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Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement, Yosemite Valley Plan, Yosemite National Park, Mariposa, Madera, and Tuolumne Counties, California; Notice of Approval of Record of Decision

Note: EPA no longer updates this information, but it may be useful as a reference or resource.

 [Federal Register: January 12, 2001 (Volume 66, Number 9)]
[Notices]
[Page 2928]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr12ja01-124]

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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service


Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement, Yosemite
Valley Plan, Yosemite National Park, Mariposa, Madera, and Tuolumne
Counties, California; Notice of Approval of Record of Decision

SUMMARY: Pursuant to section 102(2)(C) of the National Environmental
Policy Act of 1969 (Pub. L. 91-190, as amended) and the regulations
promulgated by the Council on Environmental Quality (40 CFR 1505.2),
the Department of the Interior, National Park Service has prepared and
approved a Record of Decision for the Final Supplemental Environmental
Impact Statement on the Yosemite Valley Plan for Yosemite National
Park. The decisions reached are consistent with the Revised Record of
Decision for the Merced Wild and Scenic River Comprehensive Management
Plan/Final Environmental Impact Statement.

Decision: The National Park Service (NPS) will implement actions,
strategies, and programs encompassed in Alternative 2 as described in
the Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement on the Yosemite
Valley Plan. The selected alternative provides for an overall
combination of actions to restore natural processes in Yosemite Valley,
preserve cultural resource values, reduce harmful environmental impacts
(including those related to traffic congestion), and continue to
provide opportunities for high-quality visitor experiences based upon
resource values. This course of action and four alternatives were
identified and analyzed in the Draft and Final Supplemental
Environmental Impact Statements (issued April 2000 and November 2000
respectively). The NPS identified Alternative 2 as presented in the
Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement as the
``environmentally preferred'' alternative. Elements of the selected
alternative are to be implemented as soon as practical.

Public Review and Consultation: The Draft and Final Supplemental
Environmental Impact Statements (SEIS) on the Yosemite Valley Plan were
prepared by the NPS pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act.
A Notice of Intent to initiate this conservation planning and
environmental impact analysis process was published in the Federal
Register on December 16, 1998. General issues and specific concerns
already raised during previous relevant planning processes were
provided to the public. Scoping comments were received through February
1, 1999. The Draft Yosemite Valley Plan/SEIS was formally announced for
public review per Notice of Availability published in the Federal
Register on April 13, 2000. The Final Yosemite Valley Plan/SEIS was
announced on November 21, 2000. From initiation of the scoping process
through December 26, 2000 when the ``No Action'' period for the Final
Yosemite Valley Plan/SEIS officially concluded, almost 11,000 written
responses were received (all written comments will be archived and
available for public review in the park's research library). In
addition, over 150 public meetings, discussions, and briefings
(attended by over 1500 individuals and representatives of
organizations, Tribes, elected officials, and congressional
delegations) were conducted in the park, throughout California, and in
Seattle, Washington; Denver, Colorado; Chicago, Illinois; and
Washington, DC.
    The NPS also consulted with various regulatory and resource
protection agencies including the Advisory Council on Historic
Preservation, State Historic Preservation Office, and the US Fish and
Wildlife Service. As a result of these collaborations, as well as the
public involvement indicated above, four action alternatives and
appropriate mitigation strategies were identified, compared, and
refined.

Copies: Interested parties can review the Record of Decision on the NPS
website at www.nps.gov/yose/planning. Copies can also be obtained by
contacting the Superintendent, Yosemite National Park, P.O. Box 577,
Yosemite, California 95389; via telephone request at (209) 372-0261; or
via email request at yose_planning@nps.gov.

    Dated: January 5, 2001.
William C. Walters,
Acting Regional Director, Pacific West Region.
[FR Doc. 01-1110 Filed 1-11-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-70-P

 
 

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