outside of that zone would protected as feasible. Through an agreement, 
the state of Hawaii could convey to the NPS a less-than-fee management 
interest in trail segments that are state-owned under the Highways Act 
of 1892 within the Ala Kahakai NHT corridor. The NPS would then be 
responsible for managing these segments and federal law would fully 
apply. However, in cooperation with the NPS, local communities of the 
ahupua'a would be encouraged to take responsibility for trail 
management using the traditional Hawaiian principles of land management 
and stewardship. The Ala Kahakai Trail Association would be expected to 
be robust enough play a major part in trail management, promotion, and 
funding. An auto tour would be completed similarly as in the other 
alternatives.
    Copies: The abbreviated Final EIS/CMP is now available, and may be 
obtained by contacting the Superintendent, Ala Kahakai NHT, 73-4786 
Kanalani Street, 14, Kailua-Kona, HI 96740 or by telephone at 
808-326-6012. Copies of the Draft EIS/CMP are available, if needed. The 
Final EIS/CMP may also be reviewed electronically via the Web site 
http://parkplanning.nps.gov/alka or at area libraries.
    Decision Process: Following the release of the abbreviated Final 
EIS/CMP, a Record of Decision will be prepared not sooner than 30 days 
after the EPA has published its notice of filing of the document in the 
Federal Register. Announcement of the approved CMP would be similarly 
published. As a delegated EIS, the official responsible for the final 
decision is the Regional Director, Pacific West Region, National Park 
Service. Subsequently, the official responsible for implementing the 
approved CMP would be the Superintendent, Ala Kahakai National Historic 
Trail.

    Dated: June 13, 2008.
Jonathan B. Jarvis,
Regional Director, Pacific West Region.

    Editorial Note: This document was received in the Office of the 
Federal Register on November 11, 2008.

[FR Doc. E8-26702 Filed 11-7-08; 8:45 am]
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