[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 36 (Wednesday, February 25, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Page 8567]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-3990]



[[Page 8567]]

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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service


Final Environmental Impact Statement/General Management Plan; San 
Juan Island National Historical Park, San Juan County, WA; Notice of 
Approval of Record of Decision

SUMMARY: Pursuant to section 102(2)(C) of the National Environmental 
Policy Act of 1969 (Pub. L. 91-190, as amended) and the regulations 
promulgated by the Council on Environmental Quality (40 CFR Part 
1505.2), the Department of the Interior, National Park Service has 
prepared and approved a Record of Decision for the Final Environmental 
Impact Statement for the updated General Management Plan (GMP), San 
Juan Island National Historical Park. The current GMP was completed in 
1979; many conditions on San Juan Island and within the park have 
changed, particularly in the last 15-20 years. The requisite no-action 
``wait period'' was initiated October 31, 2008, with the Environmental 
Protection Agency's Federal Register notification of the filing of the 
Final EIS.
    Decision: As soon as practical San Juan Island National Historical 
Park will begin to implement park operations, resource management, 
interpretive programs, and land acquisitions (willing seller) presented 
and analyzed as the Preferred Alternative in the Final EIS (and which 
includes no substantive changes from the course of action as presented 
in the Draft EIS). The full range of foreseeable environmental 
consequences was assessed, and appropriate mitigation measures are 
included in the approved plan; this course of action was deemed to be 
the ``environmentally preferred'' alternative. The Final EIS identified 
and analyzed two additional alternatives, and corresponding mitigation 
strategies, which were responsive to concerns and issues the public 
voiced during the extensive scoping process and Draft EIS review, and 
to NPS conservation planning requirements.
    Alternative C is the selected plan. Identified as the agency-
preferred alternative in the EIS, this updated GMP broadens the scope 
of resource management and interpretation programs to emphasize the 
connections and interrelationships between the park's cultural and 
natural resources. Historic buildings and structures will continue to 
be preserved, with some additional buildings open to the public for 
interpretation. New facilities, trails and programs will provide 
opportunities for visitors to understand how the park's natural 
surroundings influenced the settlement and historic events on San Juan 
Island and help define the cultural landscapes preserved within the 
park. The new plan also proposes boundary adjustments at both English 
Camp and American Camp, which includes acquisition of land from the 
Washington State Department of Natural Resources (DNR), Bureau of Land 
Management (BLM), and one private parcel under a willing-seller 
condition only.
    Copies: Interested parties desiring to review the Record of 
Decision may obtain a copy by contacting the Superintendent, San Juan 
Island National Historical Park, Box 429, Friday Harbor, WA 98250 or 
via telephone request at (360) 378-2240.

    Dated: January 30, 2009.
Cicely A. Muldoon,
Acting Regional Director, Pacific West Region.
 [FR Doc. E9-3990 Filed 2-24-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-70-P