[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 62 (Friday, March 30, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 19320-19321]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-7744]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-NCRO-HAFE-0811-7947; 3851-SZM]


Notice of a Record of Decision, Harpers Ferry National Historical 
Park

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of a Record of Decision on the Final Environmental 
Impact Statement for the General Management Plan, Harpers Ferry 
National Historical Park.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: Pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 
(NEPA), 42 U.S.C. 4332(2)(C), the National Park Service (NPS) announces 
the availability of the Record of Decision for the General Management 
Plan, Harpers Ferry National Historical Park, West Virginia, Virginia, 
and Maryland. As soon as practicable, the NPS will begin to implement 
the preferred alternative as contained in the Final Environmental 
Impact Statement issued by the NPS on August 27, 2010, and summarized 
in the Record of Decision. Copies of the Record of Decision may be 
obtained from the contact listed below or online at www.nps.gov/hafe.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: David Hayes, Regional Planner and 
Transportation Liaison, National Capital Region, National Park Service, 
at 1100 Ohio Drive SW., Washington, DC 20242, by telephone at (202) 
619-7277, or email at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The following course of action will occur 
under the selected alternative. The visitor contact station on Cavalier 
Heights will be improved to provide better orientation for park 
visitors and information on the park's many resources. It will be the 
starting point for an expanded transportation system that will allow 
visitors to reach areas of the park such as the Murphy Farm, 
Schoolhouse Ridge, and Camp Hill which were previously difficult to 
access without a car. It will also be a stop on the new Around-the-Park 
trail that will allow visitors to hike to all areas of the park. The 
Record of Decision includes a statement of the decision made, synopses 
of other alternatives considered, the basis for the decision, a 
description of the environmentally preferable alternative, a listing of 
measures to minimize environmental harm, and an overview of public 
involvement in the decision-making process.
    Preserved historic buildings, period shops, exhibits, and outdoor 
furnishings will complement the interpretation provided by rangers and 
possible period artisans/demonstrators that will revitalize this area. 
Travelling exhibits will be sought to supplement interpretation 
provided within the park. A smaller information center and bookstore 
will remain but possibly be moved to new locations. Park artifact/
museum object storage will be removed from the historic structures and 
the space converted to office use or other types of storage.
    The Federal Armory will retain its current access. A study of the 
feasibility of returning John Brown's Fort to its original location 
will be undertaken. The train station will become a secondary portal to 
the site with proposed excursion trains arriving from Washington 
several days of the week. The armory canal will be restored and 
rewatered with the turbine also restored for interpretive purposes. The 
power plant will be rehabilitated for exhibits.
    Virginius and Halls Islands will be preserved as an archeological 
preserve with ruins stabilized and outlined and wayside exhibits 
explaining the history and industrial development that was there.
    Camp Hill will be managed with a campus atmosphere reminiscent of 
the Storer College era. Additional signs and waysides will allow 
visitors to get the feel of the site. Museum exhibits now in Lower Town 
will be moved to one or more of the Storer College structures to better 
explain the importance of Harpers Ferry to the story of the civil 
rights movement in America. Several historic buildings from the 
military occupation of Camp Hill will be restored and adaptively used 
for park headquarters. The historic Shipley School on Camp Hill is 
currently in poor condition. Further consideration will be required to 
determine potential future use.
    The historic Grandview School will be rehabilitated and enlarged 
for use by the park's protection division. The Nash Farm will be 
preserved as a dairy farm of the 1940s with its structures adapted for 
use as an environmental education center and outdoor laboratory managed 
by the NPS or an NPS Partner. At the Murphy Farm, the Civil War 
earthworks and the foundations of John Brown's Fort will be stabilized, 
and the Chambers/Murphy house studied to determine the best use for it. 
A bus stop and trail to the earthworks and foundations will be 
developed. Restrooms and drinking water will also be developed at the 
site.
    Schoolhouse Ridge will also be managed as a battlefield landscape 
with agricultural leases that maintain the 1862 appearance. The 
nonhistoric campground will be removed and the Harpers Ferry Caverns 
restored to a more natural appearance. Nonhistoric structures will be 
removed. Onsite interpretation and occasional interpretive 
demonstrations with a military focus will be provided. Bus parking and 
trails will be developed.
    At the Potoma Wayside, upgraded takeout facilities will be 
developed to facilitate river use. The takeout will be hardened and 
restroom facilities provided. To the extent possible, parking will also 
be upgraded. Interpretation will be provided by the concessioner.
    On Loudoun Heights, the Sherwood House will be removed and the site 
developed as a Civil War overlook. All Civil War camps and earthworks 
will be stabilized as necessary.

[[Page 19321]]

    The majority of the site will be maintained for its natural 
resources. Short Hill will be managed similarly.
    Maryland Heights will undergo stabilization of earthworks and 
fortifications as necessary and restoration of line of fire vistas. 
Historic roads will continue to be used and maintained. A more 
comprehensive level of interpretation will be achieved through wayside 
exhibits, site brochures and occasional ranger-guided hikes. Three 
additional alternatives were analyzed in the Draft and Final 
Environmental Impact Statements. The full range of foreseeable 
environmental consequences was assessed, and appropriate mitigating 
measures were identified.
    The Regional Director, National Capital Region, approved the Record 
of Decision for the project. The official primarily responsible for 
implementing the General Management Plan is the Superintendent of 
Harpers Ferry National Historical Park.

    Dated: July 22, 2011.
 Stephen E. Whitesell,
Regional Director, National Capital Region.
[FR Doc. 2012-7744 Filed 3-29-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-JT-P