[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 184 (Monday, September 23, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Page 49760]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-20560]


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DEPARTMENT OF INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-SERO-OBRI-NPS0027212; PPSESEROC3, PPMPSAS1Y.YP0000]


Determination of Eligibility for Consideration as Wilderness 
Areas, Obed Wild and Scenic River

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of determination of wilderness eligibility for lands in 
Obed Wild and Scenic River.

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SUMMARY: Pursuant to the Wilderness Act of 1964, and in accordance with 
National Park Service (NPS) Management Policies (2006), Section 6.2.1, 
the NPS has completed a Wilderness Eligibility Assessment to determine 
if lands within Obed Wild and Scenic River (Obed WSR) meet criteria 
indicating eligibility for preservation as wilderness. Based on the 
assessment, the NPS has concluded that the assessed lands: (1) Are not 
predominantly roadless and undeveloped; (2) are not greater than 5,000 
acres in size or of sufficient size as to make practicable their 
preservation and use in an unimpaired condition; and (3) do not meet 
the wilderness character criteria listed in the Wilderness Act and NPS 
Management Policies (2006). As a result of these findings, the NPS has 
determined that lands within the Obed WSR do not warrant further study 
for possible designation as wilderness.

ADDRESSES: A map of the lands assessed is on file at Big South Fork 
National River and Recreation Area Headquarters, 4564 Leatherwood Road, 
Oneida, Tennessee 37841.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Superintendent Niki Stephanie 
Nicholas, Obed Wild and Scenic River, by phone at 423-569-9778, via 
email at [email protected], or by mail at Big South Fork 
National River and Recreation Area, 4564 Leatherwood Road, Oneida, 
Tennessee 37841.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Obed WSR comprises approximately 5,530 acres 
on the Cumberland Plateau of eastern Tennessee. The wild and scenic 
designation encompasses 45 miles of the Obed River and its tributaries, 
including Clear Creek, Daddys Creek, and the Emory River. Of the total 
acreage within the boundary, only about 2,664 acres, in noncontiguous 
tracts, are owned in fee by the Federal government.
    The Primary Eligibility Criteria found in Section 6.2.1.1 of NPS 
Management Policies was reviewed to evaluate Obed WSR's wilderness 
eligibility. Based on this review, the NPS has determined that none of 
the acreage administered by the NPS at Obed Wild and Scenic River is 
eligible for designation as wilderness. While parts of the wild and 
scenic river are roadless, undeveloped, and appear to have been 
affected primarily by the forces of nature, no single area is over 
5,000 acres in size or is of sufficient size to make practicable its 
preservation and use as wilderness in an unimpaired condition. Areas 
owned in fee by the NPS are interspersed with lands owned by the State 
of Tennessee and by private parties. The fragmentation of the NPS fee 
lands and their small size precludes their effective management as 
wilderness.
    A public notice announcing the NPS's intention to conduct this 
eligibility assessment was placed in the Federal Register on December 
20, 2016. A previous press release had been issued to local media on 
August 22, 2016 informing the public of the assessment process. The NPS 
received no comments on either the press release or the subsequent 
notice.
    Given that lands at Obed WSR are not eligible for wilderness 
consideration, a wilderness study will not be prepared pursuant to 
Management Policies Section 2.2.2.

    Dated: September 5, 2019.
Robert A. Vogel,
Regional Director.
[FR Doc. 2019-20560 Filed 9-20-19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-52-P