[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 240 (Wednesday, December 16, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 66670-66671]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-29852]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service


Record of Decision on Final General Management Plan and 
Environmental Impact Statement, Fort Stanwix, National Monument, Rome, 
NY

AGENCY: National Park Service, Department of the Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability of a Record of Decision on the Final 
General Management Plan and Environmental Impact Statement for Fort 
Stanwix National Monument.

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SUMMARY: Pursuant to Sec.  102(2)(C) of the National Environmental 
Policy Act of 1969, as amended, the National Park Service (NPS) 
announces the availability of the Record of Decision for the Final 
General Management Plan and Environmental Impact Statement (GMP/EIS) 
for Fort Stanwix National Monument, New York. The Regional Director, 
Northeast Region, has approved the Record of Decision for the GMP/EIS, 
selecting Alternative 2--Preferred Action, which was described as the 
preferred alternative in the Final GMP/EIS which was issued for the 
required 30-day no action period beginning on July 31, 2009 and ending 
August 31, 2009. The Record of Decision includes a description of the 
background of the project, a statement of the decision made, synopses 
of other alternatives considered, the basis for the decision, findings 
on impairment of park resources and values, a description of the 
environmentally preferred alternative, a listing of measures to 
minimize environmental harm, and an overview of public and agency 
involvement in the decision-making process. As soon as practicable, the 
NPS will begin to implement the selected alternative.
    Copies of the Record of Decision may be downloaded from the NPS 
Planning, Environment and Public Comment (PEPC) Web site (http://parkplanning.nps.gov/fost) or a hardcopy may be obtained from the 
contact listed below.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Debbie Conway, Superintendent, Fort 
Stanwix National Monument, 112 East Park Street, Rome, New York 13440; 
315-338-7730.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Fort Stanwix National Monument has needed a 
General Management Plan (GMP) since it has been reliant on a 1967 
Master Plan and a 1974 Development Concept Plan. The Fort Stanwix 
National Monument GMP describes and explains the resource conditions 
that should exist and the visitor experiences that should be available 
at Fort Stanwix National Monument. The GMP provides a consistent 
framework for coordinating and integrating all subsequent planning and 
management decisions concerning the park.
    The selected alternative, Alternative 2, the Preferred Action, 
would broaden interpretation to emphasize the role of Fort Stanwix in 
the greater Northern Frontier and Mohawk Valley regional context; 
expand its interpretation of the Six Nations Confederacy; and, within 
available funding and authority, foster programmatic coordination as 
well as technical assistance to thematically related sites within the 
Northern Frontier and Mohawk Valley. Fort Stanwix National Monument 
would also use existing authorities to increase its capacity to pursue 
community outreach and regional partnership initiatives, particularly 
in seeking hike and bike trail linkages or shuttle vehicle connections 
with related sites. Efforts would be made to modify a limited part of 
the lawn area near the reconstructed fort to establish landscape 
conditions, using native grasses and other vegetation more evocative 
(not a reconstruction) of the historic meadow landscape while still 
maintaining sufficient lawn area to support community events. Certain 
fort structures that have not been reconstructed due to fiscal 
constraints and that are important to interpreting the history at Fort 
Stanwix, such as the Ravelin, may be reconstructed if it is feasible, 
fully funded by outside sources, and meets with the Secretary of the 
Interior's Standards for the Treatment for Historic Structures and 
applicable Section 106 compliance requirements. Vacated fort spaces 
would be adapted for public use, relying on enhanced interpretation to 
educate visitors and provide for the essential comprehension of the 
fort's original appearance.
    In addition to the selected alternative, a No Action alternative 
was presented and analyzed in the Draft and Final Environmental Impact 
Statements. The No Action alternative describes current management 
practices and conditions at Fort Stanwix National Monument with no 
major new actions. Current management directions, practices, and 
conditions would continue largely unchanged. This alternative has an 
interpretive focus on the siege of Fort Stanwix during the 
Revolutionary War.
    The issues explored through the GMP/EIS planning process include 
protection of cultural resources, visitor services, partnership 
opportunities, carrying capacity, and the lack of a properly defined 
boundary. The planning team established a set of criteria and goals 
against which each alternative was compared to determine which 
alternative best fulfilled the purpose and objectives of the GMP.

Resource Preservation Goals

     NPS addresses planning issues associated with cultural 
resource management of the fort structure, grounds, collections, and 
archeological resources. NPS should establish cultural landscape 
conditions to make it more evocative of historic era while maintaining 
sufficient lawn area to support community events.

Visitor Experience Goals

     Visitors understand the history of Fort Stanwix during the 
18th century, particularly the events that occurred there during the 
American Revolutionary War in 1777. Visitors also understand the 
significance of treaties negotiated at Fort Stanwix between 1768 and 
1790 with Indian Tribes.
     The visitor experience fully reflects the park's purpose, 
significance and themes. This includes enhancing the visitor 
experiencing and interpreting the regional historical context of Fort 
Stanwix to include Oriskany Battlefield, Northern Frontier, and Mohawk 
Valley.
     Interpretation in broadened to emphasize the role of Fort 
Stanwix in the greater Northern Frontier and Mohawk Valley regional 
context and expanding interpretation of the Six, Nations Confederacy.
     Interpretive media, exhibits, wayside exhibits, and other 
programs are updated to enhance visitor understanding of interpretive 
stories.

Transportation Goals

     Fort Stanwix National Monument works with local 
authorities to improve traffic conditions and improve pedestrian, 
bicycle, and shuttle vehicle linkages with related sites, including the 
Oriskany Battlefield.

Park Administration Goals

     Administrative, interpretive, maintenance, and other 
staff, as well as facilities and other infrastructure, sustain the 
programs and operations of the Fort Stanwix National Monument and 
accomplish the NPS mission.

[[Page 66671]]

     Fort Stanwix National Monument staff enjoys healthy and 
safe working conditions.

Collaboration and Partnership Goal

     Formal partnerships and informal associations with other 
agencies and organizations assist with the preservation and public 
enjoyment of the Fort Stanwix National Monument. These partnerships and 
other collaborative projects support the NPS and Fort Stanwix National 
Monument missions.
     Fort Stanwix National Monument increases programmatic 
coordination and offering technical assistance to partners in the 
Northern Frontier and Mohawk valley regions.
    After careful consideration and review of the purpose and 
significance of Fort Stanwix National Monument and its establishing 
laws and policies, as well as input received from other agencies and 
the public during the planning process, Alternative 2 was chosen by NPS 
as the alternative to be implemented. The selected alternative best 
fulfills the mandates of the founding legislation, the purpose and 
significance, and the other laws and policies guiding the NPS and the 
National Monument. The selected alternative, which builds upon key 
aspects of the 1967 Master Plan but also recognizes current historical 
scholarship and cultural resource management practices, best supports 
the park's purpose, significance and goals, while also providing 
management direction that best protects resources, offers high-quality 
visitor experiences, and takes advantage of partnership opportunities.
    The environmental consequences of the selected alternative are 
fully documented in the Draft GMP/EIS and the Final GMP/EIS. All 
practicable means to avoid or minimize environmental harm that could 
result from the implementation of the selected alternative have been 
identified and incorporated. After a review of the potential 
environmental effects, the alternative selected for implementation will 
not impair park resources of values and will not violate the NPS 
Organic Act.
    This decision is the result of a public planning process that began 
in 1997. A Notice of Intent to Prepare an Environmental Impact 
Statement for the Fort Stanwix GMP was published in the Federal 
Register in 1999. Throughout the planning process, extensive research 
and consultation was conducted with many subject matter experts, local 
community representatives, and institutions. A public scoping meeting 
was held on October 23, 2008, at the Rome, New York City Hall, and 12 
members of the public were in attendance. Two studies were undertaken 
to examine areas that are geographically and thematically relevant to 
Fort Stanwix National Monument--Oriskany Battlefield State Historic 
Site in Whitestown, NY, and the Northern Frontier encompassing a ten-
county area of central New York. The Oriskany Battlefield study found 
it to be nationally significant and suitable to be added to the 
national park system; however, the study did not find it feasible at 
the time to include in the national park system because of New York 
State's interest in continuing to manage the battlefield site. The park 
will continue to explore with New York State officials the feasibility 
of a future boundary adjustment and agreements to manage the site 
cooperatively or include the site in the national park system. The 
Northern Frontier study addressed the possible definition and 
designation of a national heritage area but did not recommend 
establishment of a new national park system unit or a new national 
heritage area. The recommendations focused on broader outreach efforts 
by Fort Stanwix National Monument to better integrate and affiliate 
with Northern Frontier interpretive themes and related sites.
    A Notice of Availability of the Draft GMP/EIS was published on 
September 26, 2008 and the Draft GMP/EIS was made available for public 
review through December 1, 2008. A public meeting was held on October 
23, 2008 at the City Hall in Rome, NY, to solicit public comments. 
Fourteen (14) comments were received during the comment period. The 
consensus of the public comments received was that the NPS was pursuing 
the correct path for the park in Alternative 2, the Preferred Action. 
Slight modifications to the preferred alternative were made in response 
to comments on the Draft GMP/EIS. A Notice of Availability of the Final 
GMP/EIS was published in the Federal Register on July 31, 2009. The 
Final GMP/EIS presents the modified preferred alternative and includes 
letters from governmental agencies, substantive comments on the Draft 
GMP/EIS, and NPS responses to those comments. The no-action period on 
the Final GMP/EIS ended on August 31, 2009.
    The official primarily responsible for implementing the updated 
General Management Plan is the Superintendent of Fort Stanwix National 
Monument.

Richard L. Harris,
Acting Regional Director Northeast Region, National Park Service.
[FR Doc. E9-29852 Filed 12-15-09; 8:45 am]
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