[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 63 (Monday, April 2, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 19685-19686]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-7719]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-NCRO-MONO-0811-7948; 3130-SZM]


Notice of a Record of Decision; Monocacy National Battlefield

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of a Record of Decision on the Final Environmental 
Impact Statement for the General Management Plan, Monocacy National 
Battlefield.

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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, Monocacy National Battlefield. 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/mono.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: David Hayes, National Park Service, 
1100 Ohio Drive SW, Washington, DC 20242, (202) 619-7277, 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 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 finding on impairment of park resources and values, a 
listing of measures to minimize environmental harm and an overview of 
public involvement in the decision-making process.
    Alternative 4 is the Selected Alternative. The following course of 
action will occur under Alternative 4:
    All historic structures will be preserved and maintained, and the 
historic farmlands will continue to be leased to retain their use in 
agriculture. The outbuildings on the Best Farm will remain open. The 
Worthington House will be rehabilitated inside and be open to visitors 
with exhibits.
    Monocacy National Battlefield administration will be moved into the 
rehabilitated Thomas House. The stone tenant house on the Thomas farm 
will contain exhibits and restrooms. Monocacy National Battlefield 
maintenance will continue to operate from its current location in a 
nonhistoric structure near the Gambrill Mill and be redesigned to meet 
the needs for office, vehicle storage, and work space.
    Three nonhistoric structures will be removed from the landscape--
two structures are houses constructed of cinderblocks, and the third is 
a historic toll house that was moved to the site from its original 
location. It is in severely deteriorated condition and lacks integrity, 
and its proximity to the intersection of Araby Church Road and Maryland 
Highway 355 (MD-355) makes it a safety concern.
    The entrance to the 14th New Jersey Monument will be shifted south 
to allow better sight distances entering and exiting MD-355. An 
existing informal parking area on the east side of MD-355 used by 
fishermen will be closed and the area relandscaped. River access will 
continue from the 14th New Jersey Monument parking area. A landscaped 
commemorative area will be created at the site of the Pennsylvania and 
Vermont Monuments as a location for any new memorials that may be added 
to the Monocacy National Battlefield in the future.
    Visitors will use their own vehicles to drive around the Monocacy 
National Battlefield using existing roadways (Baker Valley Road, Araby 
Church Road, and MD-355). The possibility of a pedestrian deck spanning 
Interstate 270 (I-270) is being evaluated in consultation with the 
Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT) as mitigation for MDOT 
widening of I-270 through the Monocacy National Battlefield. If the 
deck proves feasible and if an agreement can be worked out, it will 
provide a trail spanning I-270 that connects the Worthington and Thomas 
farms.
    A new trail extension of the Gambrill Mill Trail will enable 
visitors to walk to the railroad junction and on to the sites of the 
Union entrenchments and Wallace's headquarters, all important 
interpretive locations within the Monocacy National Battlefield. 
Upgraded interpretation using new signs, wayside markers and brochures 
will be developed. Natural resource areas along rivers and drainages 
and along the heights behind the Worthington farmhouse will remain 
undeveloped and protected.
    This course of action and three alternatives were analyzed in the 
Draft and Final Environmental Impact Statements. Three actions were key 
in the decision to make Alternative 4 the selected alternative.
    First, moving the maintenance and administrative functions from the 
park into rental space in nearby Frederick, as would have occurred in 
Alternative 2, would have allowed the removal of the existing metal 
maintenance structure from the battlefield landscape and the commercial 
leasing of the Thomas House. However, this would have increased the 
amount of driving by park staff on busy MD-355 and would have unduly 
separated park staff from the resources managed and interpreted. It 
would also have placed a commercial use within the heart of the 
national battlefield (the lease of the Thomas House).
    Second, an alternative transportation system in Alternative 2 would 
have decreased visitor driving within the park, made visitor access to 
park areas safer by obviating the use of busy MD-355, and decreased the 
size of parking areas at each site. This system weighed heavily in the 
selection of Alternative 2 as the environmentally preferable 
alternative. However, current visitation does not make such a system 
financially feasible as a commercial operation and there is no 
guarantee that such a system would be financially feasible in the 
future. Both Alternatives 3 and 4 utilize personal vehicles to access 
the park.
    Third, Alternatives 2 and 4 include a connection of the Thomas and 
Worthington farms via a deck over I-270, while Alternative 3 does not. 
A connection of the two farms is an important interpretive tool 
allowing visitors and park staff to easily move back and forth between 
the two properties.
    As a result Alternative 4 was selected to better connect park staff 
to the resource, (2) to more fully consider the financial feasibility 
of alternative transportation at this time, and (3) to

[[Page 19686]]

ensure the connection of the Thomas and Worthington farms both 
physically and interpretively.
    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 on November 16, 2010. The official 
primarily responsible for implementing the General Management Plan is 
the Superintendent of Monocacy National Battlefield.

    Dated: July 22, 2011.
Stephen E. Whitesell,
Regional Director, National Capital Region.
[FR Doc. 2012-7719 Filed 3-30-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-57-P