[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 8 (Wednesday, January 13, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 1806-1807]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-444]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service


Draft General Management Plan and Environmental Impact Statement, 
New River Gorge National River, WV

AGENCY: National Park Service, Department of the Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability of the Draft General Management Plan and 
Environmental Impact Statement for New River Gorge National River.

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SUMMARY: Pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, 42 
U.S.C. 4332(2)(C), the National Park Service announces the availability 
of the

[[Page 1807]]

Draft General Management Plan and Environmental Impact Statement (Draft 
GMP/EIS) for New River Gorge National River, West Virginia. Consistent 
with National Park Service laws, regulations, and policies, and the 
purpose of the National River, the Draft GMP/EIS describes and analyzes 
five alternatives, including the no action alternative, to guide the 
management of the National River over the next 15 to 20 years. The 
alternatives incorporate various management prescriptions to ensure 
protection, access and enjoyment of the park's resources.
    Alternative 1 is the no action alternative, which would continue 
current management and trends, with no major changes in direction.
    Alternative 2 emphasizes the substantial differences among subareas 
of the gorge, improving them to reflect their differing character, 
resources, and visitor experiences. Management actions would build upon 
the cultural resource, interpretive, and recreational opportunities of 
the north and south ends of the park, while retaining a primitive and 
remote feeling in the middle of the park.
    Alternative 3 would unify the park by providing a north-south 
through park hike and bike trail, enhancing existing scenic roads, and 
building new access and facilities in the middle of the park to balance 
opportunities for visitors throughout the park.
    Alternative 4 recognizes river gateways and the rim to river 
experiences that take visitors to them as the primary access points and 
orientation venues in the park. River gateways would be enhanced to 
tell gorge stories while providing improved river, trail, and 
recreational access. The NPS and gateway communities would work 
cooperatively to enhance rim to river experiences.
    Alternative 5 is the National Park Service's preferred alternative. 
Alternative 5 would preserve areas for primitive recreational 
experiences from end to end of the park. Interspersed with these 
primitive areas would be cultural and interpretive resource focal areas 
where visitors could explore communities and other places that once 
populated the gorge, experience the river, and enjoy a variety of 
recreational experiences. A north-south through park connector composed 
of improved scenic roads and trails would enable visitors to travel the 
length of the park, visit these areas, and access the backcountry. 
Partnerships with gateway communities and improved rim to river 
experiences would foster links to the park as a whole and to specific 
cultural and interpretive resource areas within the park.
    The Draft GMP/EIS evaluates potential environmental consequences of 
implementing the five alternatives. It describes the affected natural, 
cultural, scenic, and socioeconomic environments within and near the 
park and analyzes potential impacts on park resources and values. 
Seventeen resource topics are addressed, including physiography, 
geology, and soils; floodplains; water quality; vegetation; aquatic 
wildlife; terrestrial wildlife; rare, threatened, and endangered 
species; scenic resources; archeological resources; cultural 
landscapes; historic structures; ethnographic resources; regional and 
local economy; communities; visitor use and visitor experience; park 
access; and park operations.

DATES: The National Park Service will accept comments on the Draft GMP/
EIS from the public for 60 days from the date the Environmental 
Protection Agency publishes their Notice of Availability in the Federal 
Register. Public meetings will be held in Hinton, Beckley, and 
Fayetteville, West Virginia to solicit comments on the Draft GMP/EIS 
during the public review period. The dates, times, and locations will 
be announced on the park's Web site at http://www.nps.gov/neri; on the 
NPS Planning, Environment, and Public Comment (PEPC) Web site at http://parkplanning.nps.gov/neri; in local papers; and can also be obtained 
by contacting the park at (304) 465-0508.

ADDRESSES: The Draft GMP/EIS will be available for public review and 
comment online at the NPS PEPC Web site (http://parkplanning.nps.gov/neri), and at the park's Web site (http://www.nps.gov/neri). Printed 
copies (in limited quantity) and CDs can be requested by calling (304) 
465-0508. Printed hardcopies can be viewed at the following locations:
    New River Gorge National River--Headquarters, 104 Main Street, Glen 
Jean, WV 25846.
    New River Gorge National River--Canyon Rim Visitor Center, 162 
Visitor Center Road (off US 19, north of the New River Gorge Bridge), 
Lansing, WV 25862.
    New River Gorge National River--Sandstone Visitor Center, Meadow 
Creek Road, Sandstone, WV 25958.
    Raleigh County Public Library, 221 N. Kanawha Street, Beckley, WV 
25801.
    Summers County Public Library, 201 Temple Street, Hinton, WV 25951.
    Oak Hill Public Library, 611 Main Street. Oak Hill, WV 25901.
    The preferred method to comment is to submit comments 
electronically through the NPS PEPC Web site at http://parkplanning.nps.gov/neri. You may also send written comments to 
Superintendent Don Striker, New River Gorge National River, 104 Main 
St., Glen Jean, WV 25846. Before including your address, phone number, 
e-mail address, or other personal identifying information in your 
comment, 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 comment to withhold your personal 
identifying information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we 
will be able to do so.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Don Striker, Superintendent, New River 
Gorge National River, 104 Main Street, Glen Jean, WV 25846, (304) 465-
0508.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Through the Draft GMP/EIS planning process, 
the NPS was able to develop a unified approach to managing the major 
changes in and adjacent to the park since the 1982 General Management 
Plan was prepared, to focus on protecting park natural, cultural, and 
scenic resources, and to identify opportunities to facilitate 
appropriate forms of visitor education, interpretation and use. Twelve 
related legislative mandates have been added since the enabling 
legislation was signed into law in 1978, including several boundary 
changes. The most recent legislation mandates the continuation of 
hunting within the park. The Draft GMP/EIS includes a recommendation 
for additional boundary changes as well as a wilderness eligibility 
assessment for all National Park Service lands and waters within the 
current park boundary.

Mary Pearson-Cooper,
Acting Regional Director, Northeast Region, National Park Service.
[FR Doc. 2010-444 Filed 1-12-10; 8:45 am]
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