[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]
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