[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 218 (Monday, November 10, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 66669-66670]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-26702]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service
Abbreviated Final Environmental Impact Statement/Comprehensive
Management Plan; Ala Kahakai National Historic Trail, Hawaii County,
HI; Notice of Availability
Summary: Pursuant to Sec. 102(2)(c) of the National Environmental
Policy Act of 1969 (Pub. L. 91-190, as amended), and the Council on
Environmental Quality Regulations (CEQ) (40 CFR Part 1500-1508), the
National Park Service, Department of the Interior, has prepared an
abbreviated final environmental impact statement for the proposed
Comprehensive Management Plan for the Ala Kahakai National Historic
Trail (NHT) located on the island of Hawaii. Three CMP alternatives are
identified and analyzed relative both to NPS planning requirements and
to the public's concerns and issues identified during the scoping and
public involvement process (in addition to a no-action alternative, an
environmentally preferred alternative is also identified). Each
alternative presents administrative, management, and partnership
strategies for resource protection and preservation, education and
interpretation, visitor uses and facilities, and long-term operations
and management of the national trail. The potential environmental
consequences of all the alternatives, and appropriate mitigation
strategies, are identified and analyzed.
Background: On April 4, 2003, the Federal Register published the
Notice of Intent to prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS) for
the comprehensive management plan (CMP) for the Ala Kahakai National
Historic Trail. The initial scoping phase was designed to proactively
elicit public issues, concerns, and other relevant information deemed
necessary to address during the overall planning. A total of 200 people
representing the general public, private landowners, trail advocacy
groups, Native Hawaiian organizations, and state, county, and federal
agencies participated overall. Several public meetings around the
island were hosted (about 25 comment forms were returned to the trail
office). In addition, the NPS planning team met with numerous
individuals, community groups, private landowners, and government
agency representatives to understand their concerns and visions for the
Ala Kahakai NHT. The scoping phase extended through June 28, 2003.
The NPS encouraged public involvement during two additional phases
of the EIS process. In the second phase, the NPS engaged the public in
developing preliminary alternatives intended to address the specific
issues and concerns that surfaced during the public scoping. Nine
public workshops were held around the island of Hawaii.
The third phase of involvement afforded the opportunity for public
review of the Draft EIS/CMP, notice of which appeared in the Federal
Register on October 26, 2007. Government entities and the public were
invited to submit comments by regular mail, e-mail, fax, and online. In
addition, the NPS held seven public meetings on the island of Hawaii in
November 2007 to provide further opportunity to learn about the
proposed plan and to offer comments; over 90 people attended these
meetings. The formal comment period closed on December 31, 2007,
although the NPS received several comments during the next two weeks.
[[Page 66670]]
Aside from approximately 83 individual statements recorded on the
meeting flip charts and 21 comment sheets completed at the meetings,
the NPS received 40 written communications. No comments received from
interested individuals and groups, area residents and businesses, and
public agencies required the NPS to add other alternatives,
significantly alter existing alternatives, or make changes to the
impact analysis of the effect of any alternative. Thus, an abbreviated
format is used to fully document all responses to comments in the Final
CMP/EIS in compliance with the CEQ implementing regulations (40 CFR
1503.4[c]) for the National Environmental Policy Act.
Proposed Plan and Alternatives: Alternative A, the No Action
Alternative, assumes that existing programs, facilities, staffing, and
funding would generally continue at their current levels. The Ala
Kahakai NHT would consist of trail segments within the four national
parks through which it passes and only a few other segments (e.g., on
state lands). As recommended in the Ala Kahakai National Trail Study
and Environmental Impact Statement, January 1998, (Feasibility Study)
on which national trail status was based, a continuous trail would be
the goal but would not be implemented, even in the long-term. However,
an auto tour would be completed that would lead visitors to 18 sites
associated with the trail. Recreation along the trail and
interpretation of its history would generally be limited to these
sites.
Alternative B proposes the completion of a single continuous trail
comprised of unaltered or verified ancient and historic portions of the
ala loa (coastal trail around the island) linked as needed by later
pre-1892 trails, pathways, and modern connector trails. Within the
planning period of 15 years, the goal would be to complete the linear
trail within the priority zone from Kawaihae through Pu'uhonua o
Honaunau National Park to Ho'okena and to protect other segments
outside of that area as feasible. In the long-term, cultural and
natural resources along the entire trail tread and agreed upon adjacent
areas would be protected and interpreted to the public. The NPS would
administer the trail, but management outside of the national parks
would remain with the land managing agency or landowner. The NPS would
offer technical assistance and limited financial assistance to these
management partners. Partnerships with state and county agencies,
community organizations, and private individuals would help protect
trail resources and provide appropriate trail user services. An auto
tour would be completed as in Alternative A.
Alternative C, the NPS proposed action and the ``environmentally
preferred'' alternative, is based on the traditional Hawaiian trail
system in which multiple trail alignments within the ahupua'a (mountain
to sea land division) are integral to land use and stewardship. The
linear trail would be protected as in Alternative B, but on publicly-
owned lands the Ala Kahakai NHT includes inland portions of ala loa or
other historic trails that run lateral to the shoreline and would be
connected to ancient or historic mauka-makai (mountain to sea) trails
that would have traditionally been part of the ahupua'a system. As with
Alternative B, during the 15-year planning period, the priority zone
from Kawaihae to Pu'uhonua o Honaunau National Park through Ho'okena
would be the focus of administration and management, but sections
outside of that zone would protected as feasible. Through an agreement,
the state of Hawaii could convey to the NPS a less-than-fee management
interest in trail segments that are state-owned under the Highways Act
of 1892 within the Ala Kahakai NHT corridor. The NPS would then be
responsible for managing these segments and federal law would fully
apply. However, in cooperation with the NPS, local communities of the
ahupua'a would be encouraged to take responsibility for trail
management using the traditional Hawaiian principles of land management
and stewardship. The Ala Kahakai Trail Association would be expected to
be robust enough play a major part in trail management, promotion, and
funding. An auto tour would be completed similarly as in the other
alternatives.
Copies: The abbreviated Final EIS/CMP is now available, and may be
obtained by contacting the Superintendent, Ala Kahakai NHT, 73-4786
Kanalani Street, 14, Kailua-Kona, HI 96740 or by telephone at
808-326-6012. Copies of the Draft EIS/CMP are available, if needed. The
Final EIS/CMP may also be reviewed electronically via the Web site
http://parkplanning.nps.gov/alka or at area libraries.
Decision Process: Following the release of the abbreviated Final
EIS/CMP, a Record of Decision will be prepared not sooner than 30 days
after the EPA has published its notice of filing of the document in the
Federal Register. Announcement of the approved CMP would be similarly
published. As a delegated EIS, the official responsible for the final
decision is the Regional Director, Pacific West Region, National Park
Service. Subsequently, the official responsible for implementing the
approved CMP would be the Superintendent, Ala Kahakai National Historic
Trail.
Dated: June 13, 2008.
Jonathan B. Jarvis,
Regional Director, Pacific West Region.
Editorial Note: This document was received in the Office of the
Federal Register on November 11, 2008.
[FR Doc. E8-26702 Filed 11-7-08; 8:45 am]
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