[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 131 (Friday, July 9, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 39581-39582]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-16834]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service
Yosemite Valley Plan; Yosemite National Park; Mariposa, Madera,
and Tuolumne Counties, California; Notice of Revised Record of Decision
SUMMARY: On December 29, 2000, the National Park Service (NPS) executed
a Record of Decision selecting Alternative 2 from the Final Yosemite
Valley Plan/Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement for
implementation (as noticed in the Federal Register on January 12,
2001). As explained below, the NPS has subsequently approved a revised
Record of Decision for the Final Yosemite Valley Plan and will
implement Modified Alternative 2 instead.
Decision: The NPS has approved adoption of a Modified Alternative 2
which consists of completed actions and projects that conform to four
broad purposes and goals. These are to restore natural processes in
Yosemite Valley, to ameliorate environmental impacts, to preserve
cultural resource values, and to continue providing opportunities for
high-quality visitor experiences. Excluded from the approved Modified
Alternative 2 were certain projects yet to be initiated, including but
not limited to consolidation of some parking and facilities in the
eastern end of Yosemite Valley, relocation of equestrian facilities,
removal of Sugar Pine Bridge, and several traffic recirculation plans.
Also revised were Findings of No Significant Impact (FONSI decisions)
for Yosemite Lodge area redevelopment and improvements at Curry Village
and East Yosemite Valley campgrounds.
Background: In 2006, a lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court
for the Eastern District of California challenging the 2000 Final
Yosemite Valley Plan. Concurrently, the NPS was involved in a separate
lawsuit filed by the same plaintiffs challenging the 2005 Merced Wild
and Scenic River Comprehensive Management Plan (Merced River Plan).
Because the Yosemite Valley Plan and the Merced River Plan were
integrally related, the NPS and the plaintiffs agreed to suspend
proceedings on the Yosemite Valley Plan lawsuit until the courts
reached a final decision on the Merced River Plan lawsuit. In March
2008, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued a ruling
affirming that the 2005 Merced River Plan did not adequately fulfill
requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act nor the Wild and
Scenic Rivers Act. Following that decision, the NPS and the plaintiffs
began settlement discussions to resolve the two lawsuits and to
establish a framework for moving forward on a new version of the Merced
River Plan. A settlement was reached in September 2009 (the Settlement
Agreement is available on the park's Web site: http://www.nps.gov/yose/parkmgmt/upload/mrpsettlementagreement.pdf). Pursuant to the Settlement
Agreement, the NPS agreed to revise the Record of Decision for the
Yosemite Valley Plan, as well as two related FONSI decisions. The three
revised documents were filed with the District Court on January 29,
2010.
Copies: Interested parties may review the revised Record of
Decision and FONSI decisions on the park's Web site, and copies can
also be obtained by contacting the Superintendent, Yosemite National
Park, P. O. Box 577, Yosemite, California 95389; via
[[Page 39582]]
telephone request at (209) 372-0261; or via e-mail request at [email protected].
Dated: June 7, 2010.
George J. Turnbull,
Acting Regional Director, Pacific West Region.
[FR Doc. 2010-16834 Filed 7-8-10; 8:45 am]
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